Niels Peter Pretzmann, the founder of the most successful hospitality space in the Old Town of Vilnius, is stepping down from his position as the manager of Senatoriai Passage in order to devote all his efforts to organic farming and the creation of a sustainable food chain in Lithuania.
A shift towards the roots of the food supply chain
Niels Peter Pretzmann, the standard-bearer of sustainable food ideas who has been building a restaurant business in the Old Town of Vilnius for four years, chooses to devote his energy to an area that is talked about a lot, but done far too little. Starting this spring, he is returning to the activity he was engaged in in his early youth, but later distanced himself from, farming on the organic farm “Farmers Circle” located in the Ukmergė district.
“The farm is the most important part of the food chain, it is the foundation of all the restaurants and shops in Senatoriai Passage. This is the only way to ensure that what we sell and serve on our guests’ plates is healthy for the body. By growing products close to home, only 70 km from Vilnius, we create a sustainable short supply chain. I’ve been in business for many decades, I’ve worked in a variety of industries, but this one is the one most responsible for climate change issues. Humanity has exhausted the fertile land beyond belief, we are on the brink of a very dangerous crisis. It is necessary to act quickly, so I want to devote all my energy to correct, good farming”, says Niels Peter Pretzmann, founder of “Senators’ Passage” and “Farmers Circle” farm.
The most important thing is the health of the earth
Niels Peter Pretzmann communicates a lot with like-minded Lithuanian farmers, learns good practices from them and hopes that together we will be able to create a wave of organic, holistic farming.
“We should pay full attention to what is under our feet, what we cannot see. We aim to grow a regenerative farm where we can restore healthy soil and bring back all the microorganisms to it – we do not plow the land, change crops and do not use any chemical fertilizers. I find it hard to believe that farming is still using the same chemicals that killed people during World War II,” NP Pretzmann shares his observations.
Planning the Baltic Academy of Food Systems
Since the establishment of the farm in 2018, it was dreamed that it would become a center of holistic farming, where one would work with nature, farmers working on the same principles would gather here to exchange knowledge and create business. The name of the farm “Farmers Circle” (lit. “circle of farmers”) is an invitation to farmers to come and share their experiences.
Good principles of food production bring together like-minded people all over the world. An initiative group of people from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland and Lithuania is creating the foundations for the Baltic Food Systems Academy, the first meeting of which is scheduled for autumn this year. The aim of the academy is to give representatives of all areas of the food chain, from farmers to chefs and decision-makers, more practical knowledge about the necessary steps.
“We all know that food trends are created by professional chefs in top restaurants. They are later taken over by other restaurants, school kitchens and all those who cook at home. Therefore, dialogue between all participants in the food chain and the common goal of keeping the soil healthy is necessary,” says Niels Peter Pretzmann.
The management of the senatorial arcade is in good hands
Benoit Chereque, a Frenchman living in Lithuania, is taking over the position of the manager of Senatoriau Passage. Five years ago, he opened the doors of the group of companies “Baltic Food Republic”, which manages the restaurants and shops of Senatoriau Passage, and consistently helped to create a space loved by Vilnius residents in the Old Town.
Niels Peter Pretzmann plans to remain chairman of the board of the group companies.
About Niels Peter Pretzmann
Danish businessman Niels Peter Pretzmann, who has been living in Lithuania since 2012, is the owner of the real estate company “Asgaard Properties”, the main investor of the vertical farm “Leafood”, the founder of the hospitality company group “Baltic Food Republic” and the ecological farm “Farmers Circle”. “Baltic Food Republic” manages restaurants “Nineteen18” and “14Horses” located in Senatoriai Passage, natural wine bar “Taurės”, butcher shop, bakery, bookstore, farm and interior supply stores.
About the farm “Farmers Circle”
The certified 600-hectare organic farm “Farmers Circle”, located in Ukmergės district in the village of Radiškis, supplies products to “Nineteen18”, “14Horses” and other restaurants in Vilnius, which aim to produce from sustainably grown products in Lithuania. In 2021, the farm “Farmers Circle” won the “Good Farmer Ambassador” award, and it houses the only ecological restaurant “Red Brick” in Lithuania, where dishes are prepared by the Icelandic chef Arnór Ingi Bjarkason. This year, a modern slaughterhouse will start operating on the farm, which will ensure a higher quality of meat from Angus cattle bred on the farm.
The farm grows vegetables, fruits, grains, grass-fed Angus cattle and organic chickens. There is a food processing workshop that produces pickled vegetables, vegetable condiments and sauces.
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– 2024-05-07 16:07:45
