Summer has arrived and it’s time to fulfil those alfresco, non-cooking fantasies you’ve harboured all year.

Have tomato sandwiches for dinner. Indulge in the once-a-year glut of cherries. Dust off your barbecue tongs—this season, anything and everything is at your fingertips.

A trip to your local farmer’s market presents stalls packed with towers of stone fruit and berries, piles of herbs, tomatoes, eggplants and cherries, and bushels of beans of different varieties.

End of season, the arrival of sweet corn calls for char-grilled cobs paired with slabs of fresh tomatoes drizzled in local olive oil, served besides heavily herbed salads. 

Tomatoes prove that eating in-season is best; freshly picked, they have an incomparable sweetness and fullness of flavour that you can’t find any other time of the year.

Herbs of all varieties are in abundance during summer, and for those who dabble in home gardening, you’ll understand the joy of stepping outside in the warm evening and picking a handful of mint or plucking a few sprigs of basil to atop a summer salad. 

Discover what’s in season and how to enjoy local produce at home with our Summer Season Guide (linked below).