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Toni's ladles out oodles of food to lonely, needy
By JOSH ZIMMER © St. Petersburg Times, published December 26, 2000 HOMOSASSA -- At Toni's Codfather's Ristorante on Monday, the sign outside said meals by reservation only. Service normally isn't so restrictive at this small restaurant on U.S. 19. But on Christmas Day, as he has for the past four years, owner and chef Ray Peterson was setting his kitchen aside for the needy and lonely. As he frantically stirred rich-smelling soups, scrutinized browning turkeys and directed a willing corps of volunteers, Peterson anxiously awaited the arrival of more than 200 people. It's a huge jump from the first dinner, which drew about 40. "Scoop some into every bowl and put one at every table," he directed Marvell Potts of Inverness, who began ladling gin, walnut and mandarin orange cranberry sauce into plastic containers. He said he doesn't ask why people come on a day when most gather at home in the bosom of family and friends. Just showing up tells this matter-of-fact businessman with a heart all he needs to know. He had owned the restaurant only a couple of weeks before cooking the first Christmas dinner, his wife, Kim, said. "I was making grilled potatoes every day and would throw them all away at the end of the shift," Peterson said. He would give them to a retired preacher in a mobile home park behind the restaurant. "After that, I got the idea there's a lot of people in Citrus County that are hungry," he said. "I don't judge people," he said of his guests, many of whom admitted they came to be around others. "A lot of people who are alone will not cook." Volunteers from around the area, including Hernando and Levy counties, responded to his ad in the paper. They got little rest as eager guests began trickling in at 10:15, well before the scheduled first shift at 11 a.m. True to Peterson's first-class approach, they were greated by a maitre d' and were promptly served by waiters. The four-course menu stirred an air of anticipation. Meals like this are hard to find in Citrus County. Soup: Choice of minestrone, lobster bisque or cream of potato with bacon. Salad: Choice of three dressings. Main course: Roast turkey with sausage, fresh sage and blueberry stuffing; cured ham with ground mustard, maple syrup and Jack Daniel's sauce; or roasted tenderloin of beef with Bernaise sweet potatoes (roasted and mashed with bananas and honey) and regular mashed potatoes. Dessert: Pecan or pumpkin pie or chocolate bread pudding served warm with cappuccino whipped cream. Peterson served iced tea -- blackberry sage iced tea for those who wanted it -- flavored hot teas, espresso, cappuccino, french press coffee, eggnog and sodas. Strawberries, hand-dipped in Belgian chocolate, topped off the meal. In four years, Richard Hounestine and Gene Pairgin said they haven't missed one of Peterson's holiday feasts. The two retired widowers from Hernando said they couldn't afford the fixed-price holiday meals some places were offering. "Best food," Hounestine said as he awaited the first course. "We'd be eating hamburger." Two seasonal visitors from West Virginia, Barbara and Bob Holroyd, sat in quiet prayer before tasting their soup. "That's the first thing I asked," she said. "Thank you, Lord, for these people who prepared this meal for us. "We have no one down here. We figured we could at least be with other people." The volunteers seemed proud of their role. The range of ages spanned decades, from senior citizens to teenagers and one little girl, 8-year-old Allie Ledsome of Crystal River, whose parents brought her "just to show how there's two sides to (Christmas)," her father, Jimmy Ledsome, said. Until this year, Peterson said, he really hadn't given a second thought to the cost because he was spending several hundred dollars. But this year, he'll spend more than $1,000, and with the event's growing popularity, he anticipates 300 to 400 people next year. If that's the case, he said, he'll seek help from area charities. But to see the satisfied faces makes it all worthwhile, he and his wife said. This year they added a fourth shift to accommodate everyone. That included Mark Phillips, who shyly entered the restaurant by himself about 11:30 a.m., wondering whether he could eat despite not having a reservation. "How many people?" Kim Peterson asked. "Just me," Phillips said. "We'll get you in," she said, "don't worry."
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