Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Miller.
Hi Whitney, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
At twelve-years old I knew I wanted to be a pastry chef. I began teaching myself how to make croissants, profiteroles, and more. Fast forward to graduating high school. I looked into culinary school but it was expensive. I also received a scholarship to play tennis my first two years of college as well as academic scholarships. I chose to go that route but I had to figure out a career that dealt with food to major in. I decided to pursue being a dietitian because I was also passionate about health and food.
During my senior year of college, I decided I didn’t want to be a dietitian and to pursue being a chef again. I had catered two weddings before and I loved making people’s occasions special. I decided to finish college as a nutrition major and then open a catering business. It was the beginning of my last semester in college that I came across auditions for MasterChef, reality cooking show. One of the audition sites was New Orleans which wasn’t far from me. I thought this would be my chance to begin my career as a chef. The winnings could help me pursue my dream. I ended up being chosen to compete on the show. I showcased my talent of making amazing desserts on the show and my fellow contestants deemed me as the “Pastry Princess.” I won the first season of Fox’s MasterChef and am still the youngest that has won at the age of 22.
After winning, I wrote my first cookbook focusing on a fresh take on Southern cuisine as well as amazing desserts.
I was given the opportunity to travel the world cooking and speaking about my culinary journey.
One item I made at special events was my brownie cookie. I created a recipe for it in my second cookbook, New Southern Table. People raved over this cookie at the Dancing with the Stars afterparty and at the Tim Tebow Foundation gala.
A family friend who loved my brownie cookie, suggested I start a cookie company and that he would buy my cookies to ship to his clients. I was hesitant at first because I could do anything and why just narrow myself down to cookies. I prayed over it and the Lord continued to lead me to cookies. I tested recipes for months. I wanted to create the BEST cookies. It was important to me that the dough had lots of flavor. I only used real ingredients which makes a difference.
Whitney’s cookies was born the end of 2019 and I began shipping in January 2020.
I’ve since shipped all over the U.S. including Puerto Rico. I opened my first retail location in the end of September 2023. I am currently working on opening two more locations, one in the Arcade in downtown Nashville and the other in Spring Hill, TN.
I am so excited for what the future holds with my cookie company.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ve definitely encountered obstacles with figuring out packaging for shipping. I have changed my shipping boxes three times since I started shipping.
When I opened my first store, the timing was less than ideal. I had just had my third child a few months before. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity though for a store in downtown Franklin when the space came available.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Our cookies are big, 5-ounce cookies. We specialize in the flavor of our dough. It’s important to me that the cookie itself without any of the mix-ins tastes amazing. I use real ingredients and special ingredients to achieve this.
We don’t use any dyes or artificial flavors in our dough.
We make our own fillings and toppings. We even make our own marshmallows for our s’mores cookie.
Each month we release two specialty flavors including almond croissant, lemon crinkle, pumpkin chocolate chip, cherry cheesecake and more.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was shy growing up which I’ll touch on more in a minute. I was also passionate about cooking. I always wanted to be in the kitchen. My great grandmother and mom taught me to cook. My great grandmother fueled my passion for cooking at a young age. I watched how she made people happy through her food. She taught me to make Southern dishes like gumbo, roast and gravy, biscuits, lemon meringue pie and more.
It was in my first year of college that the Lord began working on my confidence in speaking in front of people. Speech class pushed me to speak in front of people and be more comfortable doing it. I actually enjoyed it! I also grew that year in my self confidence. I became less shy. This continued throughout my college years. It was very beneficial because for MasterChef, I had to be able to cook and talk on camera.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://whitneyscookies.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitneyscookies/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/whitneyscookies/
