The tomato edit : alfresco dining
We’re huge fans of the humble tomato here at Charlie & Ivy’s - so much so that we’ve dedicated a whole edit to them. Tomatoes, especially when celebrating the incredible flavour of British grown varieties, bring a stunning burst of colour and are packed with flavour. For us, they really are the main event. The arrival of British tomatoes on farm shop shelves signals the start of summer, and this edit celebrates everything the season has to offer including some sun-kissed alfresco dining.
The perfect collaboration of products, style, colour and most importantly flavour.
Tomato tablescaping
To create our tablescape, we focused on clean lines, simple linens and bold pops of colour, letting the tomatoes do the talking. We dressed the table with a mix of incredible Isle of Wight tomatoes, paired with bold vintage herb-filled tins from Bowley & Jackson – a North Yorkshire based home and garden store specialising in handpicked, beautifully designed pieces. The tomato themed tins were the perfect finishing touch.
The Star of the table
Our tomatoes themselves were from the wonderful Isle of Wight Tomatoes. Grown in the fertile soil of the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight, their tomatoes are fragrant, flavourful and delicious. They combine age-old traditions with modern day innovation to grow over 40 varieties every year. We used a mixture of sizes, colours and varieties both to serve and to decorate the table.
dressing up
To plate the tomatoes, we simply added a burrata and a generous pour of our Smoked Chilli Dressing. Now with a slightly spicier recipe, this dressing adds a punch of flavour to any dish and is perfect as a marinade in barbecue season. We especially love it over avocado toast, and tomatoes of course!
drink pairings
We paired our tomato salad with a spiced Bloody Mary, using a fantastic mix from The Pickle House, hand-crafted on their farm in Suffolk. Their Spiced Tomato Mix has added pickle juice, giving a delicious umami flavour. To make it boozy, we added a shot of Small Batch Vodka from Generation Distillers, a gin and vodka distillery based in Sussex. Wonderfully smooth, it’s double distilled and filtered through carbon for a super clean finish, the perfect addition to any cocktail! We garnished our drinks with some multicoloured tomatoes on a cocktail skewer.
