La Perla delicatessen (La Garriga), best Botifarra Catalana – Gastroteca 2022 award

Catalonia has its first winner for the best botifarra catalana: Yolanda Presseguer, of the butcher's and delicatessen La Perla in La Garriga (Vallès Oriental), took the title in this first National Botifarra Catalana Competition. Held at the Fira Orígens in Olot and organised by the Fundació Oficis de la Carn with the support of Carnissers Xarcuters Catalunya, the competition was backed by Gastroteca, the leading marketing portal for Catalan agri-food products.

The competition was held to recognise the best the best botifarra catalana made according to the recipes and traditional references listed in theInventory of Local Products, published by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda and included in the Gastroteca. 

The competition drew 25 producers from 18 Catalan counties and was open to all professionals working in delicatessens and butcher's shops or small establishments holding the relevant authorisations or registrations for making meat products and qualifying as micro or small businesses.

A jury of cured meat and food experts and master charcutiers assessed the organoleptic and quality attributes in a blind tasting, scoring external and internal appearance, texture and bite, and taste and aroma out of a total of 100 points. The jury's spokesperson, Josep Dolcet, director of the Escola de la Carn, said the results were very close and that Yolanda Presseguer's botifarra edged out the rest on small nuances, mainly in aroma and final flavour , showing that our charcutiers take great care over their product and offer their customers high-quality goods.  

Yolanda Presseguer, who received the award from Ramon Sentmartí, managing director of Prodeca, presented a botifarra catalana with a touch of spices, nutmeg, cinnamon and bay, marinated with sherry liqueur and made "with passion for 28 years, since the first mocadera taught me how". The winner added that "it is a source of pride to receive this award and I hope people will come to the shop to taste our product".

The jury also gave special mentions to the botifarres of Antoni Vigo Pubill, of Antiga Casa Jaume in Bellver de Cerdanya (Cerdanya); Josep Terradellas Delgar, of Can Cerilles in Manlleu (Osona); and Enric Rosell Gili, of Ca l'Estevet in Ordal (Alt Penedès). 

Botifarra catalana is a cooked sausage made exclusively in Catalonia. It is produced from the finest lean cuts of raw pork, carefully chosen and selected, minced or knife-cut and treated with curing salts. It is then stuffed into thick pork casing and cooked in broth or in a steam oven. The use of curing salts gives it its characteristic pink colour when sliced.

The competition was driven by the Confraria del Gras i el Magre and the Fundació Oficis de la Carn , in line with their aims of promoting, encouraging and publicising the trades related to meat and meat products in Catalonia, and their purpose of safeguarding the quality and improvement of traditional meat products.

Strong turnout at the Fira Orígens

The 10th edition of Orígens, Catalonia's agri-food fair for quality products, has closed with an excellent assessment from the organisers and promoters. The anniversary edition was marked by a steady flow of visitors and high satisfaction among producers.

This year more than 6,500 people visited the fair over the weekend. Tasting tickets also rose notably, with a total of 54,000 sold (2% more than in 2021). As every year, the more than 60 producers at Orígens were very satisfied with sales, with many selling out. 

As for visitors, the many professionals stand out who once again came to Orígens to discover quality products directly from producers and the new launches presented, as well as to build trade relations. They all rated the diversity of products on show very positively, especially the presence of organic produce.