Editorial photo #11986736 Human Interest

Valls Celebrates 43rd Gran Festa De La Calçotada With Record Crowds And Culinary Triumphs

On January 26, 2025, in Valls, Catalonia, the city becomes the festive epicenter of Catalonia with the celebration of the 43rd edition of the Gran Festa de la Calcotada. The event attracts over 30,000 visitors who experience a day filled with tradition, gastronomy, and local culture. Highlights include demonstrations of calcot cooking, eating competitions, and grower contests, coinciding with the launch of Catalonia's designation as a World Region of Gastronomy. The Valls Chamber of Commerce and the IGP Calcot de Valls, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, express confidence that this recognition will internationalize the culture surrounding the calcot. They plan initiatives such as a simultaneous calcotada in ten European countries, a calcotada forum, and a cooking symposium in what is expected to be a promising season for the sector, with a harvest forecast to exceed 18 million units. In this year's competition, Adria Wegrzyn reaffirms his dominance in the Valls Calcot Eating Contest, claiming victory for the 13th time after consuming 195 calcots with a total weight of 3,275 grams in front of an eager audience. Although his record remains unbeaten since 2018--when he ate nearly 6 kg of calcots and around 300 units--Wegrzyn acknowledges the increasing difficulty of the competition: ''The first twenty minutes are great, but after that, it gets tougher,'' he says. Surrounded by family and friends, he celebrates his victory with a barbecue, maintaining a tradition that strengthens the cultural and gastronomic bonds of the region. (Photo by Lorena Sopena/NurPhoto)