“Don’t wait for the ‘right’ moment or picture-perfect way to celebrate,” chef Christina Tosi writes in her latest book, an upbeat manifesto called Dessert Can Save the World. “Just start. Do it now.” With the tidy practicality of a pastry titan, she supplies a list of 10 suggestions. “A great haircut” is one. Another is “A first: the first female vice president, the first day of June, baby’s first belly laugh, your first big screw-up in a new job (got that over with!).” You can say it with flowers or toast with martinis, but Tosi—the woman who catapulted cereal milk into fine dining and went on to found the bakery empire Milk Bar—is adamant that “dessert is the ultimate vehicle for celebration. I’m so sure of this that I’ve staked my entire life’s work on it.”
Last week, the occasion was the White House Easter Egg Roll, and Tosi brought the requisite fanfare, demoing Milk Bar’s Birthday Truffle Crumb Cake for a rotating crowd of families. The chef’s own mother and one-year-old daughter were in tow, with toddler sartorial advice dispensed by her husband, Will Guidara: “I think we’ve got to get her a dress. If someone takes a picture of her, she’s [one day] going to be like, ‘Why am I in spandex that have avocado mushed into the knees?’” Tosi recounts with a laugh. The two-time James Beard Award winner is no stranger to high-profile experiences (she hosts the Netflix reality series Bake Squad), but there was a shared thrill in the air. “Jimmy Fallon had come to read one of his story books, and I was stuffing my face with a croissant, running out to go teach another class,” Tosi says. “And he’s like, ‘Dude, we’re at the White House!’ You’re an adult but also a kid again.”
What’s the recipe for remaining a “die-hard optimist,” as Tosi calls herself in the book? It takes practice, she writes, to weather the daily slumps and world catastrophes. A sense of wonder and experimentation helps keep her going. So does a prodigious intake of water, as seen in this wellness diary, which chronicles the wrap of the upcoming Bake Squad season (expected in late summer) and two busy travel days. Tosi squeezes in a run; there is ginger tea to offset her Milk Bar cookie tastings. And, true to form, she tinkers in the kitchen, brainstorming how she could perk up a pie. “We create these unrealistic expectations for ourselves,” she tells me, “as opposed to being like, ‘What is in your brilliant, beautiful pantry and imagination right now?’ That’s when you start to operate with that [sense of]: ‘Oh, what if I have everything I need?’ Literally and metaphorically.”
Friday, February 25
5:10 a.m.: Every morning, I challenge (read: force) myself to drink a ton of water. Before I let myself enjoy a beloved cup of hot coffee, I crush two 32-oz. fills. At first blush it feels like a chore, but really, it makes me feel like a million dollars first thing, which is why I keep at it.
My husband made me a giant Nalgene water bottle that says “TT’S Hair Salon” on it. (My family/friend joke through quarantine was: If it all goes belly up, my early retirement plan would be to have a hair salon where I cut his hair, his friends’ hair, my own hair, I do infant manicures, dog nail clips, dog washes, and usually have something baking in the oven to feed you when your “treatment” is done.) He made me an obnoxious water bottle to remind me 1. to drink water and 2. that I have a pretty fabulous back-up plan —one that makes me smile and assures me, even on my most challenging day, I am going to be fine, better than fine.
Courtesy of Christina Tosi.
5:30 a.m.: I have to get in the car soon for a 6 a.m. call to the East Coast and head to set, but I need to wake up a little more and get my brain in the right place. I do some planks, squats, and stretches while my well-deserved hot coffee brews. Even when I don’t have time to go for an hour run (my preferred mode of exercise), I can still find myself by engaging my body and challenging it if only for a few minutes. On a day like today it feels like I have less time than ever—but finding a few minutes for this makes me a happier, healthier, more patient and present person.
6:30 a.m.: This is our last day of filming Bake Squad season two! We start early and bake into the evening. I’ve arrived at my trailer, ready to cannonball into whatever eggy delight the Crafty truck is cooking up for breakfast. I don’t eat breakfast on the regular (in part because I am not great at planning meals for myself, and in part because I would never slow down to eat on my own in NYC). Today is a farewell to that short-lived breakfast ritual. It’s scrambled eggs with caramelized onions, cheese, mushrooms, and spinach. No one’s mad at that. Plus, I know the rest of my day is basically eating dessert, so I’ve got to pay it forward with “real food.”