The Breads Interviews Emily Elyse Miller

The Breakfast Legend Answers Some Important Questions

This is the interview series from The Breads entitled “Cool People. Heck Yes!” where I interview people that I think are interesting (and hopefully you will too) about what they do (which makes them interesting) but also ask them whatever random shit I’m feeling at the moment to help paint a picture of who they are. As always, you can and should sign up for the newsletter here.

This week we have Emily Elyse Miller: a titan of breakfast, an original early morning savant, a pre-dawn maestro. She’s the author of Breakfast: The Cookbook and also started a BreakfastClub pop-up series hosting events to connect design and culinary minds over unique creations from some of the world’s best restaurants (Pujol, La Barbecue, Olympia Provisions, Zahav, etc). Last, and most recently she launched OffLimits, a counter-culture cereal brand for the new age. OffLimits is what made me initially interested in interviewing her. In my opinion OffLimits is not really about cereal, it’s about a person starting a brand to do all the things they’ve always wanted to do. OffLimits has an art gallery where you can buy prints to support independent artists, they sell cereal toys, they collaborate with other brands just to make something interesting. They’re not (only) concerned with ROI and other marketing mumbo-jumbo but with how to make people actually care about what they do. In other words they are cool. And here is what Emily has to say about all that.

Professional Things

First question is always a softball: Tell us who you are, where you're from and what you do?
Hiiii, I'm Emily Elyse Miller. I grew up between Hawaii and Arizona. I'm the founder/CEO of OffLimits cereal, author of the globally distributed cookbook, BREAKFAST, published by Phaidon, and founder of BreakfastClub, a global breakfast event series.

Where did this breakfast obsession come from?
My obsession with breakfast comes from what it represents to so many people. When you sacrifice sleep to make breakfast for yourself or a loved one it's the ultimate act of kindness. Whether you buy a tamale on the street on the way to work or you make yourself a bowl of cereal at home, there's something exceedingly hospitable about breakfast.

I was traveling, writing trend reports and editorial pieces about global cuisine and wanted a way to connect with the creative communities in the places I was exploring. I started my BreakfastClub event series as a way to gather people in a genuine way, over breakfast.

The chefs I was friends with at the time happened to have dinner-only tasting menu restaurants so opening their space in the morning was the perfect setting. It felt rebellious to be in a fancy restaurant during off hours and the chef preparing a family-style meal of their personal favorite breakfast dishes made it all the more conducive to creative conversion and collaboration.

I've hosted 40+ of these events around the world from Enrique Olvera's, Pujol to Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Von Hauske's Contra where I ended up meeting my now editor at Phaidon.

How did you go about getting a book deal? Asking for a friend.
It all started at BreakfastClub. I met my editor at an NYC event and we stayed in touch. Years later we had a meeting, over breakfast of course, and she commissioned a 380 recipe cookbook featuring traditional morning meals from around the world. The book took me three years to research, develop, and write with the help of over 100 people from 80 countries sharing their breakfast-making experiences.

Ok so you started this cereal company, OffLimits, what is something that other brands do in their early stages that repulses you and made you think "I never want to do this with my own company."
Culture and school systems stigmatize and romanticize the "starving artist" to set expectations of how hard it is to become successful as a creative person. The opposite mentality exists in business school where it's all about self-empowerment and financial independence.
This is why so many cookie-cutter brands are here to peddle products to communities they don't care about because they "saw a gap in the market".

In my experience raising money, those boring ideas are then rewarded. If you walk into an investor meeting looking different, talking different, and with a brand that doesn't have 30 replica brands proving success, then you're not "fundable" or my favorite, "it's too early".

It infuriates me that this is the systemic reason that there are not enough creative founders. Every art school I went to taught me how to work for someone else, but what I really learned is how to fight for what I want and to question everything.

OffLimits is rebellious in nature for this reason. We use our platform to empower young creatives by donating to school art programs and providing a voice to a new generation of founders.

How will you judge success for your company?
My marker for OffLimits success is getting fan art of the characters and being mentioned in a rap song by a famous artist.

How do you think about OffLimit's place in the consumer ecosystem?
My dream is getting compared to Ben & Jerry’s for social impact, likability, and playfulness, and Sanrio for brand architecture and iconic culture figures.

Give us a few lessons you've learned this far while starting a company that can be helpful for others starting their own, or I guess, just generally useful in everyday life.
Normalize rejection.
Wear bluelight glasses.
Don't forget to drink water.
Be empathetic.

Personal Things

This one is also a staple: you only get to eat three cuisines for the rest of you life, what you rolling with?
Middle Eastern, Hawaiian, Mexican

What children's cartoon show is best for watching as an adult? Explain your decision.
Zero hesitation, It's Spongebob. No other cartoon has seamlessly transcended generations while still somehow being relatable.

My obsession with cartoons provided major inspiration for the OffLimits characters. I wanted someone cool like Reggie from Rocket Power, unapologetically intelligent like Lisa Simpson, Tough like Sandy Cheeks, and flirty like Jessica Rabbit.

I still watch too many cartoons as an adult. Midnight Gospel, Downtown, and Cool World are some of my favorites for design inspiration.

What pop culture figure are you most embarrassed about liking?
I'm not embarrassed to like anyone. Celebrity culture isn't my thing but I'll happily admit I listen to Justin Bieber and buy bras from Skims.

What random academic thing do you know the most about? Give us an elevator synopsis on the basics.
This one stumped me. Probably impostor syndrome kicking in and me not thinking I'm an expert in anything... I'm a proper Millennial slashy with 3,000 hobbies and interests but of course can't think of one worth sharing more about.

Select your freshest non-fancy outfit for a night out on the town (provide links if you wish).
My style inspiration comes from my grandma for her matching sweatsuits and a guy in a Singapore hawker center running a shrimp stall. He had gold hoops up both ears, gold chokers, and wore pink plastic gloves while working. It was iconic.

For my matching tracksuit, I'd wear Pangaia because they're insanely comfortable and I appreciate their sustainability initiatives. I'd wear my mom and grandmas Hawaiian jewelry as tribute to the shrimp guy because it's gold and ornamented with gothic-style lettering.

The most important final question that is also a staple. If you don't want to answer I understand: What's your ideal death? As in, perfect scenario, how do you want to go out.
Beetlejuice is one of my favorite movies so I think more about what happens after you die then really contemplating how it would happen.

Finally this is a platform for you, so give me a bit about literally anything you want people to know about. It can be personal, it can be relevant to the politics of the world, it can be an argument for why you think we live in the Matrix. Anything you want.
Yes, can we please talk about crypto art? For when we all live in a Ready Player One universe, I'd like my house to be steezy af. DM me to chat more.

If you enjoyed this interview you can follow Emily on IG or even better, go buy some of her cereal over on OffLimits. Word has it she also might be raising some money for the company so if you’re an early round investor get in touch with her.

Main Image Credit Nicole Franzen

As always if you know some ballers who you think would be good for this series holler at me.

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