Meadow Flavours Day 2026 at Yuri Prokofiev’s

11. In July, the fourth ‘Taste of the Meadow’ event took place in the vast, flower-filled floodplains of the Sita and Pededze rivers – an informative and inspiring gathering hosted by Yuri Prokofiev, a natural farmer and producer of natural meadow products.

After a brief introduction led by the host, we set off on an exploratory walk through the flowering floodplain meadows, discovering their rich plant life, playing meadow bingo, and learning about meadow birds with Jānis Ķuzis. The landowner, Jurijs Prokofjevs, shared his experience of how natural meadows and wetlands are managed.

On ‘Meadows’ Flavours Day’, we enjoyed a meal prepared outdoors using natural meadow produce, including various meadow delicacies made from meadow-reared beef and venison, sheep’s milk cheese, venison tartare with marinated dandelion buds.

Meadow Tasting Day is a tradition maintained by Yuri Prokofiev in collaboration with the Latvian Nature Fund; it offers the chance to sample a meal prepared by a head chef using meadow produce and to learn more about natural meadows – one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in Latvia, the conservation of which requires careful and knowledgeable management.

We would like to thank the Prokofiev family – Yuri and Monika – and all the participants for their hospitality, for taking the time to enjoy nature, for their curiosity, and for the ‘Tastes of Pļava’ day we spent together!