Working beside the hot grill of the Sparrow Market kitchen, 27-year-old Gregorio DiMarco socializes with customers while doing what he loves: cooking. The young, outgoing man is the sole chef of Sparrow Market’s kitchen in Kerrytown. With eight years of experience as a professional chef, DiMarco is a veteran in the kitchen.

Ever since he was a child, DiMarco knew he was meant to be in the kitchen. “I would go to pizzerias and be the kid that got held up watching [the chefs] make pizza,” DiMarco said. “I started working in a pizzeria when I was 14, and worked in pizzerias all the way until I was 18.”

DiMarco then went to culinary school at Schoolcraft College in Livonia and later gained additional experience behind the scenes by stage cooking at multiple high-end restaurants in Chicago. As an ambitious young cook, DiMarco set out to become the executive chef of a fine dining restaurant by the time he reached 26 years old. When he accomplished his goal at the age of 23, at the Assaggi Bistro in Ferndale Michigan, he felt as though he had been given the keys to the city.

For DiMarco, running his own kitchen was hard work, but it paid off. “It was crazy,” DiMarco said. “I worked long hours, but it was one of the best times of my life because the food, the wine, the menu, everything I controlled. I wasn’t just going in there and working toward some chef’s vision; it was my vision and I drove the boat”.

Working as the head chef of the Assaggi Bistro was an all day job. DiMarco would go in at 8 a.m. and work until 8 p.m., often putting in 80 hours of work or more a week. Although he enjoyed running his own kitchen, DiMarco felt that he was not spending enough time with the people he cared about.

The death of DiMarco’s twin brother in 2010 led him to realize that some things may be more important than working in a nice restaurant.

“If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be so driven, but I think it really put things into perspective, and it took me a while to understand that.” DiMarco said, “I have to set enough time aside so that I can do what I love for who I really love in the world.”

DiMarco started looking for a simpler job with a more reasonable schedule. So, when his old friend and former sous chef at the Assaggi Bistro, Justin Johnson, currently a chef at Monahan’s Seafood Market, informed him of an job opening in Kerrytown, he did not hesitate to apply. DiMarco had seen how Johnson was living the life he wanted, while still cooking the food he loves. DiMarco started to work for Sparrow Market on December 4, 2014 and hasn’t looked back.

Sparrow’s kitchen is a good representation of DiMarco himself. “As a chef I am constantly looking for ways to express myself,” he said. “And I feel like this is the best expression of who I am and the food I want to make, which is honest and simple.”

Being the only chef at Sparrow means that DiMarco must be able to handle each aspect of the kitchen, and manage his time effectively. If he must take a day off the kitchen is forced to close.

For DiMarco, cooking provides instant gratification. He loves what he does and is happy to be working for Sparrow Market, “I’m very lucky to be where I am at, I have the schedule, I make a living and have a girlfriend, I’m living the American dream.”