After Chanterelle And Élan, David Waltuck Joins The Institute Of Culinary Education As Its Culinary Affairs Director

David Waltuck, the prominent New York City chef who ran Chanterelle — a revered temple of French gastronomy — for three decades before it closed in 2009, has joined the staff of the Institute of Culinary Education, as the school's first director of culinary affairs.

Waltuck, who was forced to close his beloved flagship after a planned renovation never saw the light of day, returned to the kitchen in 2012, with Élan, which on its best nights, evoked the magic of his first restaurant.

However, in March 2016, Waltuck announced that Élan too would close, for mostly economic reasons. "We have a small restaurant, and it has not generated the level of business we had anticipated," the chef told the New York Times in a frank interview.

In his new role, Waltuck will train culinary students as a chef instructor, as well as serve as a mentor and valuable connection between students and New York's top restaurants as they seek externship placements. As culinary affairs director, Waltuck will also be in charge of keeping the school's curriculum at pace with the restaurant industry's high and changing standards. Waltuck will also teach in ICE's School of Professional Development and School of Recreational Cooking.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to share the knowledge and experience I have gathered in my forty-year career as a chef with a new generation of aspiring professionals," Waltuck said in a statement. "I have chosen to work with ICE because the program is excellent, the new facilities are state of the art and, most important, the instructors and administrators are experienced and deeply committed."