Peipsi food festival brings nearly 40 home cafés to lakeside

Nearly 40 home cafés opened their doors during the ninth Peipsi Food Street festival this weekend, offering local and international flavours, ERR reported. Fresh fish was the highlight of the event.

Visitors could also take part in three workshops. On Sunday, Emanuel Ville taught participants in Põldmaa village how to bake beef ribs with wild mushrooms.

“The festival’s aim is to show the wealth of the Peipsi region and how people can bring that wealth to the table. Our goal is to offer high-quality food to all of Estonia,” festival organiser Triinu Akkermann said.

The cafés mainly used local ingredients. Fresh fish featured prominently on their menus, with perch served fried, in a crispy preparation and in soup.

Visitors could also buy traditional onion pies and preserves from the Peipsi region. Home café operator Anna said preparations began early in the morning to serve everyone.

For the first time, the festival also offered spring rolls made from rice paper. Trang, a home cook from Vietnam, said she was calling them “August rolls” and had received positive feedback about the sauce and fresh fish.

Visitors came to the shore of Lake Peipsi from across Estonia and from farther afield. One visitor from Tartu County, Krista, said she had sampled several dishes, including perch, a stew, a spring roll and dessert.