Longtime Palio D’ Asti chef Dan Scherotter is leaving the restaurant business, handing over the reins to 29-year-old Martino DiGrande.

Scherotter, a respected restaurant industry spokesman and past president of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, is leaving for a new career in education – teaching ProStart at John O’Connell High School in the Mission District and coordinating hospitality, culinary and tourism studies district wide for the San Francisco Unified School District.

“Martino’s unusual for his generation in both his level of maturity and commitment to building longtime customer relations,” explained Scherotter, who himself became a restaurant owner when Palio’s founder Gianni Fassio allowed him to buy in after years in the kitchen. “And the reality is that Jose and Mauricio know the recipes as well as I do and are committed to maintaining the quality and professionalism our sophisticated regulars demand. When I say goodbye next Tuesday, July 31, I can do so with the satisfaction of knowing that not only am I putting my money where my mouth has been for many years by training the next generation of chefs, but I’m also providing an opportunity for these hard working individuals to gain the recognition that I myself received when I took over Palio’s kitchen thirteen years ago.”

In his time at Palio D’ Asti, DiGrande has helped modernize the cocktail program ad also built up the restaurant’s popular “$1 Pizza Happy Hour.”

“Excellent service and quality ingredients with an emphasis on local and sustainable fare is what’s important to me because, frankly, that’s how they do it in Italy,” said DiGrande. “I love this business and want to insure that Palio features the kind of consistency that only a hands on owner can offer over the long term.“

Palio D’ Asti is located at 640 Sacramento Street between Kearny and Montgomery in San Francisco’s Financial District.

Photo Credit: Palio D’ Asti

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