You know how certain tastes can take you back to a specific time and place? That’s how the Tomatini was born. Created in 2010 by Jimmy Barrat while working at La Petit Masion [LPM] in Dubai, the drink started life as a liquid memory of his birthplace in the south of France.

PART ONE: THE CREATION

Jimmy Barrat

Jimmy Barrat

“Essentially, it’s a fruity Martini,” says Jimmy Barrat, the creator of the Tomatini – a cocktail that’s joined the ranks of the classics like the Margarita, Martini and Whisk(e)y Sour and now has it’s own dedicated Cocktail Day. (November 12th seeing as you’re asking…)

It’s been along time coming. Particularly as it’s onehelluva drink, a cocktail so delicious, so universally appealing, working equally well as a standalone cocktail as it does accompanying food. That’s the beauty of a drink with simplicity at its core. What’s not to like about tomatoes, premium vodka, balsamic vinegar, lemon and a sprinkling of salt to balance it out, offset with a crack of freshly ground black pepper?

While the inaugural Tomatini Day was marked in 2024 (more on that later), the drink itself came into being by the aforementioned Mssr Barrat. How? The drink started life as a love letter of sorts to his birthplace in the south of France.

It’s a flavour thing. “The first thing that I do when I go back to Nice is take a Cœur de Boeuf, you know, the bull heart tomato, and eat it with a nice baguette, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper,” he says fondly. “Those flavours always make me think of home.” They also translate rather well in a glass. These days it’s not unusual to see tomatoes appearing in cocktails other than the obligatory Bloody Mary but at the time – 15 years ago remember – a tomato cocktail and a Martini-style one at that, was a bold verging on bonkers move.

It took two years takes to get the recipe down pat. “The first part came fairly easily,” he reminisces. “I used half a Cœur de Boeuf and for the body of the cocktail I treated it like the DNA of a fruity martini: Ketel One Vodka, lemon, a bit of sugar, some balsamic vinegar, then seasoned it with salt and pepper. Actually I tried it first with mirin but it didn’t work,” he confesses.” So I replaced the mirin with white balsamic vinegar and that did the job. Essentially it’s a fruity martini – the vinegar brings both sweetness and acidity.”

He’s not kidding. We first came across the taste at the World Class Global Finals in 2012 and it’s been on our radar ever since.

PART TWO: CREATING A LEGACY

Tibor Krascenics

Tibor Krascenics

While Jimmy created the drink, he gives full credit to Tibor Krascenics, Global Beverage Director at La Petit Maison [LPM] for it achieving global status.

By his own admission, Tibor has been, “preaching, living and breathing Tomatini” since he joined LPM over nine years ago. Not that he needed any prompting. “At my very first interview at LPM, I was offered a Tomatini and I’ve been hooked on the simplicity and beauty of the drink since then. it’s always been a number one seller in all of our locations.” In 2019, just before Covid they were selling around 9,000 a year in Dubai. After the bar reopened, in 2023, they did 27,000. In 2023 sales went up to 35,000 and last year that number was up to 78,000 Tomatinis sold in LPM restaurants worldwide.

A large chunk of the latter figure is no doubt down to the inaugural World Tomatini Day which launched on 12th November 2024.

PART THREE: WORLD TOMATINI DAY

in partnership with Ketel One Vodka

World Tomatini Day LPM, Dubai 2024

What makes World Tomatini Day different to the rest is, it’s rooted to a person, a product and a place – all of which are central to the annual celebration. “Last year we brought back previous bartenders or bar managers who had worked at LPM Dubai,” Tibor confirms. “We were also joined by the creator of the drink, Jimmy Barat. I even had a turn behind the bar making Tomatinis,” he laughs. “It was lots of fun and the guests really enjoyed seeing the old faces because it brought back lots of memories. And of course, the team from Ketel One were also present and a huge part of the activities.”

But it wasn’t just about one day, the Tomatini-tastic events continued throughout the week. “Each day we asked a local bartender to come and create a Tomatini twist and we also invited our Tomatini lovers, the guests who regularly order Tomatinis, to get behind the bar and make Tomatinis for their friends. It was interesting for them to see to see how much work goes into creating the drink, as it’s not a pre-prepped cocktail. The feedback we got was really positive as it’s not every day that customers are able to get behind the bar.”

Expect more of the same during the week-long activities at LPM restaurants around the world, and on World Tomatini Day, all diners will receive a complimentary Tomatini or TomatiNO on arrival. Boom!

You say tomato, we say Tomatini!

PART FOUR: THE TOMATINI

The serve

Made exclusively with Ketel One Vodka, the Tomatini is a clever blend of freshly muddled Campari tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, 3-year-old white balsamic vinegar, and a touch of simple syrup. To finish? A salt-and-pepper dipped cherry tomato and a theatrical crack of fresh black pepper from LPM Group’s signature oversized pepper mill. As Bob Nolet, 11th Generation Master Distiller, Ketel One Vodka says: “The Tomatini is exactly the kind of cocktail that makes partnering with bartenders so inspiring. It’s clever, approachable and memorable, and we’re proud that Ketel One is the vodka behind it. Seeing the Tomatini rise to prominence as a modern mixology icon has been incredibly rewarding.”

lpmresturants.com