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Curiously, Latvia has been the home of one restaurant for almost 30 years. Vincents Restaurant was opened in Riga by the charismatic chef Martins Ritins in 1994. It quickly became Latvia's leading restaurant, setting such high standards that it was hard for anyone else to match. When Martins Ritins died two years ago, however, there was no stagnation. His longtime partner and front-of-house manager Raimonds Tomsons won the ASI World's Best Sommelier award the following year, and the standard of beverage service in Latvian restaurants began to rise magically. Instead of a single leading restaurant, there is now a steering group made up of five.
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