“TOMATO DAY STARTED BEFORE we
had Cornersmith.” Alex Elliott-Howery,
co-owner of the Sydney cafe, cooking
school and picklery group, is explaining
the origins of a day devoted to turning
a kitchen staple into something magical.
“Jaimee (now Cornersmith’s cooking
school coordinator) and I drove out to
Flemington Markets with four small
children and bought 100 kilos of tomatoes,
then went back to Jaimee’s tiny apartment.
It was ridiculous! But we taught ourselves
how to conserve all these tomatoes, and
two families got through six months
without buying any tomato products.
“And that kind of kickstarted
Cornersmith – which is using what’s in
season at the height of the season, when
things are cheap, abundant and taste their
best. Since we’ve opened, we’ve done
tomato day for the cafes every year. What’s
nice is that, as well as celebrating the
seasons, using Australian produce and
supporting Australian growers, we’re
also getting together family, friends and
community for a really beautiful day.”
The community element is part of the
Cornersmith ethos. “We run tomato day
workshops,” says Alex. “People come to
the picklery and learn how to run their
own tomato day; how to make passata,
chuntney, ketchup – all the things that
a well-stocked pantry should have.”
@cornersmithGUEST LIST
Joining Alex is husband and Cornersmith
co-owner James Grant, cooking school
coordinator Jaimee Edwards, head chef
Sabine Spindler, Marrickville cafe kitchen
manager Ava Stangherlin and barista Julian De
Lorenzo, recipe developer Maddy Dobbins,
and preservers Lindsay Smith and Juan Salasc.
STYLE
“Tomato day gets messy, so no one’s wearing
a crisp white shirt!” laughs Alex. “And it’s a
working space, with nothing ‘tricked up’.
We wanted it to be relaxed and kind of
homey – lots of wood and enamel plates.”
MENU
“Sabine, our chef, used my preserve recipes
to come up with these amazing dishes,”says Alex. “They’re about either eating the
tomatoes fresh when they’re in season and so
delicious, using the waste up, or preserving
the tomatoes for later in the year. The day is a
celebration of family and friendship: you
work, then you stop and eat everything.”
PLAYLIST
“There’s so much talking and laughing we
often don’t need music, but Italian pop gets
us in the mood in the workshop,” says Alex.
“Stick on your red lipstick and your Italian
pop, and away you go!”
DRINKS
“The drink of the day was fermented sodas
that Jaimee makes,” says Alex. “And
we also had beers from Batch Brewing
Company, our neighbours in Marrickville.”CORNERSMITH STYLE
Tomato day in full
swing. LEFT: Alex
Elliott-Howery
(centre) with husband
James Grant and
Cornersmith head
chef Sabine Spindler.@cornersmithcafe58 delicious.com.au