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Chef Lee Guidry

Seagar's Prime Steaks and Seafood

Seagar’s, Hilton Sandestin shuffle chefs

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Resort appoints Tederous executive sous chef, adds to culinary staff

Special to 30A Food and Wine
Sept. 5, 2021

SANDESTIN – Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa announced changes to the resort’s culinary team following the announcement of Dan Vargo’s departure. Ending a tenure spanning over a decade, Executive Chef Dan Vargo will be leaving to fulfill a lifelong dream of creating his own company. 

“From the top down, the culinary team we’ve assembled at Hilton Sandestin is truly exceptional,” said Gary Brielmayer, general manager of Hilton Sandestin. “It’s gratifying to see our family grow and provide an even greater depth and energy to our guests.”

Dan Tederous was selected as Hilton Sandestin’s new executive sous chef. Tederous will be responsible for all kitchen operations to ensure guest satisfaction. With more than 20 years of culinary experience, Tederous was most recently chef de cuisine at Delmonico Steakhouse out of Las Vegas. Tederous also held positions as executive sous chef at Mauna Kea Resort in Waimea, Hawaii and banquet chef at Four Seasons Hualalai in Kona, Hawaii.

Hilton Sandestin’s newest banquet chef, Lee Guidry, has been with Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood for 4.5 years. Guidry will work under the supervision of the banquet culinary team lead, Robert Kent, who has been with the resort for 15 years, spending eight years as sous chef at Seagar’s and seven years leading the Sandcastles culinary team. Kent will oversee the property’s catering team. Guidry, known for his passion for cooking, will be able to display his signature style and international techniques in his new role.

With almost two decades of culinary management experience, most recently as the executive chef of Iron Hill Brewery, Thomas Mikesell attended Johnson and Wales Culinary School where he graduated first in his class and was hand picked by Marco Pierre White to train under a Michelin Star chef in the UK for two years. Spending nearly a decade fine-tuning his skills at eateries in the Atlanta area, Mikesell is excited to lead the team at Seagar’s.

Fleetwood Covington has been appointed sous chef at Seagar’s. Covington started at Hilton Sandestin in 2017 at Seagar’s. His new role allows him to direct food preparation while collaborating and studying under Mikesell; together they will emphasize high quality plates, and showcase design and taste.

Overseeing the renovation of Sandcastles Restaurant’s open-air concept kitchen is new culinary team lead Steve Withall. During his 18-year career, Withall has held many impressive culinary titles, including private beach club chef, restaurant head chef, executive chef and chef de cuisine. He most recently served as the instructional coordinator of culinary and hospitality at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City.

For more information about Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, visit HiltonSandestinBeach.com or call 850-267-9500. For more information about Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood, call 850-622-1500 or visit Seagars.com.

Photo by Michelle Farnham

Raines Farm Wagyu Beef Tataki

Seagar’s: Tastes of fall to satisfy all

By Michelle Farnham
Managing editor, 30A Food and Wine
Oct. 16, 2020

SANDESTIN – If ever there were a year we could all use a little comfort, it’s this year, and Chef Lee Guidry is delivering it in spades with his new fall menu, which debuted this week. The executive chef at Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood has called upon classic autumnal flavors like butternut squash, farm-fresh apples, cannellini beans and rich pork belly to satisfy diners.

Live oyster with spicy aji amarillo and a cucumber mignonette
Live oyster with spicy aji amarillo and a cucumber mignonette

 

In addition to the new lineup, Guidry is excited to be working with a new co-op out of Louisiana.

“A lot of our food is locally sourced – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida. We want to promote small farmers and get the best product that we can,” Chef said.

 

First course

Guidry offers a selection of East and West Coast oysters, topped with spicy aji amarillo, champagne vinegar and a cucumber mignonette that adds both texture and flavor to the seafood experience.

Next he presented his Raines Farm Wagyu Beef Tataki, a Japanese-style charred beef served over a salad of cucumber, carrots, cilantro and green onion. The dish is plated with a soy reduction, foie gras emulsion and fried garlic chip.

For a heartier first course, look for the Berkwood’s Farm Pork Belly Cassoulet En Croute, a crock of cannellini beans, tomato, fine herbs, pork jus, mirepoix and puff pastry.

A crisp bobwhite quail dish is served alongside a house-made butternut squash and foie gras ravioli, with brown butter and sage, and is the definition of rich.

“This might remind you of a take on Thanksgiving,” Guidry added.

Guidry has taken his lump blue crab cake to the next level with the addition of crab mornay, pork belly and an andouille rillette, finished with a camembert croquet.

His spin on an apple salad on this day included a mix of honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples. He incorporates a zing of acid from apple cider vinaigrette, and tops this impressive tower with almond, shaved fennel, arugula, red onion, dried cranberry with a creamy chevre cheese.

“These apples are great because they’ve never seen a refrigerator. They go straight from the tree to a box to me. You can definitely taste the difference,” Guidry said.

Entrees

Chef is well known for his scallops and his fondness for mushrooms, and diners get to enjoy both in his Pan-Roasted Diver Scallops entree. The protein comes express-shipped from Maine, and is served over a rock shrimp dumpling – very similar to a gyoza – and plated with beech mushroom, French black truffle, cipollini onion, asparagus and champagne.

For something a little different, the Crisp Potato-Wrapped Gulf Shrimp has the kitchen painstakingly winding Yukon gold potato threads around each shrimp, flash-fried, and served over an artichoke fondue. 

To finish off the meal and satisfy the sweet tooth, the new milk chocolate mousse is made with a hazelnut mirror glaze, served with a dulce de leche macaron, coffee cake crumble, and praline with vanilla bean gelato.

Milk Chocolate Mousse with dulce de leche macaroon
Milk Chocolate Mousse with dulce de leche macaron

New this season 

Seagar’s has debuted a new charcuterie and cheese board, where the chef has made both the food and the board it is served upon. 

“Everything on the board – even the board – is made in-house. I’ve been playing around with resin and epoxy,” Guidry explained of the handcrafted wood server, accented with sparkling blue resin. “Right now I’m running a house-made paté with duck confit, cured duck breast, and a variety of cheeses, and we make our own mustard, pickles and crackers.”

In addition to the dinner offering, Seagar’s has debuted an exclusive wine dinner the first Monday of the month, by reservation only. This experience is limited to 10 guests and includes multiple courses specially selected by Guidry, all paired with wine from Seagar’s award-winning cellar.

Getting back to comfort, digital marketing manager Katie O’Connor said Seagar’s is following and exceeding all COVID-19 protocols, giving diners peace of mind when they visit the dining room.

“Our servers are all wearing masks and gloves, and we have eliminated some of the seating,” explained O’Connor. “Even though we are at a different occupancy, we are abiding by social distancing standards.”

Seagar’s is located at 4000 S. Sandestin Blvd., Miramar Beach, within the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa. Visit them online at seagars.com or call 850-622-1500.