La Tomatina, the famed tomato throwing festival takes place in Spain in August, but you don’t have to go across the globe to get a your hand on fresh tomatoes.
For the entire month of August, Provence Marinaside celebrates all things tomato with its Ninth Annual Tomato Festival. You might not get to take out your aggressions by throwing them but you’ll certainly get to enjoy the summer fresh goodness. Provence Marinaside is offering special prix fixe menu that will satisfy even the most addicted tomato-holic.
Whether eaten fresh-picked from the vine, mixed into salsas and salads, juiced, roasted or sun-dried – there are almost as many ways to enjoy tomato’s flavourful goodness as there are varieties. “They are the taste of the sun, and remind me of long summer days when I was a child in Provence,” says Provence Marinaside’s Executive Chef Jean Francis Quaglia.
Photo: N Wong
This three-course seasonal menu is priced at $58 with an optional rosé wine pairing which has been carefully selected by Wine Director Joshua Carlson and his sommelier team. The wine pairing is priced at $30 for a different rosé with each course, or only $20 for a smaller pour. Both the individual dishes and the wines are also available à la carte should you so choose. For the three-course Tomato Festival menu options; starters, mains and dessert visit Provence Marinaside online.
“Locally-grown tomatoes have a more intense flavor profile,” says Chef de Cuisine Sheldon Maloff who worked with Chef Jean Francis to design the Tomato Festival Menu. “They could not be more different from the tasteless varieties you find at the large grocery stores. We are fortunate to work with BC producers who supply us with amazing varieties of heirloom and modern varieties. Local tomatoes just taste so much better.”
Photo: N Wong
The Ninth Annual Tomato Festival, starts tomorrow, August 1 and continues throughout the month at Provence Marinaside, located at the foot of Davie St. and across from the Quayside Marina in Yaletown.