When I first met Aleksis Kalnins, I was writing a First Look story for Broadsheet about Molli. It was the afternoon of the soft opening and Aleks took me on a super fast tour of the kitchen, restaurant and up to the rooftop to admire the raised garden beds. He talked about the food he liked to cook and his vision for the restaurant and I knew I had to come back and hear more once Molli was up and running. In between times I went in to Molli with friends and I loved every single dish we ordered for lots of reasons: flavour, texture and aesthetic. The dining room has a great vibe and I will always love warm brick with good art and beautiful furniture, but it’s the food that counts and you are absolutely in good hands with Aleks. Aleks is a spreadsheet guy. He has a lot of ideas and he puts them together, along with the orchestration of them in spreadsheets, anticipating the flow and the way dishes will work with other dishes and how the while operation will sing. Because, for Aleks, it’s about diner experience. One of his hobbies is eating out, so he is well aware of what it means to be on the other side and the tingles he gets from service is all about bringing it all together for the ultimate diner experience. I love that.