Gareth Rockliffe Fine Art Photography An intimate conversation with the chef whose restaurant sparked the dining renaissance of Fifth Avenue South It was Valentine's Day, 1994. Jesse Housman, age 32, was serving the first dinner in his career as a chef. He could never have imagined that one day he'd own that restaurant. Or that 32 years later, Bistro 821 would remain the longest running restaurant on Fifth Avenue South. Finding my passion "My father, a scientist, had hoped th