Francis Derby Takes the Reins at The Halyard at Sound View Greenport

He’s got national, international, and most importantly, local cooking pedigrees.

Chef Francis Derby has taken over as culinary director at The Halyard at Sound View Greenport, located on County Road 48. For Sound View’s properties, it’s all in the name; Sound View directly overlooks the Long Island Sound, right from the north end of the North Fork.

“It’s been a few months,” Derby said. “We got a lot of big plans. And I’m excited about this menu. I’m excited about this menu because it’s based in seafood, which is my absolute love.”

Derby was born into Long Island culinary royalty, as he is the grandson of Lou Gallo, the owner of the long gone Gallo Duck Farm. Gallo closed in 1987, but was an integral part of Long Island’s duck farming heritage. Only one farm – Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue – remains as a holdout of that heritage, and when it was threatened earlier this year by a bird flu outbreak, Derby and others helped lead an effort to raise money to save Crescent.

“I would go to that farm to pick up ducks, and I was always Lou Gallo’s grandson to them,” Derby said. “Once I got the news of that, I pulled together a whole bunch of chefs and we did a big fundraiser for them and raised a bunch of money for their staff. And it looks like they have officially turned the corner.”

But being part of the Gallo legacy was only the beginning of Derby’s culinary career. At age 14, Derby got a job washing dishes at Barney’s in Brookhaven, his uncle’s restaurant. It was at that age he made up his mind on what he wanted to do: cook.

“At the time you’re 14, you rarely get that stuff,” Derby said. “But I’m like, ‘Wait, so you just, you can do this for a living, like cook food, and that’s, that’s what you do? I jumped in right then and there.”

By 18, he was juggling jobs at multiple restaurants and had his sights set on Manhattan. After a brief stint in Jersey City, he landed roles with renowned chefs like Paul Liebrandt and Wiley Dufresne, becoming part of the opening team at the influential WD~50. His path took him to Spain’s celebrated Mugaritz before returning to New York to help open restaurants such as Gilt, Taylor, and Momofuku Ssam Bar. Eventually, Derby led kitchens at The Cannibal, then moved into private cheffing and catering. Wanting to return to Long Island, he ran Prime in Huntington and later opened two Patchogue restaurants.

“When I was at The Cannibal, one of the owners there turned out to be very good friends with the owner of Eagle Point Hotels,  Eric Warner,” Derby said. “We toured the Sound View when he first bought it, before any of the renovations, which was a really cool experience. It was kind of run down. It was the middle of February, and it was a blizzard and and he was telling us what the game plan was for this. It came full circle when I was on the phone again with Eric, talking about this culinary director position. I’m 47 and I got three kids, and that the next step for me was to take on something bigger – more than just the restaurant, taking on this position as at a hotel.”

Driving on the North Fork doesn’t feel like a commute, Derby adds – it’s a beautiful drive through Long Island’s last untouched rural area compared to the suburban sprawl that has become Nassau County and much of Suffolk.

This summer at The Halyard, Derby’s menu highlights the North Fork’s seasonal abundance. Signature dishes include pan-seared striped bass paired with summer squash salad and citrus buttermilk, scallops nestled in a rich corn chowder with bacon XO, and a striking Grand Raw Bar Tower featuring oysters, clams, shrimp, and fluke ceviche — all sourced locally. Housemade staples such as cast iron focaccia and ramp remoulade crab cakes reflect Derby’s focus on craftsmanship and seasonality.

“We’ve had a lot of fun with the menu,” Derby said. “For me, this has just been about tapping back into that, that seafood ahack vibe that New England seafood vibe, and not making it pretentious or fussy.”

And while seafood has been popular with the summer crowds, the offseason is where creativity thrives at The Halyard.

“The fall is twofold,” Derby added. “We want to do some fun stuff to bring people to us, but we also want to do some fun stuff because we will have the bandwidth to do it. We’re a seasonal restaurant, so right now, this 100 seat dining room is really busy. So it’s really about the service now. But then in the offseason, where we have this opportunity to do some kind of different activations and some fun dinners. We’re talking about some guest chef collaborations that we would like to do.”

The Halyard is located at 58775 County Road 48 in Greenport and can be reached at 631-477-0666.