Latgolys špeka master Andris Meier

Andris Meier, the leader of Latgale's fat man, “Latgolys Golds”, can now be seen at fairs and festivals in Latvia or Latvia. In a white linen shirt or dark blue ancient Latin god clothes, smiling and comfortable, Andris, as a toy, turns into thin slices of fat, speaking in latgalical affection every passer and offering to taste fat, cheese, rye bread, quasi-quasi. His stories about the good qualities of the fat and other traditional products of Latgale are endless, and in an equally endless patience, he explains the meaning of the latgalical words, while presenting the ignorants with Latgalian language, history and traditions. In May, Andris and Zoja Meieri represented the Rēzekne municipality and all Latgale bread festivals in Brussels. “If there are strong craftsmen, then Latgale will be strong, but if Latgale is strong, Latvia will be strong,” – Andris is firmly convinced.

Latgale – his parmeza and mocarella

At the festival, each Member State of the European Union had brought its bread and products with which the bread was eaten. The Spaniards brought the dried meat, Italian -- the cheese, the smoked salmon from Ireland, and “Latgolys Gold” offered coarse bread, cheese and fat, as in Latgale. "Vyss fight patyka. The cheese was bought more than in French, but the fat in turn tasted like delicacy, especially the older generation. They do not believe that the fat is unhealthy, there are even fat festivals in Europe, to which i am going to go. '
The coarse rye bread was not really a heart for the western Europeans. “Another look, prolonging, shrugs, doesn't understand what he's eating.” They even asked if it was baked from special black grains. But that is nothing, we must show our traditional production – rye bread, fat, cheese cheese, it is the symbol of Latgale food. Like the French are proud of their parrot, Italians about mocarella, we must be proud of their products. '

What is casualties and abad?

In “Latgolys golda”, all labels are only latgalically, which causes some of them to embarrass. “People ask - a what it is casualties. Then i explained – Riga grows garlic, but at Latgale casualties. You are feeding pigs with potatoes, we and bubble or Utilian, but in Ventspils with potatoes. You shepherd sheep, but at us! vuska. You eat a spoon, but we and leisure. That's what i teach them. I took the products to Riga and talked to buyers in latgalically all day. Who doesn't understand, then asks again. People stand, listen, and then say yes, that's the language of my babies, it's really beautiful and yet different from everyday, other root, other words. Spring eu baking abskin oxnys with seamer. Beautifully folded in a plate, people meet and judge, wait for them to be the liver, from what? What is it about a beast in Latgale? Well, i say, they don't have the liver left from Brazil and kept in a freezer for 20 years, they're fresh liver when the pig has just been slaughtered and the housewife is preparing a fat pig funeral. I tell everyone that we have the language that we are talking about in that day that we are being issued. '
The raw materials are bought by Andris only from organic farms, and neither of which they have been tested are many, until the actual taste characteristics are found for both pork and garlic, which are specifically raised by some prize farmer. “I encourage all farmers to grow organic production. We, the association“ Latgolys Gold '”, are studying ancient recipes, choosing what might be appropriate now, for example, for example, i now go to a cook-ancient Latgale soup, a babra-gale soup with a dungeon and a Zača kuopustim. Bebra's meat, it's the most dietetic meat. The ancient Latvians had no supermarket, their supermarket was a forest and everything in the woods was put on the table.'
I ask Andris how “Latgolys Gold” is living with food and veterinary services and its severe demands. “Very good, all the requirements they have set up for me have been fulfilled, no problems are, they are supported by domestic producers.”

From “circus” to fat

Previously, Andris Meier was more known as the owner of the company's “table-game workshop”, which produced a number of popular table games, including “Rich Racks” and “circus”. It was a hobbie that came to the top of the success staircase, like a good lion in a circus game. “When there was a businessman in Riga, we usually carried fat bacon, cheese, rye bread.” People liked it, another time asked: Androi, bring us back, sell us! But i do n't work with fat production, that's what i do, my heart, and i'm giving you. But they say no, but the neighbor wants to get it. Well, i started to make them fat, but to understand where the fat was, i started to write latgalically on the label “Latgolys shpek with casnogim”, as my mother had ever called from Vērēmu parish, at the Aamowa Lake. ”

Rezekne -- fat museum

Latgale's fat man has big fucking backs to raise even more honour than it is now. It turns out that a clean well-salted fat is even a dietetic product, even doctors have acknowledged it. “See, Anatoly Dunillan, doctor in his book (A. Danilans, I. The Speaker is no fault”, R., Jumava, 2013. -- aut.) writes about the fat words! I knew before she knew that there was no fault, another time to snap something, then cut off the thin sliced fat and send it without a bread, like a bonus. 'But there is no cafe or restaurant in Rezekne to enjoy the gardage as well as tourists, so Andris Meier is dreaming of the creation of the museum. This idea was also welcomed by the tourism specialists of Rezekne and the municipality.
'The fat is different, i've tasted different, both Ukrainian and Hungarian, i know different flavours. Is a year, is a half-year pork fat, it varies by structure. I thought of the fat store, a museum where there would also be a process of cooking, where everyone could come, look, taste and buy, get acquainted with other peoples' bacon. ”It is only the fact that, by the time of the markets, there is no time to sit down and write a project so that such an idea can also be financed, there is a way for entrepreneurs to come up with public officials. Otherwise, Andris is pleased with his occupation.
“The Germans have told me that, Andris, you are happy in your Latgale that you eat such good, clean products – fat, cheese, rye bread, go to us more often, and only hotdogs and bigwals. i'm a half-juice. I like people to extend, enjoy. I'm a Latgalian, i'm glad that the latmeat product tastes that i like the labels in Latin that the poster “Bya Seits i vasals'read Burto as little children. Latgolys Spiek, Latgale Spider!“– That is what Andris Meier says and adds that the wanting to enjoy it is much – by the festival“ Latgolys gold ”is already around 50 orders!

Anna Rancāne

Photo: A. Ranāne and a. Meier's personal archive