Livonian Culinary Route

Design and promotion of tourism product based on Livonian culinary heritage

The objective of the project was to strengthen the identity of the common culinary heritage of Estonia and Latvia through the creation of a joint culinary route - a new food tourism brand "Flavours of Livonia". Now it can be said, that a unique platform through which to tell the two-nation culinary history from medieval times until nowadays has been created. It brings out the similarities and differences between the local cuisines based on local traditions and mainly supports the identity of rural areas in Estonia and Latvia, as well, makes it more attractive for foreign and domestic visitors. The focus is on locally grown and produced food. During the creation of the route "Flavours of Livonia" project partners analysed historical food ingredients and old recipes of the region, and by providing an opportunity for existing food providers and producers to participate in practical training and workshops, managed to integrate the food heritage into contemporary culinary.

A specific aim was to promote the usage of locally grown ingredients in food preparation and to establish strong regional co-operation networks between tourism/catering businesses and local food producers/farmers. The network of "Flavours of Livonia" includes 332 food producers and providers to share common values, but it represents also a mosaic of food traditions of smaller regions (e.g. Lõuna-Eesti, Saaremaa, Mulgimaa, Liv, Suiti, Malēņi, etc). "Flavours of Livonia" is based on the historical background and traditions of the historical Livonian area, which covered North-Latvia and South-Estonia.

The sub-regional culinary network of Via Hanseatica tourism route within the project was branded as TasteHanseatica and consists of 78 food providers and producers. "TasteHanseatica" is a sub-route of the "Flavours of Livonia".

Activities that were carried out during the project's lifetime to educate members of networks and promote both brands:

6 info-seminars, 10 joint seminars, 23 local seminars, 6 regional contact-making events, 10 local food workshops in connection with the brand promotion in local festivals, 5 cross-border study-trips and 1 joint study tour to Norway for project partners
28 fairs and festivals, including Matka fair in Helsinki in 2019 and 2020 and Grüne Woche in Berlin in 2018-2020, reaching personally 237 580 potential visitors
creation of promotional and educational materials (listed below as project materials)
promotion of brands in professional magazines and promoting the brand within media representatives 5 media trips
promotion of Taste Hanseatica within travel agencies by organizing FAM trip
creation of the webpage to promote the brand www.flavoursoflivonia.com and improvement of other webpages for better information dissemination https://www.celotajs.lv and www.viahanseatica.info
providing consultations to 77 food providers and 76 food producers

In total 1655 persons took part in educative and promotional activities.

Added-value of cooperation

The cross-border co-operation opened access to new markets for regions and that would not have been possible on an individual basis. The total reach of tourists with this cross-border initiative is over 400 000 (planned was 20 000), this already shows that in cooperation can be achieved more. Also, food providers and producers valued cooperation that provides them easier access to the market by providers and producers cooperation, learning from each other, and from the cross-border cooperation. Business contacts in neighbouring countries (and regions) enables to increase the volumes, sales and develop new services.

The project has been awarded the label of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and the label was used in events and communications throughout 2018.

Project materials

Map "Livonian Culinary Route" - ENG, DE, RU, FI, EE, LV

The map includes 250 stops of the Livonian Culinary Route in Latvia and Estonia - taverns, restaurants, lodging houses, and producing farms, allowing you to find out the impact of Livonian times on the contemporary cuisine of today.

Brochure "Flavours of Livonia - Dishes" - ENG, DE, RU, FI, EE, LV

The brochure includes a selection of traditional food with a preparation history coinciding with the Livonian historical period and is a supplement to the map "Livonian Culinary Route". The selection of courses described in the brochure comprises national dishes which, in terms of their cooking history, corresponding to the historical period of Livonia.