It’s one thing to get fired up about tomato season and build a BLT at home. It’s another to sink time and love into making a tomato dish, then hand it over to strangers to judge it.
The 2026 Tomato Recipe Contest, part of East Nashville’s Tomato Art Fest, happened Saturday at Lockeland Table, and for the fourth year in a row, I was a grateful judge. That’s four Augusts of me watching food enthusiasts walk in the door with a tomato-filled dish in their hands and wondering what inspired them to enter a recipe contest in the post-Betty Crocker era.
For Kasturi Sahasrabuddhe, whose Tamatar Chi Ambat Goad Bhaaji (sweet and sour green tomato curry) took first place, it was the combination of culinary and community.
“My husband and I have lived in Nashville for 10 years, moved to East four years ago and have loved the Tomato Art Fest ever since,” said Sahasrabuddhe, who participated in kids' cooking contests in central Maharashtra, India. “Somehow we totally missed the recipe contest until now. The second I found out about it, I knew I had to jump in.”
Tamatar Chi Ambat Goad Bhaaji from Kasturi Sahasrabuddhe
Second-place finisher Chad Bratschi was new to recipe contests, but not to Granny’s Tomato Pie — Twice Told, a recipe he’s tweaked over the years.
“I come from a family of cooks,” said Bratschi, who used a combination of tomatoes he grew in his garden and purchased from Nashville Farmers’ Market. "Almost every member has a recipe they’re known for. For me, it’s my pies. There is a very old community center cookbook that my grandmother helped write with her ladies' club back in the ’80s. This original tomato pie recipe originates from that cookbook.
Granny's Tomato Pie from Chad Bratschi
“This recipe is tomato to me. This recipe is summer. This recipe is Southern. I thought it was the perfect recipe for this contest.”
The recipe, however, isn’t simple. Chad started cooking at 6 a.m. Saturday with the goal of dropping the pie off at 11:30 a.m.
“The pie is great directly out of the oven or lukewarm — I like it both ways,” he said. “My husband Darryl prefers it cold. It’s very flexible.”
Sahasrabuddhe cooked the Tamatar Chi Ambat Goad Bhaaji right before she dropped it off “for maximum freshness,” she said. “The great thing about this recipe is that it tastes good hot or at room temp, so I didn’t have to stress about the thermometer.”
She plated it in her mother-in-law’s vintage dishware when she arrived, which scored big points for presentation.
“Big shoutout to my husband, Hrushikesh, who acted as my morning sous chef, kept me on schedule, and whipped up the fresh laccha parathas [flatbreads] to accompany it.”
There were 18 total entries this year, including a progressive tomato menu of four dishes from one woman. Elizabeth Slezinger took third place with her Garden Gazpacho, and while the judges weren’t swayed by the bedazzled tomato she made for presentation, we were certainly impressed. Honorable mention went to Jacob Stansell for his Tomato Miso Tart. Stansell listed “food processor, baking sheet and positive attitude” on his equipment list.
Of all the recipes she could’ve made for the contest, Sahasrabuddhe was sure she wanted to cook an Indian-inspired dish.
“Standard Indian restaurant menus barely scratch the surface of real Indian cuisine," she said. "I wanted to bring something nostalgic, seasonal and completely authentic to the table. Tamatar Chi Ambat Goad Bhaaji that uses green tomatoes rather than usual red tomato curry — it’s a Marathi dish so hyperlocal that even a lot of locals back home are not familiar with it.
“I have absolutely loved the vibe of East Nashville since moving, and having the community embrace a dish that is close to my heart just feels like the ultimate welcome.”
Below find the first- and second-place winners' recipes. (Disregard the "#1" on the second-place recipe — it was the first recipe submitted.)
