Estonia's 2025 Culinary Region: Tartu County!
Foodies and everyone else interested in good food should head to South Estonia, as Tartu County is calling!
Over 100 events will celebrate Tartu County's reign as the 2025 Culinary Region!
Alongside well-known food festivals and renowned restaurants, Tartu and Tartu County will host a broad range of food-related events, cozy cafés, authentic pop-ups, and much more. To sample fare from local producers, look for the "Tartumaine Toit" label in stores, which is given to products made or produced in Tartu County.
Estonia's annual culinary region selection showcases the distinctive food cultures of various parts of Estonia. This year's program for the Tartu County Culinary Region offers food enthusiasts a wide range of activities recognizing the region’s rich culinary heritage.
Centuries of distinctive flavors
Back in the days of the Hanseatic League, merchants and foodstuffs passed through what is now Tartu County.
New foods and recipes exchanged hands, and locals had the courage to embrace these new food traditions and incorporate international flavors with their regional cuisine. For example, some exotic fruits, such as pineapples and melons, have been cultivated in Tartu County for centuries.
Behind good food and exciting flavors are always skilled people, whether they be farmers or cooks at the stove. It was true in the past, and it remains true today. The availability of high-quality ingredients in Tartu has encouraged catering and hospitality establishments to hire the best chefs, offering guests exceptional culinary experiences.
Gifts from the lakes and the rivers
Tartu County's regional cuisine centers on the products that can be harvested from the surrounding fields, forests, and bodies of water, similar to Estonian food traditions around the country.
Its location between two beautiful lakes – Lake Võrtsjärv and Lake Peipsi – and its proximity to the winding Emajõgi River, have always meant fish is part of the local diet. Research confirms that Tartu County pike has been a valued food item (and even a welcome gift) for centuries.
Photo author: Näljane Nelik
Tartu has a long tradition of pastry making.
Don't forget to add a cake and coffee stop to your itinerary!
Bounty from the fields and the forests
As Tartu grew, it needed more food for its population, and grain production increased in nearby areas. Clever brewmasters took the local golden barley and started brewing beer. We don't know how good the ale was back then, but today, hundreds of years later, Tartu breweries are still bottling beer.
Kvass is a traditional drink made from fermented rye and barley malt. It has been made in Estonia as long as beer has. In the past, kvass was made at home using birch sap, bread, berries, fruits, and dried ingredients. Estonia's largest and oldest brewery, A. Le Coq, makes an authentic, naturally fermented kvass that retains the vitamins and minerals naturally present in rye and barley malts. Learn all about it at the A. Le Coq Beer Museum in Tartu!
Wonderful pastries have always been baked in Tartu, which goes hand in hand with its fine café culture. The city was already famous for its pastry shops centuries ago, and the deliciousness of Tartu County's pastries is still known to this day.
Tartu’s forests provide a bountiful harvest of mushrooms and berries, and its golden fields yield high-quality grain. After all, the best ingredients make great food, and that is exactly how it has been in Tartu and Tartu County throughout the ages.
Photo author: Kairi Tähe
This year's special events will highlight Tartu County's regional cuisine.
The Tartu Food and Wine Festival is highly recommended for all foodies!
Upcoming events in Tartu
Putting Tartu County on the map
The designation of Tartu County as Estonia's Culinary Region for 2025 presents a valuable opportunity for members of the food network, local authorities, and partners to promote the region as one with an exciting food history and traditions, and to do so not only in Estonia but also internationally. This will pave the way for the region’s long-term vision of becoming a European food region in the future.
The Tartu County Development Association is leading the Tartu County Culinary Region project in cooperation with the Association of Municipalities of Tartu County, the Tartu County Tourism Foundation, the Tartu County Food Network, the City of Tartu and other partners.
Discover Tartu and South Estonia
Last updated
25.07.2025