Her Story
About Jenny
I've been working in astrology for 55 years, since I was about 14 years old. I remember being really young and reading Gene Dixon's horoscopes and saying, one day when I grow up, I'm gonna do that. I moved to New York City as a single mother and was building musical instruments - I was the only female musical instrument builder on the East Coast and won New York State Crafts Council of the Arts Awards. Then I decided I was tired of working with table saws and wanted to open a cafe, hoping my musician friends would be there to play and have fun. It grew into a 70-seat restaurant that became known as a champion of breakfast for being the first farm-to-table breakfast in New York City back in the 70s. This was 1978, and it was unheard of - there were only a handful of chefs outside of Julia Child, so I was an innovator when it comes to being a professional chef. We did natural foods and had everybody in the East Village before they were famous - Keith Haring was there every single day, along with Basquiat, John Laurie, Philip Glass, Bill Murray, and so many others. As an astrologer, I had a talk show in New York City and wrote internationally syndicated columns for Conde Nast publications like Glamour and Allure. I work mostly word of mouth now and see my clients on Zoom. I have my own publishing company called Kitchen Alchemy Press with quite a few astrology books, and I'm working on several cookbooks. I've been a private chef out in the Hamptons for 35 years, working on an oceanfront estate for the same family with VIP clients coming to the house all the time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jenny
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'm very persistent, I'm very grounded - I'm a Leo with some Taurus. I help people a lot. People come to me when they're down and out, they're unhappy, they have big decisions to make, and I help them go through it. Sometimes I have to tell them to wait, and sometimes hurry up, but it doesn't matter - it's wise advice. I really focus on being there for my clients and giving them the guidance they need at the right time.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
For young chefs, there are so many young women chefs now that I meet them all over the place, and I don't think I have to give them any advice - they figured it out. They're winning all the awards, it's really good. I was a chef when the boys made fun of me. Mayor Koch's chef said women do not belong in the kitchen. The boys from other restaurants would come over and laugh at me and say, what are you doing? I grew up in a time where it wasn't acceptable. These girls, they got it made - they can go to culinary school, they can have their shows on Food Network. I don't really have to help them, they know how to help themselves. For young astrologers, my advice is to try to take it easier. The problem is that everything's moving fast now. The boomers had more time - we had time to actually read the books and study the charts. You never expect to know everything in your 20s. It takes a while to master it, to look at the charts and live through it, get what they call the lived experience. You can't find all the answers in the book, and you certainly can't find them by copying people. I think it's important to listen to older people. Listen to your elders.
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