John Tesar named executive chef of Palladino’s Steak & Seafood
2 Min Read
Palladino’s Dallas locationPalladino’s
Dallas-based chef John Tesar has taken the position of corporate executive chef of Palladino’s Steak & Seafood, replacing its opening chef, Sam Hazen, who recently left.
The steakhouse concept operates two locations, one in Dallas near Preston Hollow, and another at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Though Tesar has been in Dallas for some 20 years, he is a native New Yorker and started his culinary career in Manhattan and on Long Island. He was the chef at a number of restaurants in New York before a brief stint in Las Vegas, followed by his arrival in Dallas where he became a high-profile chef. His Knife restaurant and related concepts were widely praised, and his licensed Knife & Spoon restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes in Florida has a Michelin star.
In Dallas he developed a reputation as a bad-boy chef, complete with a dispute with local critic Leslie Brenner, who he banned from his restaurants.
Most of his other concepts have closed, but Knife Steakhouse in Plano, Texas, remains open.
Palladino’s was founded by former New York City police officer Joseph Palladino, who also operated Nick & Sam’s, a steakhouse in Dallas where he’s now a minority owner. The New York location opened in September of last year, and the Dallas restaurant opened in June of this year. A public relations representative said Palladino had been courting Tesar for some time.
Palladino’s said that Tesar is expected to expand the menu with new cuts of steak such as lower-cost flat iron and skirt steak as well as more Italian and seafood dishes. The chef will split his time between the two restaurants.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
