Flavors, fashions fill 'Taste of Design'

It was a gorgeous spring evening for Great Chefs of Tampa Bay, the annual gala that blends delicious food and exceptional art in a pleasant residential setting.

This time it was the Historic Ingleside at Bayboro neighborhood in St. Petersburg, where Tom Barrett and Len Johnson were hosts for the VIP party and additional houses were open for the main event.

John Harris, from the Sheraton Sand Key and Rusty's Bistro, was the featured chef, and Gus Ocamposilva, a sculptor and painter, was the featured artist.

A host of additional artists, including members of Family Resources' Youth Arts Corps, had works for sale, among them Vesa Vojnovic Anderson, Joel Cocker, Jason Fondren, Terry Klaaren, Don Kobasky, Dominique Martinez, Duncan McClellan, Jeff Monsein, Charlie Parker, Dan Rojas, Denise Rojas, Frank Saso and Tim Salmonson.

Participating chefs included Lui Arango, Doug Bebell, Scott Bebell, Ernesto De Luca, Ed Quitin, Lee Ellen Ferguson, Tyson Grant, Maria Johnson, David Miller, Raphael Perrier, Tom Pritchard, Fabrizio Schenardi, Barry Spaulding and Matt Tracy.

The nonprofit's goal, president and chief executive Jane Harper told patrons, is to treat and prevent child abuse through numerous family and community efforts.

Pam Gaylor headed the event committee, and volunteers from the St. Petersburg/Pinellas chapter of Business and Professional Women worked hard to make sure everything appeared to be effortless.

ST. PETERSBURG — A sellout crowd attended "A Taste of Design," the Stuart Society's annual Art in Bloom luncheon. Patrons dined in the Museum of Fine Arts' sunny new conservatory and later went to the Marly Room for a program that featured tablescapes from Neiman Marcus in Tampa and flowers from Bryan Redman, of Redman Steele Floral Design Studio in St. Petersburg.

It was very much an inspirational afternoon, with representatives from Neiman Marcus demonstrating how to pair classic and contemporary pieces, even using a table once owned by the late Margaret Acheson Stuart, who founded the museum, and setting a Prada shoe atop Versace china in one setting.

Redman made floral arrangements look easy, creating six or seven bouquets in addition to those that graced the tablescapes.

And culinary aficionados Louise Chapin, Barbara Curtis, Pat Miller, Martha Buttner, Fran Risser and Lauri Lane created menus and shared recipes to complement everything else.

"You fill the museum with joy," event chairwoman Jan Stoffels told those attending. Dale Wybrow introduced the imaginative people who created the floral arrangements for Art in Bloom, now a pleasant memory.

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"Floral Reflections: Architecture and Art," the premiere party for Art in Bloom, was a success judging from the large number of guests who were among the first to admire the floral creations on display in the galleries. With the new Hazel Hough Wing adding more space to the museum, the event had almost 60 flowery interpretations of artwork. That's a record, Stuart Society members said.

Attendees enjoyed the volunteer clarinet quartet that included David Irwin, coordinator of instrumental music at Eckerd College, and Eckerd/Community Band members Cordelia Neff, Misty Carr and Emma Hiolski. Food and drinks were served in the gardens and the Marly Room.

Sunny Endicott chaired the event committee.