Co-owners Sophia Mylona and Gus Leontarakis are pleased to announce the appointment of Chef Brian Cantrell as Executive Chef of Thasos restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A veteran on the South Florida dining scene for more than 13 years, Cantrell was most recently Executive Chef at Prime Italian on Miami Beach.
A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Cantrell acquired a passion for cooking as a child while helping his grandmother in the kitchen at the family farm. He took his first summer job washing dishes at the local country club, eventually becoming the restaurant’s executive chef at age 19. After graduating with a Culinary Arts degree from Asheville Buncombe Technical College, Cantrell’s early working years were spent honing his trade at various restaurants throughout North Carolina. In 1996, he moved to Florida, and accepted a position as Chef de Cuisine at Bistro Zenith restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens. After moving to New England to become Sous Chef at Cioppino’s Restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the warm weather quickly called Cantrell back to Florida, where he accepted a position as Sous Chef at Boca Raton’s Mark’s Mizner Park until 2001.
The next decade found Cantrell, a Five Star Diamond Chef, in the kitchen of some of South Florida’s most popular restaurants. In 2002, he accepted a position as Sous Chef at one of South Florida’s most popular and iconic establishments, Nemo Restaurant on South Beach. A year later, he was promoted to Executive Chef, where he was responsible for all of the restaurant’s operations as well as creating and developing new dishes for the eclectic and ever evolving menu. In 2007, Cantrell’s culinary skills caught the attention of the owner of A Fish Called Avalon, the iconic Art Deco establishment located in the heart of South Beach, who was searching for a skilled chef to execute the highly complex menu of contemporary tropical cuisine. While at A Fish Called Avalon, Cantrell was in charge of developing innovative menu items for the award-winning restaurant. Later, Cantrell was recruited to join the team at Blue Moon Fish Company, a staple of the Fort Lauderdale culinary scene. In 2012, Cantrell left Blue Moon to join the team at Prime Italian, the South Beach celebrity favorite known for delicious Italian cuisine.
Now, the talented chef, who joined the Thasos team in October of 2012, is looking forward to helming the kitchen at Thasos, and is bringing his extensive experience to the sophisticated and contemporary Greek restaurant.
Located in Fort Lauderdale, the indoor/outdoor dining destination opened its doors in August, 2012. Embracing the hospitality and spirit of the Greek islands with the service and style of an elegant restaurant and lounge, Thasos is a passion project conceptualized by co-owners Gus Leontarakis and Sophia Mylona. Under Cantrell’s direction, the restaurant will continue to offer a menu of time honored Greek favorites and innovative dishes for which the popular restaurant is known, including the fennel salad with orange, frisee, manouri and pine nuts; flame-broiled shrimp Saganaki with roasted tomato and feta; lamb chops with Yukon gold potatoes, green beans, Thasos oregano and lemon; and Lavraki – grilled whole Mediterranean Sea bass with fine herbs, lemon and Thasos olive oil.
Thasos is located at 3330 East Oakland Park Boulevard, just off of A1A. Dinner is served seven nights a week, beginning at 5 p.m. Reservations suggested. Telephone: (954) 200-6006
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