Waldy Malouf, Chef/Director of RAINBOW! became famous for food the celebrates the Hudson River Valley. He dug through archives of books, journals, and accounts of New York' s early inhabitants, only to discover, with some disappointment, that there was no one Hudson River Cuisine. He found instead unique cuisines from each group that had occupied the Hudson River Valley -- Native Americans, Dutch settlers, Germans, and Italians. In his recent Hudson River Valley Cookbook, Malouf explains "I never found a Hudson Valley cuisine, but I did find a few old recipes that used local produce and that reflected the background of the region's early settlers, mostly farmers, and a sprinkling of wealthy landowners."

While Malouf is fascinated by the history and culture of the Hudson Valley (he lives in Pound Ridge in a converted log tavern), he is a chef and not a historian. Most of the recipes he did find -- for example, the original recipe for his now-renowned onion-walnut muffins -- were "terrible." So Malouf went to work to revise and improve them, trying to remain as authentic as his palate would allow. And the results are truly delicious, as many throughout the city will attest.

Malouf learned his trade from earlier positions as chef at restaurants like La Côte Basque and The Hudson River Club, where he was executive chef. As Chef/Director of RAINBOW!, Malouf is able to combine his love of game and local ingredients like wild mushrooms, apples, and berries with traditional dishes that represent the hallmarks of American haute cuisine. A lover of foie gras, he prepares it both in cold terrines and sautéed whole lobes. He purchases his livers, however, not from the Perigord region in France, but from Ferndale in upstate New York, the site of America's only major foie gras farm. And, when he reinvents classic dishes, he always succeeds. For example, Malouf's rich interpretation of lobster thermidor helped earn The Rainbow Room a three-star rating from New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl, the highest food rating The Rainbow Room ever received.