It’s festival season in Vancouver and this is one you can really sink your teeth into! From August 1 to 31 Provence Marinaside celebrates all things tomato with its annual Tomato Festival.
Heirloom tomatoes may come in all shapes and sizes with an array of colours but all share that fresh plucked taste of summer. August is peak tomato season in BC – a special time of year for those of us who pick the tomato as our favourite fruit.
Working with local suppliers and farmers, Owner/Executive Chef Jean-Francis Quaglia and his talented chef team have crafted a three-course Tomato Festival Menu value-priced at $79. This height-of-the-season menu is sure to delight even the most addicted tomato-holic.
“We are fortunate to have local producers, like Cropthorne Farm on Westham Island, supplying us with amazing heirloom varieties. Even though each variety has a different flavour profile, all are very intense. The heirlooms taste so much better,” says Sous Chef Mohit Chauhan.
Chef Quaglia adds “growing up in the south of France, we ate a lot of raw tomatoes as a snack – just like any other seasonal fruit. I also love them baked as it concentrates the flavour. A few years ago, I was visiting my brother in Provence, and his neighbour invited us over for l’apero. He made a tomato, cheese, and Dijon mustard tarte. That flavour profile stayed with me. In the South of France, Pissaladière is a regional favourite, so inspired by it, and the tomato tarte from my brother’s friend, we created the Pizzetta that is one of the starters in this year’s Tomato Festival Menu. There are so many ways to use heirloom tomatoes – they’re incredibly versatile.”
Book your table now to taste the tom-tastic three course Heirloom Tomato Festival menu with optional wine pairings selected from the south of France by Asst. Wine Director Ryan Johnson. See the full menu and wine pairing options online at provencemarinaside.ca