Don't know where to have a calçotada? A new free app has all the information you need.

Arnau Pérez de Tudela Guasch is from Valls and runs a communications agency in Altafulla. A few years ago, Gerard Cañellas Prades, from Riera de Gaià, joined the agency. They both always said they had to do something to bring together everything in the world of calçots (where to make them, where to buy them, where to find the sauce...) and one day they had a lightbulb moment. Inspired by the hit app where people noted where to make hearty breakfastsThe CalçotApp has arrived.

The app is free (with an ad-free version available for €9.99) and has already been downloaded by nearly 3,000 people. It features a map, and you can search by category (restaurant, producer, sauces, bread, and cooked calçot) or discover those closest to you. Clicking on an establishment displays a complete profile with address, phone number, website, social media links, and contact information. They have been very careful to include the places where you can find Catalan country bread within the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication), as well as the producers who cultivate calçots within the Valls PGI. According to Pérez de Tudela, "it's a way to promote other values, educate, and give visibility to quality products." He cites olive oil, bread, and wine as examples, which also "define the region," he says.

Arnau Pérez de Tudela explains that he was already used to people from Barcelona asking him where to go for a good calçotada, but what surprised him was that many people from Altafulla, Torredembarra, or Tarragona had the same problem. "Not the people from Valls," he says. So, together with Gerard Cañellas, he's making this app available to anyone who wants it. In fact, before launching it, they conducted a survey and found a profound lack of knowledge about this tradition. The study indicated, for example, that 40% of those surveyed didn't know what the Valls calçot PGI was, despite a great fondness for it, since, according to the question about habits, 50% of respondents claimed to have between 3 and 4 calçotadas a year.

Pérez de Tudela explains that throughout his life he has cooked calçots, served them in restaurants, and, of course, eats them himself. He adds that this app could be just the beginning of a growing initiative. They could organize joint calçotadas (calçot feasts), events, talks... So far, more than 500 businesses and establishments have already joined.