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, recipes for such dishes as his renowned onion-walnut muffins, turned out to be "terrible," so Malouf went to work to revise and improve them, while remaining as authentic as his palate will 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 sauteed 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 re-invents 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.

Malouf's cuisine is all about linking tradition and history with sophisticated culinary techniques, organic produce, and contemporary tastes. This cooking, echoed both in Malouf's cookbook and in each seasonal menu at The Rainbow Room, is both researched and experimental, nurtured by the abundance of the Hudson Valley, the rich traditions of American fine dining, and his own bountiful vision.