Our Story

In 2005, Mindy Segal opened her first restaurant, HotChocolate, after years of honing her craft in some of Chicago’s finest restaurants, including Charlie Trotter’s, Ambria, Marché and MK. Over 15 years, Hot Chocolate became a beloved neighborhood restaurant, both with diners and media alike. Notably, she was a five-time nominee and in 2012, was selected as the “Outstanding Pastry Chef” in the country by the esteemed James Beard Foundation. Her best selling cookbook “Cookie Love” was released in the spring of 2015, and Mindy has appeared on The Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show, The Food Network, and in the pages of Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and the New York Times.

Always evolving, in 2016 Mindy partnered with Cresco Labs, Illinois’ largest cannabis cultivator, and has reinvented the cannabis-infused sweets industry with her new product line. Segal is the premier pastry chef lending her talents to this budding industry; for more information on these artisanal edibles, please visit Mindy’s Edibles. February 26, 2018 was named “Mindy Segal Day” in an official proclamation by the city of Chicago and fun fact - HotChocolate was the correct answer to a Jeopardy question.

After the pandemic hit in 2020, Hot Chocolate closed to morph into weekend bakery pop-ups, where she’s gone back to her roots, filling the neighborhood with the delicious scents of yeast, sugar, flour and more. In summer of 2022, Mindy officially opened Mindy’s Bakery in Wicker Park, where she and her staff continue to work on their craft daily.

Executive Pastry Chef: Bo Durham
Head Pastry Chef: Karen Gizowski