By Suzy Pope
The natural bounty from the cold-water seas, rivers and forests has fed the people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for centuries. Realising the best way to keep food miles low is to embrace the cooking techniques and traditional ingredients of their ancestors, innovative farm-to-table restaurants have cropped up in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, creating a sustainable food scene akin to Scandinavia’s New Nordic movement.
This editorial reflects experiences you can enjoy on Sustainable Journeys 11-night the Baltics by Electric Car trip. Find out more here.
Ancient Pickles and Honey for the Gods in Lithuania
Between the icing-pink and sunflower-yellow neoclassic buildings of Old Town Vilnius, I’m in search of food that celebrates Lithuania’s local produce. Senatorių Pasažas was the passion project of a Danish entrepreneur who lived in Vilnius for years before transforming this beautiful old mansion into a gastronomic playground. Alongside a vibrant food hall and farm shop, there are two fine-dining restaurants inside. I opt for Nineteen18, where head chef Matas Paulinas’ menu is primarily fed by the Farmer’s Circle, a community farm just outside the city.
At the chef’s table, I watch as skilled hands prep an indulgent 10-course tasting menu of rose-pink venison and foraged trumpet mushrooms. There’s a dedication to zero waste here, with chefs using ancient techniques of pickling and preserving to keep surplus ingredients for future dishes. Traditionally, cucumbers are pickled with dill and blackcurrant leaves for a subtle aniseed taste. Tart pickled elderflower and cucumber cut beautifully through the iron tang of the lamb belly dish. The alcohol pairing eschews wines from countries and continents thousands of miles away in favour of local natural wines and Baltic beer and cider. Deserts vary wildly from a brown butter ice cream with birch syrup fermented with ants (no, that’s not a typo) to creamy dishes sweetened with the country’s pride and joy – honey. Beekeeping in Lithuania dates back to when folk would offer homemade honey to the Pagan gods. The age-old techniques can be discovered at the Beekeeping Museum in Stripeikiai.
Moving on from the city, I venture out to find the source of last night’s dinner. Farmer’s Circle is a sprawling 600-hectare operation on the border of Vilnius County. Polytunnels wind like snakes across the landscape and it’s a sea of pale yellow from the barley fields. On an organised farm visit, I tour glass houses, vast fields of buckwheat and polytunnels packed with soft fruit, spotting the organic cucumbers and kohlrabi that garnished each perfectly crafted plate at Nineteen18, just 55 miles away. After a farm visit, you can sample produce straight from field to table at the on-site restaurant in a beautiful old barn. The farm shop is packed to the high rafters with jar upon jar of pickles, jams, porridges and syrups to take home for a tasty reminder of Lithuania.
Keen to experience the wonders of the Baltics for yourself? On this 11-night EV trip, you’ll explore the must-see attractions of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. You’ll stay in responsible accommodations and discover the unique Setooma heritage, enjoy a farmers market tour in Riga, and experience the fantastic Anykščiai Treetop path.
Royal Pilsner and Hand-dived Scallops in Latvia
Between the jagged church spires and onion domes in the historic heart of Riga, the Central Market takes pride of place in the city. Inside four former zeppelin hangars, stalls overflow with produce from the surrounding farms and forests. I could spend hours wandering lanes of pickles, smoked fish and vegetables, but I have dinner plans.
The menu at Barents restaurant is an ode to Latvia’s climate, showcasing cold-water seafood from the icy Baltic depths and a selection of cold-climate wines to accompany it. Their seafood platter, usually featuring grilled herring, shows off the variety of the Baltic Sea and it changes according to season. Chef Dzintars Kristovskis says, “It is absolutely necessary that we undergo changes with every season, every year, and every new thought and impulse. Gastronomy must be sustainable and meaningful.” He speaks to the Latvian tradition of using produce from the local area when introducing the autumn menu: “It is a story about the best possible result using what is available, just like our ancestors have done.” The crab bisque is a warming starter and the hand-dived scallops are a worthy main – some of the biggest I’ve seen – meaning they’ve been left to enjoy life in the Baltic Sea long enough to grow, breed and repopulate.
For my Latvian tipple, I’m heading out of the city to Valmiermuiza Craft Brewery. Here, beer is brewed using the techniques of ancient monasteries – unpasteurised and natural. The beer kitchen next to the brewery buzzes to life in summer when there’s an Oktoberfest atmosphere at the picnic tables by a pretty porticoed veranda. A brewery tour shows the care and attention that goes into every beer, especially the Royal Pilsner which is made slowly and designed to take centre stage at the festive table. At the tasting session, I enjoy snappy light lagers, sinfully rich chocolate porters and a zesty pilsner fit for royalty. The non-alcoholic options are just as delicious for the designated driver.
Wild Garlic and Fruit Wine in Estonia
Along the coast from the medieval city centre, there’s a lot of buzz around NOA – a fine-dining restaurant overlooking the Bay of Tallinn. Dishes served in the casual restaurant and at the Michelin-starred Chef’s Hall next door embrace the ethos of New Nordic cuisine, using the length and breadth of Estonia’s natural larder. The tasting menu features dishes of elk and fire leek, white fish and caviar, and pumpkin and buckthorn. Fried white fish perfectly crisped with a hint of wild garlic, or a medley of foraged chanterelles and potatoes with the satisfying zing of pickled cucumbers shows off flavours that have been in Estonian cooking for centuries.
To understand more about Estonia’s food traditions, I head 40 minutes north to the Lahemaa National Park. Here, walking trails meander across marshland, forest and along the sea. On the Majakivi nature trail hike, I spot blackcurrants, mushrooms and the wild garlic that flavoured NOA’s dishes, yet these wooden walkways feel a world away from the city. After the hike, lunch is offered in one of the traditional fishing huts in Altja village – a shamble of wooden huts by the waterfront. Altja Tavern is a thatch-roofed vision of yesteryear, offering simple Estonian food during the summer months. Fishing nets adorn the ceiling and the whole place is clad in cosy wood. Simple, freshly cooked whole fish and mountains of potatoes oozing with melted butter may look a far cry from the artfully plated gourmet cuisine of NOA, but the two restaurants have a shared ethos. Their focus is on using the ingredients and produce from the Estonian landscape to feed their patrons.
On the way back to Tallinn, it’s time for a digestif to my sustainable food journey across the Baltics. Valgejõe Veinivilla Winery is within the confines of the Lahemaa National Park and while grape-growing is becoming ever more popular across the Baltics, Valgejõe Veinivilla sticks to its roots. Traditionally, wine in the Baltics was made from blackberries or dandelions, so rather than tinkering around with Pinots and Semillions in a climate that simply doesn’t work for warm grape growing, this vineyard uses the abundance of flora and soft fruit in the area.
Sipping a tart apple wine at a picnic table in the quiet forest of the Lahemaa National Park, I marvel at this landscape. All the ingredients for indulgent evening tipples, Michelin-starred tasting menus and celebratory dinners are right here. This new old food movement across the region shows that there’s no need to look beyond the borders of the Baltics to stock the restaurants, bars and food halls of the cities.
Feeling inspired? Experience the magic for yourself by booking Sustainable Journeys 11-night the Baltics by Electric Car trip.
