Video: @lligadelaforquilla, @esmorz_app, @comopomona, @esmorzarsdeforquilla.cat / IG

Finalists Gather for Traditional Pork Breakfast Showdown

Lleida will host the final of the Lliga del Porc i la Forquilla this Sunday, 27 September, celebrating Catalonia’s traditional 'esmorzar de forquilla', a hearty pork-based breakfast rooted in rural culture. The event takes place from 10:00 at Fira MOS – Sant Miquel in the Camps Elisis, featuring 12 finalist restaurants that advanced through regional semi-finals across Tarragona, Lleida, Girona and Barcelona.

Dishes Focus on Pork as Key Ingredient

Each chef will present a dish with pork as the central component to a judging panel. Categories include first, second and third prize, with a new public award introduced this year: 70 diners will sample the entries and vote for the audience favourite. Competitors include Rosa Maria Barberà Rue and Florin Breghe from Fonda Montserrat in Cambrils (Tarragona), serving sea-and-mountain-style pig’s feet with galera mushroom; Elena Morato from Bar Restaurant Cooperativa Elena in El Catllar with esparracada; and Arnau Guirao from Bar Andorra Essence in Tarragona offering stewed Iberian pork shoulder with cep mushrooms. Representing Lleida are Ferran Accensi from Volta Plats in Benavent del Segrià with a local horticultural fricandó; Isidre Codina from Bar Lídia serving smoked pig’s trotters with hook beans and ear chips; and Gerard Balasch from Bar Tòfol with a pork and chickpea stew enhanced with Tarragona prawns. From Girona, Jordi Mascort of Can Mascort in Quart presents a pork cheek casserole; Vanessa Pijuan Canals of Can Ginesta in Vilobí d’Onyar offers neck of pork with pig’s foot sauce; and Ricard Jubany from La Societat in Sant Climent Sescebes brings stuffed squid with pork cheek. Barcelona’s finalists are Juli Alcoriza from Andreuenc in Sant Andreu, with braised pork cheek and salted cod brandade; Sonia López from Racó del Mercat with stuffed pig’s knuckles and foie in Pedro Ximénez reduction; and Cristina Candelich from Can Candelich in Samalús showcasing a traditional frit de matança.

Public Breakfast and Cultural Celebration

Beyond the competition, the event doubles as a public gastronomic gathering. A communal 'esmorzar de forquilla' will be served from 10:00, including pork and snail stew, bread, wine, soda and water for €15. The Lliga del Porc i la Forquilla aims to preserve the 'esmorzar de forquilla' as part of Catalonia’s culinary heritage and highlight restaurants sustaining this tradition. It also underscores the cultural importance of pork in Catalan rural cuisine.

Event Backed by Agricultural and Regional Bodies

Organised by Como Pomona and promoted by the Grup de Sanejament Porcí Lleida, the competition is sponsored by BonÀrea, Carviresa and Gst de Lleida, with support from the Generalitat de Catalunya. This marks the second edition of the league. The final coincides with Fira MOS – Sant Miquel, an agricultural fair running from 25 to 27 September, reinforcing Lleida’s role as a hub for agri-food innovation while revitalising the historic Saint Michael’s Fair tradition. Awards and diplomas will be presented at 12:00 following the judges’ deliberations.

Reported by laciutat.cat, La Ciutat.