Carefree, AZ – April 12, 2012

Veteran Chef Thomas P. Ryan is bringing his outstanding culinary skills and extensive upscale restaurant experience to Venues Café in Carefree, Arizona. Chef Thomas has added his own delectable spin to the award winning Cafe’s food and wine offerings.

Chef Thomas experience has a far range including Executive Chef at the popular Fox Sports Grill in Scottsdale and Palm Brook Country Club in Sun City, AZ. Thomas started is training as a child in family owned restaurants and later attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. With over 16 years of experience as a chef in this area with notable restaurants such as Mastro’s Steak House, Chef Thomas brings exceptional leadership skills and his own creative style of cooking and menu development to Venues. He is well known throughout the Valley as a talented chef and respected leader in the kitchen.

Venues Café owner, Catherine Marr, says, "We are thrilled to have Chef Thomas at Venues. He came to us with glowing recommendations from all who have worked with him previously, and we are already seeing the positive effects of having Thomas in our kitchen. We are confident that our diners will be as excited by Chef Thomas’s culinary talents as we are."

Chef Thomas has enhanced the Venues menu with some flavorful new starter dishes such as Yellow Fin Ahi Tuna, seared with white and black sesame and served with Asian slaw, wasabi cream and soy glaze and his Crab Cakes made with Jumbo Lump Crab on a bed of fresh spinach and served with chipotle aioli. Main entrée addition include Sea Bass which is pan seared and topped with a mango chutney and Chicken Piccata in a creamy white wine lemon butter sauce with capers and basil served over linguine. For the meat lover he has added a Bone in Pork Chop, center cut pork served with apple chutney, melts in your mouth. New lunch additions include the Chef’s Patty Melt, 8 ounces of prime beef, cooked to order and served with sautéed onion, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing grilled on marble rye. The menu is complimented with two to three specials every evening to help keep the menu fresh and promise something for everyone at the Café.

Venues Café in Carefree, AZ is open 7 days a week and offers an upscale American Bistro menu that pairs beautifully with their wine selections. The casual dining atmosphere features the rugged sophistication of wood, stone, brick and copper finishes; offering guests the choice of dining at the bar, by the fireplace or on the patio in the charming Western town of Carefree, AZ. Additionally, Venues Café offers Sunday brunch, live events and happy hours.

For reservations, please call 480-595-9909.