I first met Emily Alben on my birthday. I had started a new job and was thrown a small birthday lunch at the office. The second she walked in the door, in an angelic flowy dress and clogs, I stg sunshine followed. Emily is both celestial and incredibly down to earth. She has a calming energy that can make stressful moments (and hey! we worked together!!) feel serene. That day, she baked a heavenly (she’s an angel after all) Persian Love Cake. I ate half of it and stole the rest to devour in the privacy of my home.
We worked on completely different teams but I chased any opportunity to work with Emily, often shooting her (duh she’s gorgeous) and making her bake (because 1. we worked at a cookware brand and 2. I wanted to eat it). After she left the job we were at, we’ve continued to hang—from casting her in more shoots (She’s! So! Perfect!!!!) to a trip to visit Ojai (where she’s been living). Naturally, she took me to all the best restaurants and I made her take shrooms. Fun was had by all.
If you’re local to LA, you’ve probably tried some of Emily’s (aka @almondmilkmaiden) baked goods (or know someone who has) at any of the hot pop ups that have become such a fixture of the LA food scene. And if you’re even somewhat interested in California cuisine, you’ve definitely heard of her brother’s restaurant, Pinyon, where she has a hand in developing pastries and offering fun seasonal bakes throughout the year.
Emily is beautiful. She is talented (baking! photography! being extremely hot!) She is Smart. And she’s just really, really cool. She is one of those people that everyone loves—yes they exist and Emily is their queen. And yet, she, too, is in Limbo. But! Like everything about Emily, there is a lightness and joy to figuring it all out. Read on for words of wisdom from the angel herself.
Isadora: So, let's just start with you introducing yourself.
Emily: My name is Emily Alben. I am a baker, influencer, and sometimes model that lives in Ojai, California.
I: You are such a ~vibe~. The brand is strong. I’m curious about your early life. What were your interests and passions?
E: I was born in LA but grew up in Seattle. My parents moved out there when I was two, but I still kept that connection to Los Angeles through family. They moved to Seattle for more opportunity, and they wanted the space to give us (me and my brother) a more low key childhood, especially with access to nature. We had a little cabin on Whidbey Island where we didn't have TV or internet. We would unwind, explore and just have this rich, imaginative free time. So that was definitely formative. I did theater starting when I was three or four years old, and even though I was so shy, I instantly loved it. Being able to escape into these stories. And the costumes. I think it taught me a lot of work ethic and discipline, always being in rehearsals and sometimes in multiple plays at once. It let me engage in creativity, which always seemed to come naturally to me and I was lucky to have the support to cultivate.
I: And now you’re obviously creative through baking and content. But how did you get here?
E: It's been very circuitous. I went to Sarah Lawrence for college. I was devastated that I hadn't gotten into NYU for theater, but that was very much for the best and allowed me to explore other areas and find something that was a little bit more fitting. So I was like, I'll take a break and see what else is out there. I started studying film photography, which is the medium that really clicked and where I could record what I was discovering about the world in those formative years. I also started spending my summers back in LA and working for this vintage store called The Loved One, that sadly no longer exists. I found them on Tumblr and I was like, who are these girls who are making this magic through clothes. So I thought I could apply what I was learning in photography to that. That's been a theme where I've been attracted to a group that I see online or a group of women or people working for a particular company, and somehow those are the people who end up really being in my life and my friends.
I: What happened when you graduated?
E: I started working for The Loved One. I was a classic shop girl, but then started shooting their look books, working as a buyer at a rag house in Gardena, and throwing in store events. I started modeling for them too, which wasn't something I was initially very comfortable with, but it helped me to find my style and I loved working with other photographers. I was always split between doing what I felt like my passion was whether it was photography or working in fashion in a more traditional way but then starting to work for startups (a lot of failed ones). So it was always navigating what i was doing for work versus what I'm doing creatively and then eventually not feeling as connected to photography because of the compromises I was always being asked to make.
I: Ok but like how are you so good at baking?!
