The (not so) Humble Tomato
When the Tomato Stall began in the Arreton Valley in 2007, tomatoes were relatively ordinary and tasteless; common in soggy sandwiches, uninspiring in salads and in Britain, rarely the sun kissed fruits of holidays and pasta sauces. And the term ‘heritage tomato’? Non-existent.
On their 60-acre estate in the fertile soils of Arreton, the Tomato Stall began to rectify this situation and began a quest to grow the finest, most flavoursome varieties that they could find. Fast forward to today and #iowtomatoes is surely one of the most seen food hashtags amongst well known chefs, topflight restaurants, and food bloggers. From taking their tomatoes off Island to just a handful of farmer’s markets, over time word has spread and today you can find the most diverse, flavour filled varieties at over 28 markets in and around London, and in a growing number of shops, restaurants and pubs as well as being able to order online. And not just tomatoes either but various peppers, aubergines, relishes, curry sauces, juices and ketchups.
But it’s not just about growing tomatoes, there’s the environment and sustainability to take into account too. “We’re passionate about our planet, so we’re proud to do our bit to help the environment. That’s why we compost all our plant waste to enrich the soil for our organic crops. Working this way means we can fine-tune the nutrient requirements for each plant, reducing the fertilizer levels and improving the soil fertility – giving you an even tastier tomato, whilst our team of hard-working bumbles pollinate our plants and help encourage the perfect balance of predators to pests, keeping our plants healthy and happy.
Piled onto pasta, paired with pizza, raw in a heritage colourful salad or mixed into sauces, the Tomato Stall can be rightly proud that their tomatoes are now far from ordinary. They even have a tomato ambassador, writer Claire Thomson (known on Instagram as @fiveoclockapron as she cooks for and with her children) whose recently published book Tomato contains 80 tomato based recipes and where she waxes lyrical about tomatoes in general, as the title might suggest, and Isle of Wight tomatoes in particular.