Christina Tosi

I'm not a normal person with normal tastebuds, so I'll save you all from cringing/dissing on my late night flavour pairings, but I will say when I was a kid, with little to no access to anything but my mother's pantry, I'd dip everything in ranch dressing, Miracle Whip, katsup, barbecue sauce, honey, mustard, etc.

When I first opened Milk Bar, I was also making desserts for the Momofuku restaurants. I will say that by day three or day four, I realized that operating a bakery was so different from operating a restaurant.

I have this nook at Milk Bar that's my office, and my desk was just full of every box of Kellogg's cereal, and at different times during the day, I would open up a box, eat a bowl of cereal, and I live in a world of Post-it notes, so I would leave tasting notes on all the cereal.

I have worked my way up in the food industry being strong and steady about who I am as a person, first and foremost, as a chef and professional, and certainly as a woman.

I think a lot of people think being in the kitchen is being really serious, and especially that baking is very serious, very straitlaced. For me, it's about figuring out your voice, finding your personality, and getting in the kitchen to explore.

I never saw the light of day at Bouley. I remember I would bring home a roll of toilet paper a week because we got paid so little, if at all.

Being humble is one of the most important things, and not being afraid to put yourself out there is important. I think really successful chefs put themselves out there on a daily basis.

Being a great baker and pastry chef requires the upmost open mind. I try every dessert that comes my way!

There are other things that set me off a lot more than what it's like to be a woman in the kitchen.

I worked in a bunch of really tough kitchens, but when I got yelled at and screamed at, it wasn't really for being a woman. It was just for making a bonehead mistake.

There's nothing worse than not being excited about a trip.

I was raised by my Depression-era grandma who taught me to use what you've got: Waste not, want not!