Zaube Wild Food Festival 2025

The festival’s concept is based on the interaction of local intangible cultural heritage – the use of wild products in food – with contemporary, professional culinary arts. The event is rooted in the traditions of the Zaube hunting community, which has preserved hunting and game preparation skills, herbal tea gathering and usage traditions passed down through generations that wider public can enjoy through the well-known brand “Lauku tējas” (Country Teas) as well as local mushroom and berry picking traditions.

A new highlight this year is the collaboration with the “Young Chefs Movement,” which brings together highly skilled chefs. They will lead several exciting activities:

• wild product cooking competitions for chefs,
• a cooking contest where festival visitors are also invited to participate,
• restaurant-level food demonstrations.

In contrast, Zaube hunters will demonstrate family-established recipes, following the “from tail to nose” principle – using every part of the animal.

The essence of the festival is not only the use of wild products but also the authentic cooking experience in the open air – over live fire, without electricity.

The theme of the 2025 festival is “Autumn Rhythms.” This theme will weave through the festival program in various ways:

• rhythms of nature and the associated hunting knowledge.
• rhythms of cooking and seasonal product colors,
• tea mandalas and winter preserves jar competition “Autumn Rhythms in a Jar,”
• informative lectures,
• as well as music and dance,
• in the products brought by the market participants.

The “Zaube Wild Food Festival” is not only a celebration of honouring the traditions but also a discovery of new tastes, skills, and experiences, as well as a philosophy of harmony between nature and humans.

The event will be hosted by musician Reinis Reķis.

Entry free of charge