What Could Be Better Than This? | Liepāja Theatre

To his mother, he was a rascal; to the chefs at restaurant “Vincents”, the boss; and to his closest friends, the old crab. Born in a refugee camp and raised in the iron-ore mining town of Corby, he worked in Canada, Jamaica and Saudi Arabia. When chef Mārtiņš Rītiņš arrived in Latvia in the early 1990s, no one here knew him yet—just as they knew nothing of Caesar salad, sushi or beef tartare. He was 42, with several lives already behind him and another ahead. He brought recipes and ingredients previously unknown to Latvians into their menus, and brought back ones they had forgotten. He provoked, amused, irritated and inspired, and taught people to take salmon out of the fridge even when there was nothing else at home. Until the final moments of his life, he kept seeking new heights, asking what could be better still. This is a story about a person’s life and the importance of food in it—from mother’s milk to dinner at an expensive restaurant, from the family festive table to banquets for the world’s most influential politicians. A little salt and pepper, and there’s only one thing left to do: enjoy this together with you!

Director: Inga Ungure
Co-authors and cast: Rolands Beķeris, Gatis Maliks, Agnese Jēkabsone, Polina Čerņenoka, Mārtiņš Kalita, Santa Breikša, Armands Kaušelis, Valts Skuja, Kārlis Artejevs, Hugo Puriņš