Tona Palomino

Tona Palomino is the beverage director of the-soon-to-open Wicker Park establishment, Trenchermen. A seasoned industry professional, Tona graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 1999. After which, he worked in several New York kitchens, most notably Jean Georges Vongerichten's flagship restaurant and Lotus with celebrated chef Richard Farnabe.

In 2003 Tona joined the opening team at renowned chef Wylie Dufresne's wd~50 and advanced to bar manager in 2007. Tona helped establish the bar's reputation for being at the forefront of technique development and creativity. Drawing upon the skills developed first as a cook and then as the head of Research and Development for wd~50, the bar program became the stage for the melding of classic cocktail craft and cutting-edge kitchen technique.

Tona moved to Chicago in the summer of 2011 to lead the beverage program at Trenchermen with his old friend and colleague, executive chef Michael Sheerin.