Five-course indulgence

On Friday, residents of Adelaide Shores RV Resort prepped platters for a five-course German-themed dinner.

By lunch time, the volunteers had stuffed about 190 blintzes, thin pancakes similar to crepes, with a cottage cheese filling, and were moving on toward final preparations on a stuffing.

"There are seven eggs in here; separate them for me. Yolks go here and whites over here," instructed Joel Fleisher, chef and coordinator for Adelaide's five-course meal dinner.

Two years ago, Fleisher, a retired surgeon who studied culinary arts after retirement, decided to bring the art of five-course dining to Adelaide in Avon Park.

"It's different. He Fleisher comes up with recipes I never knew existed," said Lucien Larue as he prepped the eggs for the filling.

Fleisher had traveled the States for years and found something missing in the way Americans dined. For him, eating out was no longer a dining experience. He wanted to change that, at least for the residents of Adelaide.

"What's missing in how we eat in America is conversation, enjoying each other's company and the experience of dining," Fleisher said.

Last year he brought the idea to the owners of the resort. The plan was to create a traditional five-course dinner with a different theme each time. Last week was German, The next dinner is Death by Chocolate.

The dinners are only available for the resort's residents for $10 and the profits go toward their activities fund.

Fleisher's cooking crew comprises volunteers who are more than excited about helping out.

"It's not as much work as it is fun...It's broadened my horizons," said volunteer Diane Smith.

"We love learning all these dinners. I go back home to Michigan and make my friends all these new dishes," said Barb Halstead.

Fleisher originally began the five-course dining experience at an RV park in Tampa.

There was an announcement in the park's newsletter for an upcoming soup dinner

"I asked if they needed help and they said we don't have anyone to make the soup," Fleisher said.

That was Fleisher's opportunity to try different recipes he had learned in his travels and at culinary school. Now he's passing on that knowledge to his volunteers at Adelaide.

Kris Bomgarden, a retiree from Winnebago, Ill., said she learned 15 new dishes through volunteering for the event.

As for her favorite dish, "Oh gosh that's tough. I just like them all," she said.