Congratulations to Louisa Farhat, who was recently named chef at Stewart’s (128 N. Cleveland Ave.; St. Paul; 651-645-4128; stewartsminnesota.com) in St. Paul’s Merriam Park neighborhood. We chatted with Farhat, 31, about her culinary skills and more.

What’s your first food memory? I requested breakfast for dinner for my birthday last year, so I guess that’s always been my favorite thing.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Maybe a librarian.

What was your first job in food? My very first job in food was Manning’s on Como Avenue in Minneapolis. I was a server there when I was 16. It’s super old school, and those onion rings alone are worth the trip.

How did you wind up in the restaurant business for good? It was normal progression when I was young and I was looking for a job. I started with waitressing. Then I bartended my way through college. Then I got interested in the back of the house and started baking and cooking.

Most of my career I’ve been a pastry chef and a butcher. I was in Chicago for over 10 years and places I’ve worked at include Girl & the Goat by “Top Chef” winner Stephanie Izard. I also worked at Hopleaf and Al’s Meat Market, an old school Italian butcher shop in Chicago, which was a lot of fun.

I’m from Minneapolis originally and started to really miss my family. At some point I’d like to have my own deli and Chicago is saturated. I thought now is the time to get vested into having a shot and opening something here.

I’ve done a few things since I’ve been back. I was head butcher at Eastside Co-op. I was the opening pastry chef at Augustine’s and Upton 43. Most recently I was executive pastry chef for the Lexington.

When chef/owner Max Thompson asked me to come on as head chef at Stewart’s and do full on savory dishes, it was a fun new challenge. I’ve known Max for years and it’s been a smooth transition.

What’s your favorite dish on your menu right now? I don’t want to seem too obvious, but I love my charcuterie board right now. That will always be my first love. When I go out to eat, I want to eat all the cured meats. I think the charcuterie board here is well done. It’s well crafted and exactly what I would want to eat. The charcuterie board is always changing, and right now we have a smoked lardo, chicken liver mousse and guinea hen terrine.

What’s the last thing you cooked at home? If I’m being honest, it was probably a frozen pizza.

If you had to eat or drink only five things for the rest of your life, what would they be? My Lebanese grandmother’s spinach pie. Chocolate chip cookies. Any kind of heirloom tomato. Diet Dr Pepper. Any kind of Indian food.

What’s next? Max and I have worked together before on different projects. The idea is I’ll be here to help Max so he has more time to work on other projects. Eventually, I want to open up my own deli. Ultimately, that’s my dream.