Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi didn’t set out to become a dessert icon. She just knew that if there was one thing she’d like to do every day for the rest of her life, it was baking cookies. That instinct led her from the world of New York City fine dining to the early days of Momofuku, where David Chang pushed Christina to pursue her passion for baking.

Since then, Milk Bar has become synonymous with cereal milk ice cream and compost cookies, and Christina herself has won two James Beard awards, written numerous cookbooks, and turned Milk Bar into a cultural phenomenon.

In this episode, recorded live at the Charter Workplace Summit in NYC, Christina shares the ingredients behind Milk Bar’s success: a strong work ethic inherited from her parents, a sense of childlike wonder that she’s never lost sight of, and a soundtrack – from Bob Marley to LCD Soundsystem – that reminds her to lose herself, find herself, and keep creating.

Here are her songs:

The Beatles, “A Hard Day’s Night”
Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”
Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Waiting in Vain”
LCD Soundsystem, “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House”

Listen to Christina Tosi’s ⁠full playlist on Spotify⁠. Find the transcript of this episode at ⁠lifeinsevensongs⁠.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ⁠lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com⁠.

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