What started out 16 years ago as a small get together for family and friends as a 'backyard' tomato tasting event to celebrate Gary Ibsen's tomato harvest, has grown into an annual fundraiser that attracts chefs, wineries, tomato growers and 3000 tomato lovers from across the United States and other nations.

At the NatureSweet Carmel TomatoFest® you will experience a wondrous feast of delights that includes; an unforgettable display of more than 350 heirloom tomato varieties from around the world for the tasting; exceptionally delicious and innovative tomato dishes created by 60 of America's top chefs; a tasting of more than 100 premium wines; an amazing "Salsa Showcase" tasting of 100, commercially available, tomato salsas; the pleasures of an old-fashioned country BBQ; an "International Olive Oil Tasting;" celebrity chef and gardening demonstrations; a tasting of great tomato-related specialty foods; sales of hard-to-find fresh heirloom tomatoes and heirloom tomato seeds; live music and dancing under Carmel Valley's oak covered hillsides.

Quotes:

"The perfect harvest party...tomatoes at their best...a veritable nirvana of tomato delights." - Sunset Magazine

"...these are seriously gourmet tomatoes." - San Francisco Examiner

"Expand your tomato horizons... with tomatoes turning up in recipes from puddings to pancakes (and ice cream). The TomatoFest® is proving tomatoes aren't just for salads anymore." - San Jose Mercury News