From Hillel Dinners to Michelin Kitchens
Mlodinow grew up in the Los Angeles area with parents who cooked. His father, Leonard Mlodinow, a theoretical physicist and bestselling author who co-wrote books with Stephen Hawking, made savory dishes while his mother baked. The family also explored the cuisines of the nearby San Gabriel Valley.
His family gave him the freedom to explore food and other interests, along with a strong work ethic and an appreciation for the little pleasures of daily life. He watched his father publish bestselling books, his mother launch an advertising business, and his stepmother build a career in real estate.
“They worked hard, kicked ass, took names, and set examples without saying anything,” he said of his family. “They dove into the deep end. That was the mentality I took into my career. Any pressure was internal.”
At San Diego State University, Mlodinow started cooking for himself, then for his roommate, and eventually for a much larger crowd. His involvement with SDSU Hillel led to Shabbat dinners that drew more than 100 guests. He took inspiration from family outings to craft menus that bridged Chinese ingredients and Ashkenazi Jewish fare, serving dishes like egg drop matzo ball soup. The connection between cooking and community clicked for him at those dinners, and he suspects his Jewish heritage helped shape it.
“Maybe it’s subconscious where the Jewish faith ties back to breaking bread together, celebrating victories, or mourning losses,” Mlodinow said. “Win or lose, we eat. It must have had an effect on how I view the world.”
After college, Mlodinow moved to Chicago and began hosting pop-up dinners. A friend who worked at The Alinea Group attended one, watched him cook and work the room, and offered to help arrange a stage at Alinea. Mlodinow went on to stage at Smyth, Oriole, Schwa, and Blackbird, absorbing different kitchen philosophies, ways of organizing work, and creative approaches along the way.
His first paid kitchen job was at Michelin-starred Sepia, where he spent just under a year working the garde manger station under chef Andrew Zimmerman and learning to break down fish and whole animals. He later trained at Temporis under chef Troy Jorge.
“I’ve had Peking duck served tableside and other fancy meals, but you walk into a Michelin-starred restaurant and it’s a different level,” he said. “The format and ingredients and balance and power of flavor and visual of how they plate it? That’s art. You’re showing me the greatest version of what can happen. The entire experience is what attracted me.”
As Mlodinow hosted more pop-up dinners, his confidence grew. There was no single moment when he decided to become a chef, he said, but each dinner made a professional future feel more possible.
“I saw myself get better,” he said. “That’s a rare moment. You get caught up on trying to be better and practicing, that you don’t see yourself getting better. But then I saw my food get better. That grew confidence.”
As the pop-ups drew more guests, some began asking Mlodinow if he was looking for investors. One guest who kept coming back was Shreena Amin, a Northwestern alum with more than a decade of experience in tech. She and Mlodinow became friends over their shared love of food and eventually decided to open a restaurant together. Amin took the lead on financing and operations while also working with Mlodinow to shape the dining experience.
“I learned how to save money, a P&L sheet, market research: these are usually the really hard things for a chef to do,” he said. “Do I understand that stuff? Yes. Do I like it? No, but my business partner is kick ass at it, and when she speaks to me about that, I understand what she’s talking about.”
So the two bought and renovated a Bucktown building and opened Class Act, a three-room experience anchored by the 16-seat communal table beneath a sculptural gold light. Beside the table is the open kitchen, where Mlodinow works in his signature black chef’s coat.
