The Empire Of Christina Tosi

Christina Tosi is one of the driving forces in the restaurant industry today. Now there are plans to take her signature dessert chain Milk Bar to the next level. Can it be done. Can Milk Bar be this century's Dairy Queen or Dunkin Donuts? Very likely.

Kim Severson posed similar questions in her interview with Chef Tosi in Wednesday's New York Times. It was at the time that yet another Milk Bar was opening in Cambridge Massachusetts. It was much anticipated and there will be Milk Bars opening up in Miami, Chicago, and everywhere else there's a fan base. The store came about from her working as a pastry chef for David Chang and his famed Momufuku restaurant. She cleverly made ice cream from the milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl. It hit a major nerve with comfort food fans who  loved that she went one step further with a childhood favorite.The bakery/dessert bar took off. She was the one who brought about the naked cake craze where only the top is iced. Chrissy  Tiegen make the cake a superstar when she famously tried to recreate it on her Instagram account in 2006.Then there was Anderson Cooper swooning over her crow favorite crack pie, a buttery tart with a toasted oat crust. She spearheaded the sprinkle cake trend, bringing home bakers adding measured cups of jimmies to  batters and icings. More than Mrs. Fields, Chef Tosi's name is synonymous with desserts (albeit pricey ones).

She doesn;t want her empire to stop there. Milk Bar already has  robust sales from their site, thanks to shipping everything from her cookbooks to cookie mixes across the country.She would love to go into grocery stores.Her Chef Tosi's roots are in central Ohio and she grew up loving packaged foods like hot dogs , Doritos and ranch dressing.She wants the same popularity  for her treats.Curiously though she doesn;t want Milk Bars on every street corner like Starbucks. She could go into malls and universities though , like McDonald's and Burger King., building up an even bi gger fan base. One of her most ambitious projects will be in Manhattan's Ace Hotel. Her New York flagship store will  not only have a build your own dessert bar but also a bodega. The seed money is coming from RSE Ventures  founded in part by vice chairman of the Miami Dolphins, who also stars on Shark Tank. This is a far cry from Milk Bar's humble beginnings in the East Village. She herself is down to earth, carrying embroidery  floss with her to make spur of the moment friendship bracelets. Her main staff is mostly women who have helped other big companies succeed. Altogether they have made Milk Bar what it is today. She is like her husband, Will Guidara who is the force behind such famous restaurants as Eleven Park Avenue.

Milk Bar will be to the bakery and ice cream industry what Dairy Queen and Dunkin Donuts once were. The name will always be associated with sweet treats.  It's on its' way to becoming an American classic.