Happy Holidays! This is the time of year when we reminisce about beautiful things, beautiful moments, and beautiful food.

Last year for my birthday, my boyfriend organized a private dinner for me and for him in our home. I had never experienced a full course meal, prepared with only me in mind! I had tasted all my favorite flavors, and eaten my favorite foods, at my own dining room table, with my cats, and with a perfectly paired wine selection at half the cost! I totally recommend it!

Recently I discovered another chef who caters to the individual gastronomical desires of New York City's foodies. Meet Jennifer Lynn, ex science nerd, now personal chef, formerly on Daniel Boloud's payroll, and NYC deli coffee drinker.

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Misha: When did you start thinking about food as a career and how do you transition between computers and food daily? I would think that with all the time you spend in front of screen, the last thing you'd want to do is cook an eight course meal.

In my senior year of college, a friend and I decided we should forgo the typical job search and open a restaurant. We had cooked several large-scale dinner parties for our housemates, and we thought, "This is easy. We can start a restaurant." Luckily, our parents told us this was a terrible idea. "Give it a bit of time," they said. They thought I'd get over it. I joined a scientific research group that is currently building a supercomputer to do computational chemistry research. I thought I would spend my whole life in the scientific realm! But with time, I found myself growing increasingly enraptured by the gastronomic realm; I regularly caught myself wishing I were wearing whites, and so I sought out to apprentice in a kitchen to find out what it feels like to actually wear them. It felt really good.

Misha: Which culinary school did you attend or are you self taught?

I never attended culinary school, though I couldn't say I'm self-taught, either. I've learned from my parents and grandparents, Daniel and his brigade, my cheesemonger, my fishmonger, my butcher, Careme, Larousse, Child, Beck, Beard, and Fisher, to mention a few.

Misha: What is the very first restaurant you worked in?

I took a high school summer job as a hostess at Planet Hollywood. I believe it had the billing as "world's busiest restaurants" or something similar, so we were kept on our toes, moderating long table wait times and entertaining whiny kids exhausted from the theme parks.

Misha: Did you have an internship?

While I was transitioning from science to the culinary realm, I spent every Saturday for 14 months in the kitchen at Daniel. I learned invaluable lessons from Daniel, his chefs, and my peers. Primarily, I became aware of the dedication required to run and work the line of one of the world's finest restaurants. It sounds hyperbolic, but it is not: working at this restaurant changed my life forever.

Misha: What do you stock pile in your pantry or fridge?

I always seem to have cheese from Anne Saxelby's shop in the Essex Street Market, and if I'm lucky, caviar and smoked salmon from Russ & Daughters. I like to have a few bottles of wine on hand - I do most of my wine buying at Discovery Wine, where Scott and Matt have spent countless hours working with me to pair wines with my menus, and have come to know my tastes well. I also make a lot of ice-cream and sorbet, so my freezer always has a few flavors. I think I have some salt-caramel in there now, and a friend brought me some incredibly fragrant vanilla beans from Madagascar, so I made vanilla and white pepper ice-cream yesterday. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, go buy one now!

Misha: What do you eat for breakfast?

I start each morning with a large black coffee from my corner bodega. It's just strong, straightforward, drip coffee that costs $1.25. The guy behind the counter incorrectly calls me Jessica, and laughs every single day when I pay him with a handful of change. I spend most Sunday mornings at ‘Inoteca, lingering for a few hours over The Times with a fennel, speck, and egg panino, and a Lambrusco. I love Sundays.

Misha: What was the last menu you offered up as a personal chef? What were the requirements?

My most recent clients were two sets of parents whose children had given them a gift certificate for a dinner by me as a thank you for their wedding. Both families own restaurants in New York!

Misha: Do you remember the first thing you learned to make?

I have very fond memories of rolling meatballs with my Grandma Sally in her kitchen as a teeny little girl. I can't tell you the recipe. It's a heavily-guarded family secret.

Misha: Which celebrity chef would you like to cook for and what would you make them?

M. F. K. Fisher, but only if I would be invited to eat and drink with her. She was not really a celebrity chef, but certainly a celebrity gastronome, and someone I take great influence and inspiration from culinarily. We would, of course, start by slurping raw oysters. The entire menu would be a lavish celebratory feast of game, truffles, pates, caviar, fresh market produce, cheeses, chocolate, and wine. Off the top of my head, I'm imagining salmon with soft boiled quail eggs and caviar, slow-braised rabbit with rosemary and orange, pheasant with truffles and morels, chocolate with chestnuts, musty raw cheeses smuggled in from France, and so much more.

You can find Jennifer Lynn on FoodCandy or on her website, www.jennifer-lynn.net.