Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2010 | Page 150

food

Island Life - October/November 2010

Tomato
Stall
grows
to new
heights

When Jeff Macdonald began delivering fresh

buying more tomatoes from us, so we started

tomatoes from the Island to farmers’ markets

supplying his restaurants. So since 2004 they

in London and across the south of England,

have been buying tomatoes from the Isle of

perhaps even he could not have imagined

Wight.

how his small business would eventually
expand.
Jeff reflects how he was merely ‘one man in

restaurants they asked if we would like to
participate in their apprenticeship programme

a van taking tomatoes from Wight Salads at

where they have 15 young people who train

Arreton to the farmers’ market in Islington’.

as chefs. They like to show where their foods

Eventually one market became two, and

are sourced, so for the past five years all the

then many more until Jeff was making

apprentices have paid visits to the Island to

regular trips to the mainland to take fresh

have a day at the nursery and visited local

tomatoes directly to farmers’ markets as

farms.”

far apart as Bath and London, including

Around three years into his venture Jeff

the capital’s famous and historic Borough

began to produce a pure tomato sauce and a

Market.

pure juice as add-ons, although fresh tomato

Jeff was joined six years ago by former
Island chef Paul Thomas, who became the
company manager of what was then known

sales were still the main product. Other
products followed.
From purely farmers’ markets, The Tomato

as Isle of Wight Tomatoes. In 2007 it was

Stall began selling tomatoes to stores, and

re-branded as the Isle of Wight Tomato Stall,

has subsequently built an impressive list of

and has continued to grow in stature with a

customers, including Fortnum and Mason

wide variety of tomato-based products now

and Selfridge’s, as well as farm shops in

available, including ketchup, relish, chutneys,

Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset and London.

juice and dry and dry-roasted tomatoes, as
well as fresh tomatoes.
Renowned chef Jamie Oliver was one of

150

“Shortly after we started supplying the

For the past two years The Tomato Stall has
won Great Taste gold star awards for three
of their products from the Guild of Fine

the Tomato Stall’s customers in Borough

Foods. Organic tomatoes from their nursery

Market, and Jeff said: “He said he should be

are always available, with as much organic
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