Celebrating British Tomato Week La Tomatina style
British Tomato Week (18-24 May) highlights and celebrates the delicious juicy tomatoes being grown in Britain. One of these growers is The Tomato Stall, based in the village of Arreton on the Isle of Wight.
They have been growing speciality tomatoes since 2007 which they sell across the country. Due to the Isle of Wight’s unique microclimate, The Tomato Stall is able to produce incredibly sweet tomatoes meaning chefs don’t have to look overseas for great flavours. Each year they grow over 40 varieties of tomato and they have developed a range of products including Tomato Cordial, Passatta and Relish.
This year, to celebrate British Tomato Week, they have teamed up with three much loved chefs to showcase the amazing produce they can offer here in the UK.
Ben Tish (Ember Yard), José Pizarro (Pizarro) and Scott Hallsworth (Joe’s Oriental/Kurobuta) worked with The Tomato Stall to create a special tomato based dish to be served on their menus throughout British Tomato Week. During recipe development they really got into the spirit by taking part in a big tomato fight to illustrate the diverse shapes, sizes and colours of Isle of Wight Tomatoes.
The dishes the chefs are going to be serving are:
- Burrata with Char Grilled Ciabatta, Isle of Wight Heritage Tomatoes and Wild Garlic Pesto- by Ben Tish for Ember Yard
- Thai Pork Salad with Isle of Wight Tomatoes - by Scott Hallsworth for Joe’s Oriental
- Speciality Isle of Wight Tomatoes en texturas with anchovies and crispy capers - By Jose Pizarro for Pizarro
You can buy products from The Tomato Stall online.