Patriotic Gourmet Week begins in Bauska municipality with Latvian-style menus

From 9 November to Sunday, 22 November, seven local restaurants and cafés in Bauska municipality are taking part in the Patriotic Gourmet Week, offering special menus that highlight traditional Latvian dishes. The menus are designed for the period of Latvia's national holidays, and the event is part of the municipality's effort to develop gastronomic tourism.

The tradition of a patriotic café week in Bauska began in 2012 and continued until 2018. After a break, it was revived in 2024, and this year it runs under a new name with a broader gastronomic tourism focus.

Why it is held

Inese Turkupole-Zilpure, head of the Bauska municipality Tourist Information Centre, says the idea was originally to help catering businesses attract visitors in the tourism off-season. She notes that in summer foreign tourists often ask where in the area they can try Latvian cuisine, and that organisers also want to give locals an extra reason to dine out.

Participants and offerings

The participants are the restaurants Mežs Kungs, Tornis, Harvest House, Miķelis and Rožmalas, along with the cafés Sofi Cafe and Viestarti, which is in Iecava. Ten businesses initially showed interest, but three withdrew, mainly because they did not have enough time to prepare.

At Tornis, a three-course set with grey pea cream, pork belly and a honey cake dessert costs 27 euros. Mežs Kungs charges 30 euros for any three courses, which include, for example, a stuffed potato, forest mushroom soup, venison roast or a rye bread dessert. At Miķelis, a set with beetroot tartare, pork fillet and a pear and almond tart costs 21 euros, at Rožmalas a set with pumpkin cream soup, duck leg and a buberts pudding costs 25 euros, and at Sofi Cafe the set costs 20 euros. The Harvest House menu includes sauerkraut soup, blood sausage with pearl barley and bukstiņputra, while Viestarti offers a rye bread snack with sprats, forest mushroom cream soup and pork rolls.

Survey and future

Visitors are invited to say in a survey which dish they liked most and which should be added to a venue's permanent menu. Whether the week continues next year will be decided after the organisers review this year's experience and participants' feedback. Menus, prices and opening hours for all businesses are available at visit.bauska.lv.