 | ||
Momofuku Milk Bar is a chain of dessert and bakery restaurants owned by founding chef Christina Tosi and originating in 2008. They are part of the Manhattan-based Momofuku restaurant group created by Korean-American chef David Chang. Tosi is the creator of Milk Bar's well-known desserts. Milk Bar makes custom wedding cakes, produces their own line of baking mixes, and ships baked goods all around the globe. They also offer weekly baking classes at their Williamsburg kitchen, the heart of Milk Bar's seven New York locations. They also have locations in Washington, DC, Las Vegas, and Toronto.
Contents
History
Christina Tosi graduated from the French Culinary Institute’s pastry arts program, and began her career at upscale New York restaurants such as Bouley and wd~50. Tosi started at Momofuku as a food safety consultant; at that time there were no dessert items on the menu. After Tosi brought in various unconventional homemade desserts, owner David Chang demanded she re-create them for a dinner service that evening.
When Momofuku Ssam Bar decided to expand into a neighboring vacant laundromat, Tosi proposed the idea to add a bakery where she could create her famous "happy mistakes." These items include the compost cookie, the crack pie, and cereal milk.
Awards
Tosi received the James Beard Foundation award for Rising Star Chef of the Year for her work at the Milk Bar in 2012. Tosi followed up this award as a finalist for the 2014 Outstanding Pastry James Beard award for rising star chefs. In 2015, she received the James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef award.
Publications
The first book of recipes from the restaurant, by Tosi, was called Momofuku Milk Bar (ISBN 978-0307720498) and released in October 2011. The second, again by Tosi, was called Milk Bar Life: Recipes & Stories (ISBN 978-0770435103) and released in April 2015.