Dessert Party at TERRA Restaurant

Since the beginning of this year, TERRA - an everyday restaurant at 9 Blaumaņa Street in the near-centre of Riga - has been serving its visitors fresh and healthy meals made from locally sourced ingredients. This evening, on 12 June, with a dessert party, the restaurant opened its summer season, treating the gathered food lovers to sweet creations by German chef Fabian de Fries.

TERRA definitely gives the impression of a nature-close, "green" restaurant - thanks to its natural wood interior, the greenery all around, and the use of fresh herbs such as rosemary, mint, and others. Restaurant manager Ilze Megne introduced the guests to two tasting rounds.

The first featured four tiramisu-style desserts, which I would like to describe purely on the principle of association. The first - the visual one, as it immediately caught the eye with its combination of white, yellow, and raspberry red. The second - the classic one, but with character, as a bitter coffee note wove through everything. The third - the satisfying one, with rounded flavours, a pleasant chocolate bitterness, and the freshness of strawberries. The fourth - the most Latvian, an interplay of apple and cream.

The dessert party guests were treated not only to a delight for the taste buds but also for the ears - with melodic songs performed by Latvian singer Goran Gora, some of them from his upcoming album in Latvian. The song "Meadow" particularly spoke to me.

A completely new Latvian product was also brought to the table: Sabile apple cider. The second tasting round, which the chef described as French, arrived with four more desserts, of which I managed to taste two (the organism simply would not accept any more sweetness) - rice pudding and a rhubarb and sea buckthorn treat. The latter became my favourite of the evening, as the sweetness and the tartness of the rhubarb came together beautifully, and at the same time counterpoised each other.

The TERRA hosts had also taken care to prepare small parting gifts for all guests to take home. A gift with a meaningful name: Find Your Roots! It was quite a surprise to open the paper box at home and discover… soil, in which seeds had apparently been planted, to be sprouted at home. I must say, a rather original approach. At least we appreciated it.

P.S. Thank you to Līga Ansone for the invitation, and to TERRA restaurant for a lovely evening!