13-time Valls calçot-eating contest winner hungry for another victory

La Gran Festa de la Calçotada, the annual calçot onion festival in the southern Catalonia town of Valls, marks the beginning of this revered Catalan vegetable's barbecue season (calçotada time!). This year's calçot festivities will take place on Sunday, January 29.

And because no Gran Festa de la Calçotada is complete without the traditional calçot-eating contest, here at Catalan news we spoke with 13-time winner Adrià Wegrzyn to discover the story behind his unusual talent.

Wegrzyn, who holds the record for successfully devouring 5.8 kg of onions in 45 minutes, says his calçot-eating contest days date back to 2003, when his friend signed him up on a whim.

"He saw an article in the newspaper and they were advertising the Festa de la Calçotada in Valls," he recounts. "He knew I was a big eater so he signed both of us up. We went there after a night of partying in Barcelona after not sleeping to go have some fun." And of course, he won. A calçot-eating legend was born.

Hungry for more

Wegrzyn will be participating for the first time since 2020 and is hungry for another victory. Considering his stats – other years' winners average at under 3 kg – and the fact that the competition changed its rules because of him – now winners are not allowed to compete two years in a row – a Wegrzyn win is not unlikely.

"A tip for winning?" the Barcelona native chuckled. "Many. Keep on going even if you are disgusted."

And yet, despite consuming copious amounts of onions, he says he has never gotten sick in his quest to eat more than anyone else.

"A calçot is fiber and water so the only danger in the contest is eating so fast that you have a stomach dilatation, but this has never happened," he said. "You have some gas, but it's ok."

Valls, a good place for calçot "craziness"

Valls, the home of the calçot a 20-minute drive from Tarragona and a bit over an hour from Barcelona, is the place to be this Sunday, January 29, if you want to get a taste of them. 

"It is a good place to start eating and to see all the craziness with all the contests," Wegrzyn said. "There's a calçot sauce contest, a contest of onion eaters, a contest of onion growers…"

Other activities include a calçot market, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting, concerts, and a dance performance.

Catalan News visited Valls in early 2022 to record an episode of our podcast, Filling the Sink, about the traditional tender long onion.