Aldeia Viçosa Hosts Biggest Lagarada in the World

Sunday, 15 July 2012 00:00

The town of Aldeia Viçosa in Guarda hosted its “World’s Biggest Lagarada” to fans this January. According to mayor Baltasar Lopes, chefs use 150 kilos of cod, 350 kilos of potatoes, 150 kilos of onion and nearly 200 liters of olive oil to make the beloved Portuguese meal, cooked in the comfort of the town's mill, or lagar. The meal has been provided by the family of Laurentino Agostinho de Almeida, and was served to hungry dinner-goers were seated at tables lined down the road. “We want this to be written in the books as the biggest lagarada in the world,” Mayor Lopes said. He noted that the event cost the township little, as all of the ingredients were donated. “The potatoes were given by Quinta das Relvas, the olive oil from various olive mills and the cod from a big commercial surplus in Guarda.” In Aldeia Viçosa’s quest for the “world’s biggest” title, it weighed the final result on a 4.5 meter-wide scale. “This will go down in history, because at this moment, there’s nothing that mentions the biggest lagarada in the world,” Mayor Lopes said. The event continued an initiative held last year with rice pudding. It also marked the anniversary of the town’s renaming from Aldeia de Porco to Aldeia Viçosa,” which happened on January 25^th, 1939.