Penedès gastronomy

Penedès, a boundless larder

Penedès is a living larder that stretches from the Mediterranean coast to the pre-coastal mountains, from the central plain to the woods of Ordal, from the orchards of the Anoia and the Foix to the heart of its villages.

It is a boundless larder because it grows every day with new projects, recovered recipes, reclaimed native varieties, modern influences and bold ideas. And because, beyond products, varieties and preparations, one same essence beats within it: a passion for things that are authentic and well made, pride in what feels truly one's own, and the joy of being able to share it.

A treasure of Catalan gastronomy

The Penedès recipe book is a treasure of Catalan gastronomy, built on iconic products, traditional preparations and recipes passed down from generation to generation.

Among its most outstanding products is the Gall del Penedès (Penedès rooster), which is currently the only farm-to table product in the area with the Protected Geographical Identification (IGP) quality mark. There are also coques enramades (flat breads) in the Baix Penedès and Vilanova's famous red schrimps. Around the winter season, locals treat themselves with xató, a dish with curly endive, cod fish, tuna, anchovies and a special sauce. Everyone has their one secret recipe, and that is what makes it fun! These products are so distinctive that each one has its own festival in the area. To these we can add Muscovy duck recipes, the traditional calçotades (grilled spring-onion feasts) and rice dishes with fish, meat and vegetables that are simply finger-licking good

We could not forget the peaches from Ordal area, that you can buy straight from the farmer in the Peach Market all summer weekends, or the varieties of traditional pastries, such as catànies of Vilafranca or the carquinyolis of Sant Quintí de Mediona, among other specialties.

The pleasures of the vine

Few foods have this ability to connect so deeply with the land, to condense culture, memory and landscape into a single sip or bite.

Wine is one of them. Welcome to the largest wine cellar in Catalonia. Penedès cannot be understood without wine. Nor its cuisine without the landscape. Nor a meal without that simple gesture of uncorking a bottle and sharing it. The pleasure begins in the nose and ends on the palate, but it stays in the memory forever.

10 reasons not to miss
the gastronomy of Penedès

1. A landscape you can eat

The gastronomy of Penedès is born of the very landscape that time has shaped over the centuries. Every dish carries a piece of the sea, the edge of an orchard, the scent of the woods or the colour of the vines. Cooking is the most direct way to understand the landscape of Penedès.

2. The boundless larder

Penedès is a living larder nourished by seasonality, proximity and diversity. Meats, cheeses, cured sausages, vegetables, fish, sweets, oils, preserves… A larder that never runs dry, an extraordinary range of foods.

Carles Herrero - Criador de galls del Penedès

3. Products with a name and a face

In Penedès, every product has an origin. We know where each thing comes from and who made it possible. We know the name of the farmer who harvested the calçots, the fisherman who pulled the prawns from the sea, the hands that twisted the butifarra sausage and the breeder who raised the rooster.

4. The Penedès recipe book, a living treasure

The Penedès recipe book is a blend of folk knowledge and celebrations lived around the table. Grandmother's recipes sit side by side with the most creative interpretations of today's chefs. It is a treasure that evolves without ever forgetting its roots.

Préssecs de l'Ordal - Fruita del Penedès

5. The Mediterranean diet

If there is one place where the Mediterranean diet shines in all its splendour, it is Penedès. This way of eating, recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, finds all its star ingredients here: vegetables, oil, fish, cereals, fresh and dried fruit, herbs, wine…

6. The divine liquid that waters it all

Penedès is, above all, a land of wines. It is liquid landscape, history in a bottle, identity served in a glass. Xarel·lo, Macabeu, Sumoll, Malvasia, sparkling, sweet and ancestral wines are just one example of its winemaking wealth.

7. The pleasure of eating and drinking

Here, people practise the art of enjoying without haste, of savouring every bite, of talking around a well-laid table. Drinking in the landscape, sip by sip. Feeling the land in every forkful.

8. Things you can only experience here

Penedès offers gastronomic experiences you won't find anywhere else. Cooking is not only what you eat, but how and where you eat it. And some experiences happen only in Penedès.

9. We celebrate by eating!

In Penedès, everything is celebrated around a table: the arrival of the first grape must, the xatonades (xató feasts), neighbourhood festivals, the grape harvest, birthdays, calçotades, the Festa Major. Here, when we eat and drink, we do it with joy, with pride and with a longing to come back.

10. The table is already set

Everything is ready: the vines fill the glasses, the recipes draw on our local tradition, the dishes speak of a generous land, and the tablecloth, plates, glasses and cutlery are all in place. The only thing missing is you. Sit down, taste, raise a toast and enjoy!

Come whenever you like!

We've put together a guide with four seasonal food routes —one for each season of the year— designed to inspire you and guide you on a journey of flavours across the whole Penedès area, which takes in Alt and Baix Penedès, the Garraf and the Anoia.