The medieval science of alchemy sought to transform base metals into gold. Aaron Patterson, the chef at Hambleton Hall, is an alchemist of tomatoes who turns the humble salad staple into something precious. He infuses the fruit into sorbets and foams, shaves it as thin as carpaccio or, in his signature dish, essence of tomatoes with Scottish langoustines, distills it to a clear soup of startlingly intense and glorious flavor.
Patterson's sorcery has earned the restaurant at Hambleton Hall, in the English Midlands, a Michelin star. The menu, which uses vegetables and herbs from Hambleton's gardens, changes with...