The founder of the iconic New York bakery is in Sydney – and she's baking for three days only.
Before there was Dubai Chocolate, cloud bread and the cruffin, there was Milk Bar. In the height of the aughts in NYC, Christina Tosi founded one of the world’s most famous bakery and dessert brands, and she’s brought her baked-in genius – and cookies – to Australia.
To kick off American Express delicious. Month Out, Tosi is in Sydney for a limited-edition pop-up Milk Bar at Ace Hotel Sydney from May 1 to May 3. Tosi has brought a selection of her signature cookies including the Confetti and chunky choc chip, her iconic Cereal Milk in drink and soft-serve form, and a spin on Melbourne’s cult Mont Blanc made with Cereal Milk.
The cherry on top, though, is a bespoke retro treat crafted exclusively for the pop-up – a Choc Chip Lamington with Marshmallow Fluff and Cornflake Crunch.
From May 1–3, between 8am and 2pm each day, Ace’s laneway cafe Good Chemistry will transform into’s Sydney’s first-ever Milk Bar, with Tosi working alongside Ace Hotel’s Australian culinary director Isobel Whelan-Little to give Surry Hills a taste of the New York original.
“It’s my first trip to Australia in 5 years so I am pumped,” says Tosi. “Every time I visit I end up feeling more like myself, more at peace, happier, heartier, full sails.”
The origins of Milk Bar NYC
Today Christina Tosi might be the creative mastermind behind a Milk Bar chain with more than a dozen outposts State-side, a James Beard Award-winning author and high-profile media personality (keen-eyed fans would have caught her cameo in The Bear Season 3), but started her career firmly in the sidelines.
After working as a fine dining pastry chef and in editorial support roles at Saveur, Tosi’s big break came with an admin job for David Chang at Momofuku New York. Chang bought into her vision, and in 2008 supported Tosi with seed funding to create Momofuku Milk Bar.
The now-successful business owner has a key piece of advice for anyone dreaming of doing the same. “Work for someone else first.” Tosi has been vocal about the impact Chang’s belief in her had, and the value of the experience of working in his booming Momofuku empire.
“There is talent and instinct and passion,” she says “But there are so, so many tactical things to learn in parallel with unleashing those powerful truths. Learn under someone else’s tutelage, learn on their clock, learn from wins, learn from setbacks, shape your vision, test your spirit and drive before you cannonball in. Even if that means volunteering, AKA working for free (or very little wage) – if it’s really in you, you’ll feel like the richest human alive after a long shift scooping dough or packing boxes or washing dishes.”
Cereal Milk, the Compost Cookie and Milk Bar’s biggest hits
Years before bakeries gained cult status, and become the hottest thing on social media, Tosi understood the power of a beautiful, baked thing.
“I think nothing beats fresh baked goods. They are the most tricky, finicky, non-resilient, temperature-sensitive things, and so we treat them with the care and respect they deserve. Ironically, we first fall in love with them at young ages – for me it was in my Grandma’s kitchen, so a fresh baked good cues the comfort and love of a Granny’s house, the lightness and levity of being a kid, and the invincible nature of never having enough of them, yet knowing they’re a treat in and of themselves (I was regularly cut off from eating too much oatmeal cookie dough).”
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Many of Tosi’s biggest hits came from her ability to combine technical expertise with that sense of childlike joy. From Cereal Milk (a propriety Milk Bar flavour that emotively mimics the taste of milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl), to the buttery indulgence of Milk Bar Pie (FKA Crack pie). Since her earlier innovations, TikTokification has spawned a torrent of novelty bakes, but few of them achieve what Tosi knows is most important: they also have to taste amazing.
“We eat with our eyes first – even before the social media age that’s upon us. This has always been a win for dessert. That said, these days the cautionary tale is one where the hype is more about the shot than the actual taste. But that is fleeting. Like all ages and trends, I think upping the visual game is bar raising for the good, but the real important piece to remind every creator, chef and baker is, that it better be as, if not more delicious – I mean shake-me-to-my-core-delicious – when I do dig in. Looks only go so far…dessert is an opt in course, and when we opt in, it better be worth it!”
To dig in for yourself and see just how worth it dessert can be, mark May 1 in your diaries.
For American Express cardholders, the first 100 Card Members to visit each day will walk away with a free, limited-edition Milk Bar dessert. The bespoke Aussie creation will be revealed here very soon.
Related story: One of the world’s best chefs is coming to Crown this autumn
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