Showcase your best products to the world! The Baltic Taste Award food quality competition in Riga


Riga Food 2023, the most significant food industry fair in the region, will take place on September 7 in Ķīpsala. The event will feature The Baltic Taste Award, a highly regarded food competition that will be held for the first time in the Baltics. This competition will provide objective evaluations for products from companies in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, allowing consumers to discover the most delectable and best products available.

The competition’s goal is to recognize exceptional food products, highlight the best ones on an international scale, and increase their visibility, sales, and quality.

The Baltic Taste Award is a great opportunity for food manufacturers, farms, and artisanal producers in the Baltics to have their products evaluated by professionals and receive objective opinions and suggestions for improvement. The professional jury will involve leading European chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, and food engineers, who will assess the foods blind-tasted. Svetlana Riškova, member of ‘Pavāru klubs’ and cooking competition organiser, emphasised that the competition would improve the quality of food made in the Baltic States, promote its visibility, and build an expert connection between catering professionals and food manufacturers. ‘We are pleased with the chance to hold the Baltics’ first quality-focused competition of such a high level at Riga Food. Before, we mostly handled national competitions, but now it is time to present the excellent products our manufacturers have to offer to top European experts. The highest-scoring foods will also enjoy broad publicity,’ Aiga Kupre, manager of The Baltic Taste Award, said.

The Baltic Taste Award medals are a testament to the high quality of the winning food products. These medals can be used to enhance the product’s packaging for marketing purposes, making it easier for consumers to identify and choose the best foods for their needs. Food service companies that value the opinions of professionals can also trust the medal-winning products to be of excellent quality, making it easier for them to introduce new and exciting foods onto their menus. The competition encourages better-quality food products, benefiting both the industry and consumers alike.
Foods in the following categories may be submitted for the competition, and will undergo assessment as part of it:
  1. bread and pastry products, 
  2. milk and dairy products, eggs,
  3. meat and meat products,
  4. fish and fish products,
  5. honey,
  6. berry, fruit, and vegetable products, including sweets, chocolate, and nuts, 
  7. non-alcoholic beverages (including water, juices, coffee and tea),
  8. fermented beverages (beer, wine, fortified wines, cider),
  9. spirits,
  10. vegan foods.
Professional international jury
The products submitted by the Baltic companies will be assessed by an international jury of chefs, beverage experts, and food engineers with extensive experience in judging competitions. Five jury members will evaluate the products in each category.

The following experts have confirmed their participation in the jury:
  • Lauris Aleksejevs (Latvia), head chef at ‘Dia 36.line’ restaurant, connoisseur of Latvian flavours;
  • Ēriks Dreibants (Latvia), head chef and owner of ‘Pavāru māja Līgatnē’;
  • Dmitry Demjanov (Estonia), head chef, president of the Bocuse d’Or Estonia academy;
  • Taigo Lepiks (Estonia), head chef of the president of Estonia;
  • Rudolf Visnapuu (Estonia), president of the Estonian Chef Association;
  • Deivydas Praspalauskas (Lithuania), founder and award-winning head chef of the Amandus restaurant: professional culinary artist;
  • Justinas Kapkovičius (Lithuania), ambassador of the Lithuanian Sustainability Academy;
  • Fridgeir Ingi Eiriksson (Iceland), owner of Eiriksson Brasserie, president of Bocuse d’Or Iceland;
  • Artur Kazaritski (Denmark), head chef at the Michelin-star restaurant Geranium in Denmark;
  • Peeter Pihel (Estonia), head chef and co-owner of the Fotografiska restaurant;
  • Alain Hostert (Luxembourg), Worldchefs Central Europe region manager, organiser of Villeoy & Noch — Culinary World Cup, vice president of Vatel Club Luxembourg, instructor at the Luxembourg Chef School;
  • Artūrs Taškāns (Latvia), head chef of the Akustika restaurant.
The judges will be conducting a blind tasting behind closed doors, evaluating the foods based on a range of criteria and providing a brief written summary of their impressions of the flavor, as well as any necessary improvements, and possible applications of the product. The jury’s opinion will be invaluable in guiding the future development and refinement of the product.

Throughout the competition, the jury members will not receive any information regarding the product or its manufacturer. Additionally, they will not be provided with the packaging of the product to prevent any lobbying and maintain impartiality. Once the evaluation is complete, all submitted products will be showcased in a separate exhibition during Riga Food 2023. Announcement of winners; publicity for products
The winners of the competition will be revealed at Riga Food 2023, on 9 September 2023. The best foods will be awarded with gold, silver, and bronze medals - the Baltic Taste Award medals. The visual design of these medals can be used on the product packaging to showcase the high quality of the product. Furthermore, to help the winners build international visibility, a marketing campaign will be organised after the competition which will cover websites in all three Baltic States. The highest-scoring products will also be showcased at a media event, which will be attended by journalists, influencers, chefs, and manufacturers. This event will create even more publicity and visibility, thereby providing an excellent platform for the winners to showcase their products.

Apply and present your product to the world!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain exposure and recognition for your amazing products! We invite Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian food producers to submit their best and tastiest foods to take part in the new and prestigious The Baltic Taste Award food quality competition by 15 August. The entry fee per product is EUR 90 before 23 June and EUR 130, from 24 June to 15 August.  Fill in the registration form.

Application form
download The Baltic Taste Award food quality competition rules
download Competition scoring table

The competition is organised by ‘Pavāru klubs’, the BT 1 international exhibition company, the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture.

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