Strawberry season kicks off with Florida Strawberry Restaurant Week

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - It's one of Florida’s sweetest times of the year. Strawberry season is officially here and berry lovers can enjoy a full week focused on foods centered around these red, juicy berries.

It's Florida Strawberry Restaurant Week and restaurants like Oggi Italian are whipping up some fancy and delicious dishes made with strawberries in mind.

Chefs say the tough part was to think outside the box.

“After some trial and error. First strawberries went on the outside then the inside. Then there was too much cheese sauce, or it was too bland,” Oggi Assistant Manager Jose Jaquez explained of their process to create the perfect dish using Florida’s best strawberries. “After many attempts, we came to what we thought would be a winner.”

The winner for Oggi Italian is a homemade spaghetti and chicken alfredo with roasted strawberries.

Florida Strawberry Restaurant Week lasts until Sunday.

As a bonus treat - foodies who post pictures of their meals and drinks with #FLStrawberryselfie2019 can earn points toward some big prizes.

LINKS:

For more information and a list of participating restaurants, visit events.floridastrawberry.org/restaurant-week/

For more strawberry recipes, visit: floridastrawberry.org/recipes