The Copia Edible Garden Festival in Napa, CA was just one of our stops during our “food tour” of the Bay Area. That’s where we had the chance to meet Brad, the farmer who runs Wild Boar Farms and produces some of the most stunning and delicious heirloom tomatoes.

He invited us out to his farm to check out all his varieties and see where the magic happens. Along the way he taught us a lot about growing great tomatoes. Brad’s secret to getting that firm tomato that’s packed with flavor is to starve the tomato of water the last few weeks. Water can cause the tomato to get that mushy texture and dilutes all their flavor. Based on the several tomatoes I devoured like an apple (which I never thought I’d ever be able to do…), I concur with Brad that his method creates the perfect tomato.

Brad is constantly working at how he can adjust his growing methods to produce a tomato that is in the top of it’s class when it comes to taste. He said commercial growers make their money based on the weight of their produce and how pretty they look, with taste at the bottom of the list. “They never have to meet their customer face-to-face, so it doesn’t matter what it tastes like.”

I thought this statement was pretty powerful. If a producer never has to face their customer, do they really care if their product is top-notch or if you are happy?

So, needless to say, we had a great time hanging out with Brad at the farm and even got to pack an order for Chez Pannise. I put together a short video from our visit. Enjoy!

Wild Boar Farms from Foodzie on Vimeo.