Carmel Tomato Festival
September 12, 2004Beneath the photos is the story.
Click for captions and new pages.
You can view a video here (off site).
I was invited to the festival by friends (Annaliese and Mike "Worm Boy" Keller) who participated in the festival with a booth featuring Restoration Soil Research. They produce top-quality earthworm castings that Tomato Fest owner/visionary, Gary Ibsen, uses to grow his heirloom tomatoes (over 400 varieties this years, and next year over 500). I've been coveting an opportunity to attend the festival, but usually "had to" photograph a farm dinner or something. In fact, this year a dinner was scheduled on the same day, and I scheduled myself to go early to Carmel and then drive the 100 miles to Brentwood to Knoll Tairwà farm. A foolish plan, I fear.
I arrived early and a very nice lady led me past the lengthy line so I could get in. My mission was to photograph the event for CASCC, of which Gary Ibsen is a member. I had met Gary in August, when he attended a CASCC mixer up at Meder Street Farm, in honor of Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, founders of Edible Ojai. Gary had sent me sent me home with a crate of heirlooms that was spectacular—he is a lovely person and a beautiful man.
From those, I fashioned "Stoplight Caprese":
Needless to say, my gratitude to him was enormous, and my desire to attend this year was at a fever pitch. When Annaliese and Mike offered me a pass, I jumped at the chance. ("Lunged," morelike.) I arrived at about 11:00 AM, way before the gates opened, which allowed me to photograph the tasting table, and some of the food before the attendees came in and vacuumed up the food.
The event was held at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, in front of the clubhouse. You are given a wine glass with ten tickets, and stroll around to four gigantic white food tents or several smaller wine tents. The food tents house probably eight or ten restaurants/caterers, each of whom has devoted a substantial amount of time and attention to glorifying the object of our worship, the tomato. Eight wineries are in each wine tent: the pours I received (two tickets each) were generous. (Additional wine-tasting tickets are available for purchase after 2:30 p.m., which I think is good strategy.)
Center stage is a gigantic tent, with lines of tomato-laden tables zigzagging its perimeter. This is the central event: the tomato tasting. I saw tomatoes from my buddies at Happy Boy Farm (and hung out for a little while with farmer Greg Beccio and friends), and finally got to meet Cynthia Geske, from Love Apple Farm. (She's a new member of CASCC.)
The food tents are beautifully decorated: my personal favorites included a giant tomato ice sculpture and the floral arrangement of Gerbera daisies, in tomato colors, at the Project 104 table.
Other participants include Sunset magazine, McCormick Spices, and lots of other purveyors (olive oil, salsas, condiments, etcetera). There is music, dancing, and most of the older (non-strollerbound) kids I saw seemed to having a great time, though I personally wouldn't bring kids to a wine-food event. (I noted several parents who had babies squirming in strollers, in the hot sun, while the so-called "grown-ups" scarfed wine and food. I wish those people would be admonished. It is not a baby-appropriate event: I love babies too much to see them bored and suffering because their parents are either too selfish to forego the event or too immature to think of hiring a babysitter. End of rant.)
Because I was there for a limited time, I did not have a chance to do more than take photographs for an hour or so, and to have a few bites of food with wine. I didn't get to do the tomato tastings at all. I will remedy that next year.
The event is sprawling and lavish. I've attended some very fancy stuff (huge celebrity events in Los Angeles and New York), but nothing was as nice as this. Of course, my craven lust for tomatoes is noteworthy, and I'm sure that many people share my condition.
I regret that I didn't take detailed notes, as I was in a hurry. Next year I will take advantage of a feature on my camera that allow for "voice captions" of photographs, so I can just tell the camera what I'm looking at. I can't remember the restaurant that made The Best Thing All Day, but second place went to Roy's, who prepared a wasabi-cured salmon with tomatoes, served in a Chinese soup spoon. Salmon tacos were brilliant.
It was a perfectly run event, as nearly as I could tell.The hospitality that begins with Gary and emanates outward is impeccable: it was utterly unsnooty and gracious.
Footnote: I came home too sated to go photograph the farm dinner, and wish I'd just stayed at the Tomato Festival all afternoon. Time well spent, folks.
All photographs and text © 2004 Tana Butler
