COCHON555 = 5 Chefs, 5 Pigs, 5 Winemakers
What an AWESOME experience! Get ready to drool…let me break this down for y’all:
The Facts:
- 5 Chefs
Mike Isabella (Graffiato & Bandolero)
Bryan Voltaggio (Volt & Range)
Kyle Bailey (Birch & Barley)
Haidar Karoum (Proof)
Jeff Buben (Vidalia)
- Each chefs prepares a pig; each bite they make must contain some part of the pig
- The chefs are competing to create the best bite of the night, as decided by votes from ~20 judges and 400+ attendees
- Winner = Prince of Pork
- Created [by Brady Lowe] ]to promote a national conversation around the sustainable farming of heritage-breed pigs
- In its fifth year
- Five Winemarkers, in addition to bourbon, whiskey, vodka, mezcal, cider….
The Event
- My favorite bites:
–> Voltaggio’s pork belly and smoked fatback caramel & crushed pretzel truffle
–> Isabella’s nutella cookie with whipped pork fat frosting
–> Buben’s pork sticky buns and hominy soup
–> Bailey’s pig-in-a-blanket, egg DCmuffin, and bacon buckeyes
—> Karoum’s chicharrones
- Who did I vote for? Kyle Bailey. I LOVED all of his bites! Especially those bacon buckeyes– AMAZING!!
- Who won? Mike Isabella! It was a great competition. Really everyone served up unique, tasty pork-laden items.
- Big THANK YOU to Steven Furick, my photographer for the evening. Awesome pics!
- Other notables:
Old Bay Vodka oyster shooters!
Chris Fuller’s Butchering of a Whole Pig
The HUGE Cheese spread (this picture is only a tiny portion of it)
Truly a great event! I’d will definitely attend again. Lots of well-executed, interesting, unique foods, a plethora of drink options, and an admirable mission, Cochon555 is a fun event with a real purpose. Good people too!
