Christina Tosi is the American pastry chef, author and television personality behind Milk Bar, the New York-founded dessert-bakery brand that has grown from a single small store on East 13th Street in the East Village in 2008 into a multi-city retail business with brick-and-mortar locations in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Chicago, plus nationwide retail distribution and a Krispy Kreme partnership launched in April 2026. Born 9 November 1981 in Ohio and raised in Springfield, Virginia, Tosi trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York and worked under David Chang at Momofuku from 2005 before launching Milk Bar as the Momofuku dessert-bakery arm in 2008.
Tosi spun Milk Bar out of Momofuku in 2015 and has grown the business independently since. The brand is built on signature dessert creations including Crack Pie, Compost Cookie, Birthday Cake and Cereal Milk, all of which have become reference points in American contemporary dessert cooking. She hosted Bake Squad on Netflix from 2021 and is a regular MasterChef judge on Fox. In April 2026 Milk Bar launched a limited-time doughnut collection with Krispy Kreme featuring Birthday Cake, Milk Bar Pie and Compost Cookie flavours, and Tosi was announced as the 2026 Breadwinners Pitch Honoree in recognition of her continued influence on the American baking industry.
TL;DR
- American pastry chef born 9 November 1981 in Ohio; raised in Springfield, Virginia
- Trained at the French Culinary Institute, New York
- Pastry chef at Momofuku from 2005; opened Milk Bar in East Village, New York, in 2008
- Spun Milk Bar out of Momofuku in 2015; now brick-and-mortar in NYC, LA, DC, Las Vegas, Chicago
- Signature creations: Crack Pie (renamed Milk Bar Pie), Compost Cookie, Birthday Cake, Cereal Milk
- April 2026: Krispy Kreme x Milk Bar limited-time doughnut collaboration; 2026 Breadwinners Pitch Honoree
Christina Tosi key facts
| Born | 9 November 1981, Ohio, USA (raised in Springfield, Virginia) |
| Nationality | American |
| Training | James Madison University (electrical engineering, briefly); French Culinary Institute New York |
| Defining business | Milk Bar, founded 2008 in East Village New York as Momofuku dessert arm; independent 2015 |
| 2026 locations | Brick-and-mortar in NYC, LA, Washington DC, Las Vegas, Chicago; nationwide retail; April 2026 Krispy Kreme collaboration |
| Signatures | Crack Pie (Milk Bar Pie), Compost Cookie, Birthday Cake, Cereal Milk |
| Television | MasterChef Fox judge; Bake Squad Netflix host (2021-present) |
Early life and training of Christina Tosi
Tosi was born on 9 November 1981 in Ohio and raised in Springfield, Virginia, a suburban community near Washington DC. She grew up in a family where home baking was a central domestic activity, particularly with her mother Greta and grandmother Gommie. The childhood grounding in home American baking, especially the Midwestern and Southern baking traditions that had been brought east through the family, became the reference point for the Milk Bar aesthetic years later.
Tosi initially enrolled at James Madison University to study electrical engineering but dropped out after a year to pursue cooking. She moved to New York and attended the French Culinary Institute on Broadway in SoHo, completing the intensive pastry arts programme in the early 2000s. After graduating she worked at Bouley and wd~50 under Wylie Dufresne, two of the most technically ambitious New York kitchens of the period, gaining fine-dining pastry training that would later anchor the technical sophistication of the Milk Bar dessert approach.
In 2005 Tosi joined Momofuku under David Chang as pastry chef, initially at Momofuku Noodle Bar and subsequently across the expanding Momofuku restaurant group. During the 2005-2008 period she developed the signature dessert approach that would define Milk Bar, including the Crack Pie and the Compost Cookie. In November 2008 Chang and Tosi opened Milk Bar as the dedicated dessert-bakery arm of Momofuku in a small storefront at 207 East 13th Street in the East Village, and the new format took off rapidly.
