WHAT IS
FAT TOMATO?
Fat Tomato is Anthony O’Toole’s horticulture project, where the seasons are celebrated through both old and new Irish flavours. It is more than just an edible garden—it’s a living pantry, a shop, and, later, a new place for sharing and community.
Driven by curiosity, biodiversity, and flavour, the garden is home to over 500 varieties of organic heritage seeds and plants, along with a few feathered friends and an abundance of wildlife. Here, the focus is on diversity—not just in appearance, but in taste. Imagine a garden filled with heirloom figs, tomatoes, herbs, apples, chillies, pears, squashes, currants, and more—each variety offering something unique and exciting to discover.
It’s all about growing for flavour, not yield.
Perched on picturesque Carrig Rua Hill in North Wexford, just behind his parents’ home, Anthony’s small garden is a testament to the beauty and richness of edible plants. Some call it an "edible forest"; others, an "edible zoo."
In addition to founding Fat Tomato, Anthony is an international specialist in Irish food and drink culture, travel, sustainability, and design. He is also a chef, writer, Slow Food activist, and an avid collector of food, gardening, and cookery books. Learn more about Anthony here.
A long time coming
Anthony’s edible garden began in 2016 with a polytunnel, a ‘handful’ of organic seeds, a lively compost heap, a few feathered friends, and an unrelenting curiosity to grow, cook, and taste a wide variety of edible plants.
As many people who know him would say, his curiosity and passion for food and drink are at the heart of who he is. Whether exploring a farmers’ market, embarking on a culinary tour, growing a new vegetable, visiting a local producer, cooking and sharing a meal, or immersing himself in a new culture, food and drink are always top of mind.
This horticulture project had been bubbling away in Anthony’s mind for years. After returning home from his travels, he kept asking himself these questions:
Why does Ireland only commercially grow a limited number of varieties of fruit, herbs, and vegetables?
Could I grow some of the delicious fruits, herbs, and vegetables I crave when I return home from my travels?
What happened to all the fragrant culinary herbs I read about in old cookery and gardening books?
If Ireland’s great houses and castles once grew tropical fruits, could we grow them again today?
With climate change threatening crops, could some heritage varieties thrive where the more common ones might not?
And, most importantly, what would they taste like if I grew them myself?
SOME FAVOURITE VARIETIES TO GROW, COOK AND EAT
BRAD’S ATOMIC GRAPE | OX HEART | WHITE LOTUS | BLUE BETTY | WILD ARGENTINIAN | PURPLE PRINCE | ROMA | TIM’S TASTE OF PARADISE | BLACK BEAUTY | BAMBINO | HABANERO | LEMON DROP | BLACK TURTLE | BORLOTTO | IRISH GREEN | FILL THE BUCKET| PRINZ | TIPPERARY | TOKYO MARKET | CHERRY BELLE | TOUCHON | FRENCH TARRAGON | BEDFORD MONARCH | CHIOGGIA | BULLS BLOOD | TAMRA | CRYSTAL LEMON | MINNESOTA MIDGET | SUGAR BABY | PINK BANANA | HONEYNUT | TROMBONCINO | COCOZELLE | LADY GODIVA | GRANDPA ADMIRES | TREVISO | PEREGRINE | CHAMPAGNE | CHARLOTTE | SHARPE’S EXPRESS | LOVAGE | GERMIDOUR | SALAD BURNET | ALL GOLD
THE YEAR OF 2016
It only took 8 years!
What began in 2016 with a polytunnel from Anthony’s friends at Highbank Orchards in Kilkenny, a ‘handful’ of organic seeds from Brown Envelope Seeds in West Cork and Irish Seed Savers in Clare, a lively compost heap, a few feathered friends, and a deep commitment to working with nature, has blossomed into a vibrant tapestry of curiosity, biodiversity, and flavour.
Anthony can still remember his first harvest: the tomatoes bursting with flavour, the peas sweet, the beans tender, the cucumbers crisp, the chillies fruity, the corn sweet, the tomatillos tangy, and the squash rich and nutty. The polytunnel felt like an edible forest, and everything grew from there.
Each year, Anthony continued to scratch that itch, and now his edible garden and kitchen pantry are brimming with delicious things to share with all of you.
