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Tom Valenti was still in high school when he apprenticed to local chef Etienne Merle at L'Auberge Du Cochon Rouge in his hometown of Ithaca, New York. Stints as a private chef and pastry chef in Westchester, New York, and a chef tournant in Paris soon followed. Upon his return to the States to work at such Manhattan hotspots as Gotham Bar and Grill and Alison on Dominick, Valenti's cooking was praised by renowned New York Times food critic Ruth Reichel and Food and Wine, which named him one of the "Ten Best New Chefs" in 1990. It was during this busy time that Valenti first discovered fly-fishing as he drove along the Beaverkill River on his way to visit Ithaca. In 2001, after years of getting rave reviews at Cascabel and Butterfield 81, the "Flavor King of New York" opened his own restaurant, Ouest, which serves dishes that are "equal parts comfort food and four-star inspiration" to celebrities and neighbors on Manhattan's Upper West Side. That same year he also created Windows of Hope, a non-profit organization that has raised over $23 million for families of food-service workers killed on September 11. So while others talk passionately about his food and fund-raising, Valenti chatted with FR&R about his real passion: fly-fishing.