The calcotada is this weekend (22 March 2025)! See you there!
Details at Castellers Of London. Check out the castellers page if you don’t know what this fun activity is about!
What is a calçotada I hear you say? It looks like a spring onion vegetarian braai, to be honest — the food at the centre of the day is the Calçot (Catalan: [kəlˈsɔt]), a type of green onion. The name calçot comes from the Catalan language. The calçot from Valls (Catalonia, Spain) is a registered EU Protected Geographical Indication.[1]. let’s have Wikipedia continue the explainer —
The most traditional way of eating calçots is at a calçotada (plural: calçotades), a gastronomical celebration held between November and April,[4] where barbecued calçots are consumed in massive quantities.[5]
In a typical event, calçots are grilled until the outer layers are charred, then wrapped in newspaper to steam, served on terra cotta tiles and eaten after peeling off the charred skin with bare hands and dipping the white portion in a special sauce (similar to romesco and to salvitxada). The green tops are discarded. It’s customary to wear a large bib for the sauce stains. The calçots can be accompanied by red wine or cava sparkling wine. Pieces of meat and bread slices are often roasted in the charcoal after cooking the calçots.[5] For dessert, a typical choice is oranges and white cava.[6]
We’ll have a castellers workshop and performance beforehand, the day is free but you’ll need to buy tickets to enjoy the calçots as they come hot off the grill. They’re sold out online for calçot meals but there may be a few available on the day, in addition to taster tickets if you want to try one ore two. Enjoy!