Chef Michael Ayoub in his abundant garden of tomatoes. (Photo credit: Doug Young)
I like asking questions, which I’ve been told can be a little… annoying. But hey, I am a very curious person — not like in a nosy way, more like a “what’s that all about?” kind of way. Also: I really, really, really love summer tomatoes. Which turned out to be really a good thing for chatting with chef Michael Ayoub.
That man knows more about tomatoes than I could ever hope to. Spending an afternoon wandering his beautiful, robust, prolific garden dotted with the hand-blown glass sculptures that Ayoub dallies with on the side — and, later, sitting in his kitchen being fed a multitude of different tomato varieties and listening to him dole out the knowledge — was a treat I won’t soon forget. He even gave me a few plants (and if you think that’s violating some kind of journalistic gift-taking integrity, well, so be it — you didn’t try these tomatoes; sorry-not-sorry).
In the story, I jokingly called him Mikey Tomato Seed, but it’s not too far from the truth. Ayoub loves to share his knowledge and his plants with whomever has a burgeoning love for the fruit and interest in learning more. If you didn’t catch this back in July, give it a read (or a listen) to both catch some of the spark of the Fornino pizzaiolo’s passion for pomodori and maybe transport back for a few minutes to the sunny, warm days of summer.
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She's a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She's the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.