Emily: Throughout my life, I always did bake in some capacity. I even briefly ran a bakery from my college dorm room and had a friend comment that I should drop out and make cakes. And honestly maybe I should have! It would be something where if I was in between work, I would start baking and being able to offer that and then realizing, oh, this kind of combines all of my interests, being able to infuse that creativity and aesthetic and also my pov. It was right before the pandemic where I was like, okay, I'm going to launch almondmilkmaiden and start doing these popups and custom orders and see where it goes. That just felt like when everything really came together in terms of what I had learned from wherever I'd worked and the things that I had done creatively, and it was also when the pandemic hit, so I could do it from home. That was right when I started at Our Place too. I was stoked to be in more of that food realm and be supported, not only to just do my job in CX but also work with you and Cristala sharing recipes for various holidays. But I was truly baking before work, during work, after work. So that really kind of set me on the path that I am on now.
I: What is the path now?
E: I'm definitely in a transition right now, so it hasn't totally become clear, but I feel like I'm starting to get excited about certain things coming through.Two and a half years ago, I moved to Ojai when my brother was opening a restaurant called Pinyon because I was aching for a change from my life in LA. I had lived there for almost 10 years and just felt like my relationship with it had changed so much where I was no longer inspired. I had spent a lot of time in Ojai and I was attracted to the slower pace of life and access to nature. The creative part of almondmilkmaiden was starting to outweigh my nine to five where I felt like I was getting a lot more opportunities and there was starting to be things that I had to say no to because I had work.
I: I think it’s amazing that you went out on your own and pursued something you love and are SO fucking good at.
E: That's really what I've done the past two years now. It’s a mix of baking, pre-orders for like a hundred pies during the holidays, and now it’s mostly popups and events. I'll bring stuff from Pinyon, I'll bring my own stuff that I'm baking too. It’s been a really cool way to connect with the communities in Ventura and Santa Barbara. It's also brought me back to LA in this interesting way that I wasn't necessarily expecting. I balance that out with a mix of brand partnerships, which tends to be more on the fashion end of things, and some modeling too.
I: There are a lot of chefs and bakers, and I've always been really attracted to what you make. Obviously it's fucking delicious, but also you have a very distinct style and approach to baking. So, what is almondmilkmaiden—what does it mean to you and how do you hope others engage with it?
E: The first word that comes to mind is abundance. There's definitely a component of seasonality too. People ask me about almondmilkmaiden and they're like, oh, is it vegan? To me, it's more that almondmilkmaiden is a play on the classic idea of the milk maiden and how that can be interpreted in modern day and on the internet, but also very grounded. My hope is that people will be inspired by what I make but also demystify the recipe development process and feel like they can make it their own.
I: How do you approach creativity in baking?
E: I love coming up with different flavor combinations. I love incorporating herbalism. Recently I've been doing these imaginary menus from movies where I create a menu based on the movie and see what I'm inspired by—whether it's the time period or the costuming or something that they actually make in the movie. How can I bring that into my own vision too.
I: What’s an example!
E: For Valentine's Day, I did The Way We Were just because it’s one of my all time faves and I didn't really realize how much food is actually featured throughout the movie, but I feel like from a Jewish perspective too, it makes sense. Barbra is trying to win his love through his stomach, which I definitely do too. She makes steak and pie and I was like, well what kind of pie would I want to make? I landed on a lemon meringue pie and braised short ribs, and it’s been a good exercise thinking about the whole menu versus just sweet since I love to cook savory food at home too.
I: So I know you said it was a transition period for you when you moved to Ojai and also now. What are you feeling?
E: I’m absolutely in a limbo state. It was so funny when you reached out, I was just like, well, that's exactly where I am right now. But I think it is so much about how you navigate moving through that and I guess the energetics of why. It was through these popups in LA I've done and connecting with more creatives there, I realized I want to move back. I feel like it'll hopefully be the best of both worlds, but it almost just felt like this cycle of my life was coming to an end, where I did everything I was meant to here
I: What’s next?
