2026 record broken: 4,942 participants at the world's largest raclette

📍 Martigny Expo • 📅 Saturday, April 18, 2026 • 🧀 Raclette du Valais AOP

The world's largest raclette event broke its own record on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Martigny Expo. 4942 participants gathered under one roof to enjoy Raclette du Valais AOP served directly from the wheel, which is 49 more guests than in 2025.

This second edition of The plus grande raclette of the world, organized by Myexpo and championed by Eddy Baillifard, ambassador of Raclette du Valais AOP, confirms Valais as the true birthplace of raclette and the undisputed king of beautiful, melting cheese wheels.

In this article: the official figures for the 2026 record, a comparison with 2025, a look behind the scenes of the evening, and how not to miss the 2027 edition.

✅ Want to recreate the magic at home? Discover our selection of Raclette du Valais AOP — the same cheese that was scraped in Martigny.

🏆 2026 Record Broken: Official Figures

Validated by a notary on site, the new record for the world's largest raclette was officially proclaimed on Saturday evening. Here are the figures for this 2026 edition:

• 4942 participants gathered under one roof (previous record: 4893)
• 788 half-wheels of Raclette du Valais AOP scraped
• Nearly 2 tons of cheese melted throughout the evening
• 1500 kg of potatoes served with the raclette
• 2380 jars of gherkins, onions, courgettes, and pickled mushrooms
• 403 scrapers and volunteers mobilized to serve guests

While the majority of guests were from Valais, many raclette enthusiasts traveled from other French-speaking Swiss cantons and even further afield.

📊 2025 Edition vs. 2026 Edition: The Comparison

Two editions, two records. Here's how the second edition measured up against the first:

Note: The 5000 tickets for the 2026 edition sold out in just 17 minutes on the QoQa platform, nearly 5 times faster than in 2025. This proves that the event is becoming a must-attend for raclette lovers in Switzerland.

🎉 Review of the evening of April 18, 2026

From 5 p.m., the before set the tone: aperitifs, bar, DJ, and potato cooking behind the scenes. At 6:15 p.m., the 788 half-wheels of Raclette du Valais AOP were heated, and service began at 6:30 p.m. in a Martigny Expo hall transformed into a temple of melted cheese.

"It's just incredible to see the enthusiasm of the raclette scrapers," Eddy Baillifard declared at the end of the evening. "Everyone was beaming, with great motivation, it was just magnificent. And already, many are asking when the next edition will take place."

For Vincent Claivaz, president of Myexpo, the event perfectly illustrates the DNA of Valais: conviviality, quality local products, and the strength of traditions. The evening continued until 3 a.m. with an after-party reserved for ticket holders.

🧀 Why it's the true raclette of the world

The history of the event is worth recalling. Until 2025, the world record was held by the French city of Saint-Étienne... but not exactly for the same dish. In France, the record was set with raclonettes — small individual pans with pre-sliced cheese. For the Valaisans, this was a heresy to be corrected.

Raclette du Valais AOP is not a raclonette. It is a precise traditional dish, with strict rules of savoir-faire:

• A half-wheel (approximately 2.4 kg) is used, never individual slices
• The wheel is placed facing a heat source (wood fire, electric element, or gas)
• The surface is allowed to melt, then it is scraped directly onto the plate
• Cooking is gentle and progressive: the goal is a smooth and shiny melt, never a burnt crust
• The cheese is made from raw milk, produced only in Valais and aged in cellars

As for accompaniments, the Valaisan tradition remains simple: a plain cooked potato, a gherkin, two small pickled onions, and a generous portion of melted cheese. No excessive charcuterie, no eggs, no grilled vegetables. It's a convivial and continuous ritual: a half-wheel yields about 40 raclettes and feeds about ten guests at the pace of the melting cheese.

👉 To learn more, read our article: Valais, the historical birthplace of raclette.

📌 Why the record is not in the Guinness Book

Despite a record officially validated by a notary during both editions, The plus grande raclette of the world does not appear in the Guinness Book of Records. The reason is purely financial: official registration with Guinness entails a significant cost, and the organizers preferred to invest this budget in the quality of the event rather than in institutional recognition.

Nevertheless, the record is well recognized by Valais local producers and Swiss media (RTS, 20 Minutes, Le Nouvelliste, 24 Heures, Swissinfo), who extensively covered both editions.

🏠 Organize a Raclette du Valais AOP at home

Didn't manage to get a ticket for the 2026 edition? Good news: nothing beats a raclette with friends at home, with the real AOP Valais cheese and the right equipment.

Here's what you need to recreate the Martigny experience at home:

• 🧀 A half-wheel of Raclette du Valais AOP (2.4 kg = approximately 10 people)
• 🔥 A gas raclette grill or electric raclette grill suitable for a half-wheel
• 🔪 A professional raclette knife for clean scraping
• 🥔 Firm-fleshed potatoes, gherkins, small pickled onions

💡 Tip on how much cheese to plan: Use our raclette quantity calculator to make sure you get it right — it tells you exactly how much cheese you need based on the number of guests.

📅 Next edition: how not to miss it

The organizers have not yet announced the official date for the 2027 edition, but at the current pace — an edition every spring at Martigny Expo — a third edition can be expected around April 2027.

To maximize your chances of getting tickets (reminder: they sold out in 17 minutes in 2026), here's what you need to do:

• Create an account on QoQa.ch, the exclusive ticket sales platform
• Monitor official announcements on martigny-expo.ch
• Subscribe to our newsletter: we relay the ticket sales opening date every year

✨ Valais, land of true raclette

With 4942 guests, 788 half-wheels, and nearly 2 tons of cheese scraped in one evening, The plus grande raclette of the world 2026 confirmed what Valais has always known: raclette from the wheel, made with raw AOP milk aged in cellars, has nothing to do with the industrial and pasteurized versions found elsewhere.

This event has become much more than a record: it is a banner for Valaisan expertise and an annual gathering that brings together producers, scrapers, volunteers, and enthusiasts around the same ancestral gesture.

🧀 Want to taste the same Raclette du Valais AOP that was served in Martigny? Discover our selection of Raclette du Valais AOP cheeses, delivered directly to your home in Switzerland.

❓ FAQ – The plus grande raclette of the world 2026