When I opened Milk Bar in November 2008, I was quite adamant about making sure the bakery was an honest reflection of life and food through my eyes. I had no intention beyond that.
Whenever I get in a car and I'm going to or from the airport or the train station, I put on a TED Talk using the TED app. It makes the trip go by super fast, and it fills my sails.
I love the warmth of apple pie.
I love checking out aspiring bakers' offerings at local farmers' markets when the weather is nice.
No matter how bad your day is, when you start talking about cookies or cakes or pies, or you bring someone cookies, there's just not bad news. The worst news is, 'Hey, there's sugar in that.'
You can't do a good deal with bad people, and you can't do a bad deal with good people. I often use that as my compass.
Fruitcakes have a bad rap.
Failure gets a bad rap, but I'd like to change that. Failure is necessary. Let it in. Chew it up, and use it as fuel for your soul.
The matriarchs of my family loved to bake, and the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Baking became something I did every day; it became a time where my creative and nurturing side took stage.
I'm a fan of the hand-me-down recipes - friends, family, bake sales, community cookbooks - those are the recipes that have withstood the test of time and fed many hungry fans.
I make a huge batch of cinnamon buns on Christmas Eve and bake them off early Christmas morning.
Milk Bar is a quirky American bakery, where the original inspiration is the humble beginnings of American-style baked goods and loving trips to Dairy Queen.
Every time I baked cookies for people as a kid, it made me so happy. But when I was in culinary school and working in fine-dining restaurants, that was not a thing.
Being a great baker and pastry chef requires the upmost open mind. I try every dessert that comes my way!
The secret to having an epically beloved bakery is consistency.
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.
Baking's meant to be done at home. It's meant to be a good time. It's not about, like, hoarding secrets. It's about sharing them.
Baking without gluten is an awesome challenge in terms of the opportunity to learn so much more about what you can create.
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 love to jump around, bounce around, and be active, which is one of the other reasons I decided to pursue a career in the kitchen. I work 12-18 hours a day, and most of it is spent doing just that - jumping, bouncing, and baking.