E: I’ve had the space to go on this healing journey, I quit my job, I started working for myself full time, but now I've been feeling like I want to be back out in the world a little bit more and I feel like there's more opportunities for collaboration and mentorship. I know I'll always bake, I'll always share what I’m excited about on the internet. But part of that growth is realizing where I’m feeling constrained, and I’m really looking forward to having my own place that I can bake and develop recipes and shoot out of. But right now I’m in the middle of a more traditional job search, where I can apply what I've learned the past few years working for myself to another company —looking more into food media/pr, and DTC brands that I've been really attracted to. I've done a lot of diverse things in the past couple of years that I feel like I can apply to a company with a broader impact.
I: You've worked for other companies before and then you left Our Place to do your own thing. A lot of people that I've talked to have done both also and some people have made the switch to go back. What’s your take on the pros and cons of each?
E: It does vary throughout the years based on whatever your individual needs are. Right now, I’m craving more security. But, I’m trying to find the right fit that's going to be more aligned with my interests. I’m definitely not a girl boss and it’s been hard to try and generate everything myself or know where to direct my attention that will have a monetary pay off. I think a lot about the idea of the maiden itself where there's kind of those archetypical stages of life for women. It starts with something very virginal then to the maiden then to mother then to crone. I'm trying to move towards the mother, but I've been feeling stuck in that maiden part of my life. It has been very fruitful and filled with so many things that I love, but I’m craving more flow and hopefully moving into that next phase.
“What do I want from myself? I don't know! I think in a way it is the life that I'm living—a life that continues to be filled by my passions. So, whether it's baking or traveling, or just the beauty in my day to day life, I'm always seeking adventure and balance.”
I: A big value of Limbo is this idea of inspiration over competition. Is there a brand or a person or, even a thing, a restaurant, whatever, that you think is out in the world doing cool things that is fueling you?
E: Doing the popups, I've been meeting so many other creators and makers. It only adds to what I do. This past year, I met the girls who do Flowerhead Tea through these popups and they've become really close friends. Kendall and Karina, they're opening a shop in Eagle Rock this year, and Im obsessed the product (especially their chai). We've been working on a little recipe zine together using teas in my baked goods. I’ve been a longtime stan of Fish Wife and actually helped test their beta boxes before they launched. Seeing how the brand has blown up around something as simple as tinned fish and how that’s gone hand in hand with these curated shoppy shops cropping up is fascinating to me. My pal Sasha, who is a baker in LA too, she bakes for Canyon.
I: I was literally just there interviewing two other people for Limbo. We got the cinnamon bun SO good.
E: She's such a talented baker. She always does these long IG story posts from the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. I'm like, oh, now I know what's in season and what I can look for or look forward to. A lot of my imposter syndrome has been around not having been an official pastry chef or had the classic pastry experience. I feel like I kind of toe this line between home baker and professional pastry chef. I do like having that niche for myself, but I feel like when I see people who've really been doing it for years and come out of that more traditional experience, it is a different way of engaging with the medium. But, both are valid.
I: What would you tell someone who has imposter syndrome or struggling and feeling paralyzed to move forward?
E: It is so important to know that we're all in it together. That always gives me comfort. Be honest about your experience instead of trying to keep it under wraps. This winter was a really rough hibernation period where I was just like, what is this all going to add up to? I was doing a lot of work in therapy and this deep excavation that was hard to sit with. I had enough trust in myself to know there is a vision and it was as soon as springtime hit, it was just like, okay, everything's kind of coming together. What I've gotten out of it, and historically too, is resiliency. That's the theme I've been trying to focus on lately—cultivating that resilience and inner strength. There's never been a point where I’m like, okay, now I've achieved these things, so now I have everything that I want. It's much more about the journey for me and figuring things out along the way, It's not just about having these things we think we want, and I feel like for me over the years, I’ve always been dismantling that idea.
I: Ok! Last question. What do you want for yourself?
E: What do I want from myself? I don't know! I think in a way it is the life that I'm living—a life that is continued to be filled by my passions. So, whether it's baking or traveling, or just the beauty in my day to day life, I'm always seeking adventure and balance. Whatever I'm doing creatively will always be a reflection of that—being able to honor that inner work in a way and how that presents to the rest of the world. Living an authentic life is what people seem to really connect to, and especially having a following over the years, people have always reflected back to me that my inner confidence can be an inspiration just by showing up however I am in that moment.