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At least I didn't put my foot in my mouthBy LENNIE BENNETT
© St. Petersburg Times, Given the nuances of diplomatic protocol, I was unsure how to approach His Excellency Javier Ruperez, the Spanish ambassador to the United States, at a reception Tuesday at the Salvador Dali Museum. Bow? Salute? Curtsy? Kiss the ring? As it happened, I backed into him as I turned away from a conversation with another guest, stepping on his foot. But he and his wife, Rakela Cerovic, are charming people who do not seem to stand on ceremony or, like some of us, on other people's feet. Ruperez was in St. Petersburg for a meeting of the board of trustees, which he has been asked to join, an honor for the museum. He said he hoped to visit the Museum of Fine Arts and the Florida International Museum while here. Of the Dali he said, "This is an extraordinary collection." Museum co-founder Eleanor Morse chatted with John Schloder, the new director of the Museum of Fine Arts, about Cleveland, her hometown and his adopted city when he was assistant director of the Cleveland Museum of Art. He said his life at this point was packed up in cardboard boxes at his condominium at Bayfront Towers and his office at the museum, both new digs for him. Hank Hine, the designated successor to Dali Museum director Marshall Rousseau, will probably have an easier time settling in, only moving across the bridge from Tampa and, as a longtime trustee at the Dali, being more familiar with the area. Nice to see were board president Tom James and wife Mary; Bill and Jane Emerson; Jack and Donna Painter; Alan and Janet Root; Jim and Suzanne MacDougald; Marty Petty; David Moore, director of International Studies at St. Petersburg College and Martha Brinklow, coordinator of the program; Mary Wyatt Allen; Mathias Bergendahl; Jim and Jeannine Hascall; Bill and Hazel Hough; Jerry and Charlotte Kendall; Bob Kramer; Jim and Terrie Newman; Maria Castagliola; Bob and Barbara Ulrich; Andy Corty; Bill Heller and Jim and Cathy Martin. Joining Ruperez as new trustees are Carlo Bilotti, Tina Douglass, Donald Eastman and Bill Habermeyer. Past members Karol Bullard and Sonya Miller were elected as returning trustees. These are interesting times for the Dali and the Museum of Fine Arts, both with new leadership and plans for major expansions. Stay tuned. If you believe about potatoes what Sigmund Freud believed about chairs (You remember the now-famous "sometimes a chair is just a chair" quote), you are so missing the point of spudliness as a many splendored thing. The humble vegetable in the plain brown wrapper was glorified on Tuesday at the annual chef's table in a preview of new dishes at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort for a lucky few invitees that included St. Petersburg Times food editor Janet Keeler and me. Yes, it was very cool having executive chef John Pivar and his A-team of chefs cook just for us. (And so you know, Janet and I always pay for our meals as is the policy of the Times, but because the staff couldn't put a price tag on this one, the Times made a donation to the American Red Cross instead.) We ate: porcini potato soup with parsley emulsion; asiago-filled gnocchi sauteed with wild mushrooms, tomatoes, basil and garlic; fois gras and candied potato Napoleon; seared duck breasts with apple and celery whipped potatoes and fig au jus; sea bass with Peruvian blue and sweet potato croquette, jicama slaw and mango vinaigrette; and grilled lamb chops with a red wine reduction and purple potato cake. Dessert was sweet potato latkes with creme fraiche and berries, sweet potato puree in phyllo and a tart with a potato filling that tasted like apple pie. General manager Russ Bond said, "We really appreciate your taking time out to join us." (It was a sacrifice, Russ.) Unlike last year's chef's table devoted to squash, which was simply an orgy of consumption, Pivar and his chefs gave us intellectual discourses (Did you know you can clean oil paintings with a potato?) and demonstrated the preparation of the dishes so we could nod sagely as we gave ourselves over to gluttony. In between potato courses, Tom Pritchard and I talked parsnips. Pritchard, as you probably know, is the executive chef of Salt Rock Grill and Island Way Grill who usually tries to ply me with tequila shooters at charity events and is a born bon vivant and raconteur. He also knows a lot about wine, about which I know very little, so I simply had to try the 1998 Sena he ordered me to taste. It was good, but so were all the wines I sampled, all from various vineyards of Robert Mondavi. Pritchard also gave a nice impromptu toast, thanking the staff and speaking for everyone in saying the meal had "creativity, ingenuity and a lot of juice." I rolled out to my car feeling like Augustus Gloop, that overstuffed little boy in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But in a much nicer mood. Venue notes: I frequent the St. Petersburg Woman's Club on Snell Isle for various functions but have not taken a good look at it for a long time. In my mind, I have always seen it as a fusty old building in genteel decline. No more. Over almost a decade, its members have raised money for a renovation, first for basic things like a new roof, and now, more and more, for aesthetic improvements. The interior sparkles with new carpeting, tile, paint and curtains. New windows will be needed to replace the old jalousies, which will improve the exterior immeasurably. But club members should really be proud of the progress they've made and the service they have performed in saving a historic building and providing a charming midsize party venue to the community. Looking aheadThursday ST. PETERSBURG AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ANNUAL DINNER: Business and community leaders honor the outgoing and incoming chairmen of the civic group, and hand out business awards. 5:30 p.m. Renaissance Vinoy Resort, 501 Fifth Ave. NE. 821-4069. Oct. 18YMCA ANNUAL BREAKFAST: Last year at this time, we sat under a marquee as earth movers shoveled dirt for the ambitious YMCA project; this year, supporters gather at the gleaming new facility, to celebrate its completion. Art Linkletter is keynote speaker. 8 a.m. 3200 First Ave. S. 895-9622. WINE TASTING: A benefit for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast at A Taste for Wine, 241 Central Ave. $40. 546-1032.
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