Christina Tosi career timeline
- 9 November 1981: Born in Ohio, USA
- Early 2000s: Attends James Madison University briefly; drops out to pursue cooking
- Early 2000s: Trains at French Culinary Institute, New York, in pastry arts
- Early 2000s: Works at Bouley and wd~50 under Wylie Dufresne
- 2005: Joins Momofuku under David Chang as pastry chef
- 2008: Opens Milk Bar as Momofuku dessert-bakery arm on East 13th Street, East Village
- 2011: Publishes Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook
- 2012: Wins James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year
- 2015: Spins Milk Bar out of Momofuku as independent business
- 2017: Publishes Milk Bar Life: Recipes and Stories cookbook
- 2018: Joins MasterChef Fox as judge
- 2019: Appears on Chef’s Table: Pastry on Netflix
- 2020: Renames Crack Pie to Milk Bar Pie in response to community feedback
- 2021: Launches Bake Squad on Netflix as host
- 2022: Milk Bar opens Las Vegas flagship at Caesars Palace
- 2023: Expansion to nationwide retail distribution continues
- 2024: Bake Squad continues on Netflix; Milk Bar opens additional retail partnerships
- February 2025: Extensive interview with Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery on Milk Bar expansion
- April 2026: Krispy Kreme x Milk Bar limited-time doughnut collaboration launches (Birthday Cake, Milk Bar Pie, Compost Cookie)
- 2026: Announced as 2026 Breadwinners Pitch Honoree
Christina Tosi signature style: playful American home baking at fine-dining level
Tosi’s central argument, developed at Momofuku from 2005 and refined at Milk Bar since 2008, is that American home baking, particularly the Midwestern and Southern traditions of her grandmother’s kitchen, can be elevated to serious fine-dining dessert level without losing the playful and familiar aesthetic that defines those traditions. The Milk Bar menu has built on this argument for more than 17 years: Crack Pie (now Milk Bar Pie), a butterscotch-toffee-flavoured tart that reworks an Americana recipe; Compost Cookie, a salty-sweet cookie with pretzels, coffee grounds and chocolate; Cereal Milk, the signature of milk steeped with toasted cornflakes; and Birthday Cake, a multi-layer vanilla cake with birthday cake crumbs.
The second defining element is the brand-building approach. Since the 2015 spin-out from Momofuku, Tosi has built Milk Bar into one of the most successful chef-branded American bakery businesses of the 2010s and 2020s, with brick-and-mortar locations in five major US cities, nationwide retail distribution, and high-profile brand partnerships including the April 2026 Krispy Kreme collaboration. The business model sits alongside Dominique Ansel‘s bakery-brand expansion as one of the defining American chef-pastry-brand businesses of the current era.
The third pillar is the public voice through television and publishing. Tosi has been a regular MasterChef Fox judge since 2018, the host of Bake Squad on Netflix since 2021, and the author of three published cookbooks. The multi-format public presence extends the Milk Bar argument across television, retail and publishing. Within the current American chef-entrepreneur cohort Tosi sits alongside David Chang (her Momofuku mentor) and Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn San Francisco) as defining figures of the current era.
Notable Christina Tosi creations
Several Milk Bar creations have become reference points in contemporary American dessert cooking. Crack Pie, renamed Milk Bar Pie in 2020 in response to community feedback about the original name, is a butterscotch-toffee tart with an oat cookie crust that remains the single most-cited Tosi signature and continues to be sold at every Milk Bar location. Compost Cookie, a salty-sweet cookie with pretzels, coffee grounds, butterscotch chips and chocolate, and Birthday Cake, a multi-layer vanilla cake with birthday cake crumbs and birthday cake truffles, are both widely-copied Tosi originals. Cereal Milk, originally developed at Momofuku, is the Milk Bar milk-steeped-with-toasted-cornflakes signature. Her cookbooks include Momofuku Milk Bar (2011), Milk Bar Life (2017) and All About Cake (2018).
