Chef David has been passionately interested in food, restaurants, and the craft of cooking all his life. After graduating from City College, having majored in biology, he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a chef. He enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, at the same time working at various restaurants, both upstate and in Manhattan. Before completing the course, David was offered a sous-chef position in an Upper East Side French restaurant, La Petite Ferme, and left school to work there.

In 1979, after two years at La Petite Ferme, David, and his wife Karen, opened Chanterelle restaurant in Soho, which was then a fringe neighborhood. The Waltucks were among a small group of young chefs and restaurateurs creating a unique and distinctly American style of food and service, revolutionary then, today the standard.

During the course of its thirty year run, David and his restaurant, Chanterelle, received many accolades, including two four-star reviews from the New York Times, four James Beard Foundation awards (Best Chef New York City, Best Service, Best Wine Service, and Best Restaurant U.S.A.), and consistent top ratings for food and service from the Zagat guide. In addition to operating Chanterelle at an extraordinarily high level, David opened a bistro, Le Zinc, also in Tribeca, acted as consultant for the opening of Macao Trading Company, and wrote two successful books, “Staff Meals at Chanterelle”, and “Chanterelle-the Story and Recipes of a Restaurant Classic ”.

After Chanterelle’s closing in 2009, David accepted a position as corporate Executive Chef at Ark Restaurants Inc., which operates restaurants in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and Las Vegas.

In his role as executive chef, David was involved in opening Ark restaurants, writing menus, creating and testing recipes, hiring and training kitchen staff, and supervising kitchen design, in addition to overseeing operations at the twenty existing Ark restaurants.

In June of 2014, David opened elan, a small, casual restaurant on east 20th street. Though reviews were very good, elan was not a financial success, and closed in March of 2016.

In June of 2016, David joined the faculty of I.C.E. (the Institute of Culinary Education), as Director of Culinary Affairs, where he enjoyed sharing his knowledge and experience with a new generation of aspiring cooks.

After leaving I.C.E. in May of 2019, David has pursued a number of other projects, consulting for various restaurants, and collaborating with the Small Business Service to develop and launch a culinary arts initiative in underserved New York City communities. In addition he has taught for Columbia University’s community outreach program and begun work on a new book.