Calçotada de Valls Festival 2013: a tradition that travels

The 2013 edition

• Date: 27 Jan 2013
• Location: Valls (Tarragona)
• Edition: 32nd Gran Festa de la Calçotada

A programme that connected the countryside and the squares

The brochure placed the presentation of the bunches of the growers' contest in the Plaça del Blat and the test of eating calçots in the Pati. The tasting was distributed throughout squares of the old town, while the Agricultural Society incorporated an exhibition of machinery for cultivation.

The programme included a food and craft market, a DO Tarragona space and calçot preparations in the Vilar leisure area. The document announced by the organising committee allows us to reconstruct a festival divided between different scenarios, in which the product was shown from cultivation to its preparation and service.

Documentation: Gran Festa 2013 Programme — organisation brochure

A Japanese camera between the public and the contestants

The ACN chronicle explained the arrival of visitors through Japanese agencies and the presence of the Waratte Koraete programme, by Nihon Terebi. Their correspondent, identified as Yanagawa, recorded the day and participated in the calçots-eating contest. It is a concrete example of the international curiosity that the festival aroused.

The news included the expectations of the Chamber of Commerce regarding this tourist interest and the calçot sector. They were not already measured audience data or guaranteed future results: they described the organisers' forecasts in 2013. The historical value lies in documenting how Valls presented his gastronomy to new audiences.

Documentation: ACN/Reusdigital: the festival continues to attract international interest (27 January 2013)

The result and the sources we keep

The winner of the calçots eating contest was Adrià Wegrzyn. The official table preserves 225 pieces and 3,370 grams. For weighing, this table is taken as a reference, because some contemporary chronicles published rounded or discrepant amounts.

Along with the result, this archive links the brochure and the organisation's call. This way, the original date and activities can be consulted without automatically transferring their spaces, contacts or conditions to the present. The 2014 archive continues the story with the anniversary of the Gegant del Calçot and a new mark in the competition.

Documentation: Gran Festa: official table of winners of the calçots eating contest · Gran Festa: official call for 27 January 2013

A look at the 2013 programme

Selection of documented activities from that edition.

1. 10:3027 Jan 2013

   Presentation of bunches from the growers contest

   Plaça del Blat

2. 13:0027 Jan 2013

   Calçots eating contest

   El Pati

Explore more of the festival

Learn about the calçots eating contest and check its record →

Check the next edition of 2027 and discover the calçotada restaurants from Valls and Alt Camp.

Return to archive of all editions →