Christina Tosi awards and recognition
- 2008: Opens Milk Bar as Momofuku dessert arm on East 13th Street, East Village
- 2011: Publishes Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook
- 2012: Wins James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year
- 2015: Spins Milk Bar out of Momofuku as independent business
- 2018: Joins MasterChef Fox as judge
- 2019: Appears on Chef’s Table: Pastry on Netflix
- 2020: Renames Crack Pie to Milk Bar Pie
- 2021: Launches Bake Squad on Netflix as host
- 2022: Milk Bar opens Las Vegas flagship at Caesars Palace
- February 2025: Extensive interview with Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery
- April 2026: Krispy Kreme x Milk Bar limited-time doughnut collaboration launches
- 2026: Announced as 2026 Breadwinners Pitch Honoree
Christina Tosi impact on American bakery culture
Tosi’s most concrete contribution is the 17-year build of Milk Bar from a single small storefront at 207 East 13th Street in 2008 to a multi-city brick-and-mortar chain with nationwide retail distribution as of 2026. The business has been one of the most successful chef-branded American bakery businesses of the post-2010 era, and the April 2026 Krispy Kreme collaboration demonstrates continued brand-partnership growth at national scale.
The second contribution is the reinvention of American home-baking traditions at fine-dining level. Crack Pie, Compost Cookie, Cereal Milk and Birthday Cake together redefined what American dessert menus could include, and the Milk Bar aesthetic of playful, unabashed sweetness against technically precise pastry grounding has been widely copied across American restaurant and bakery menus since the 2010s. The approach sits alongside Dominique Ansel‘s cronut and the broader American pastry-creativity movement of the 2010s.
The third contribution is the public-voice work through television and publishing. Tosi has been one of the defining American pastry chefs on network and streaming television since the late 2010s, hosting Bake Squad on Netflix and judging MasterChef Fox alongside authorship of three cookbooks. Within the current American chef-entrepreneur cohort she sits alongside David Chang (her Momofuku mentor) and Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn San Francisco) as defining figures of the current era.
Christina Tosi FAQ
Is Milk Bar still open?
Yes. Milk Bar operates brick-and-mortar locations in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Chicago as of 2026, plus nationwide retail distribution through US grocery partnerships. The April 2026 Krispy Kreme collaboration is the latest high-profile brand partnership.
What is Crack Pie now called?
Milk Bar Pie. Tosi renamed Crack Pie to Milk Bar Pie in 2020 in response to community feedback about the original name. The recipe is unchanged: a butterscotch-toffee tart with an oat cookie crust. It remains the single most-cited Tosi signature and is sold at every Milk Bar location.
Did Tosi train under David Chang?
Yes. Tosi joined Momofuku under David Chang as pastry chef in 2005, initially at Momofuku Noodle Bar and subsequently across the expanding Momofuku restaurant group. Milk Bar opened in 2008 as the dedicated dessert-bakery arm of Momofuku, and Tosi spun it out as an independent business in 2015.
What is the Krispy Kreme collaboration?
A limited-time doughnut collection Krispy Kreme and Milk Bar launched in April 2026, featuring three flavours inspired by Milk Bar signatures: Birthday Cake, Milk Bar Pie and Compost Cookie. The collaboration is one of the largest brand partnerships in the history of the Milk Bar business.
What television shows has Tosi appeared on?
Tosi has been a MasterChef Fox judge since 2018, the host of Bake Squad on Netflix since 2021, and a featured chef on Chef’s Table: Pastry on Netflix in 2019. She continues to appear on MasterChef Fox and Bake Squad into 2026.
What is next for Christina Tosi
Milk Bar continues to operate across five US cities with nationwide retail distribution, the April 2026 Krispy Kreme collaboration continues its rollout, and Tosi’s television work continues. The 2026 Breadwinners Pitch Honoree recognition confirms her continued influence on the American baking industry. Her public Instagram (@christinatosi) is the best source for current updates.
