LekaricA Restaurant

Golf & Country Club
Part 1

by Martha Hollis and Anthony Scaggs

Strolling into the airy LekaricA lobby filled with white whicker and lots of pastels, one has the feeling of stepping back in time to an era filled with gaiety and celebration. At any moment F. Scotts Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby, will come to life. Then you realize that you are being warmly greeted and led to a space which easily accommodates hundreds for special events or a couple for a romantic evening. The ceiling soaring high creates a bright spacious feeling, with the dining room overlooking the Lake Easy beach. This laid-back and easy ambiance is an extension of the old traditional Florida southern hospitality dating back to the early 1920's.

Executive Chef, Peter Dionne, tried to book his own wedding at LekaricA even though he was the executive chef at the Tampa Crowne Plaza. Feeling that this would be the perfect place to live with his wife and children, he returned about 6 weeks later inquiring about a position. "I returned every 6 weeks or so until they finally had an opening for me," he smiled.

Born in Boston, but raised in the Caribbean, he started cooking with his mother because it was their quality time. While his mother's early meals satisfied his body, he was hungry for more knowledge. Following his culinary passion, he cooked his way through college and continued learning from anyone who would teach him. The cycle even included intensive training at one of Walt Disney World's 4-star restaurants.

Dionne's cuisine is imbued with a distinctive Florida and Caribbean flair, but nothing stops him from moving into other flavors when creativity calls. On the starter menu, gulf shrimp, grouper, sun dried tomatoes and roasted garlic fill a pot sticker which is pan seared and drizzled with soy béchamel and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Paper-thin cucumbers with roasted red peppers and soy finished the dish. Empanadas crisply fried are filled with chicken breast, black beans and jack cheese.