Last year we enjoyed being media sponsors as well as attending Cochon555 which takes place across the country but has a stop here in NYC. Cochon555 is a regional culinary competition that has 5 Top Chefs, barkeeps and sommeliers, distillers, brewers that come together to benefit a charity. This premium food, wine and spirit live-event includes a feast that incorporates all the senses. A central focus is to create awareness about buying, cooking, shopping and donating food that is delicious, safe and honest to those enjoy it. You can still purchase tickets to this event, here in NYC which will take place Sunday, Jan 21st at SECOND floor (849 6th Avenue New York, NY 10001) in midtown and watch this video to know more about those that are participating.
This year, Cochon555's competing chefs include Bryan Hunt of Temple Court, Marc Murphy of Benchmarc Restaurants, Fabian Gallardo of La Esquina, Matt Abdoo of Pig Beach and Ginger Pierce alongside Preston Madson of Jams by Jonathan Waxman. One week prior to the event, each chef receives a 200-pound heritage breed pig sustainably sourced from DeBragga, New York’s Butcher®, Dogpatch Farm, Heritage Foods USA, The Piggery, and Autumn's Harvest Farm to create a maximum of 6 dishes for competition. This event becomes a decadent tasting that showcases heritage bred pork with perfect beverage pairings.
In order to win, the chef's menu must win over 20 celebrity judges with the “Judge’s Plate” scored on utilization; technique; and overall flavor and be voted “best bite of the day” by guests. The winning “Prince or Princess of Pork”, New York City, will advance to the national finale, Grand Cochon, a head-to-tail, winner-takes-all showdown for the crown in Chicago on September 30th. In addition to the judging and tasting of the menu, there are beverage competitions that also take place during this time. Punch Kings, a whole bottle, large-format spirit competition featuring five top barkeeps in a hand-crafted punch challenge and Somm Smackdown, a face-off of five top sommeliers pairing the best wine with the heritage pig.
PHOTOGRAPHY | Paul Farkas
See our food editorial of last year's Cochon555 coverage
Placing the spotlight on “knowing where your food comes from", each event features an educational whole animal butchery program called the Pop-Up Butcher Shop and Silent Auction to benefit charity. This year’s headlining all-star butchers are Erika Nakamura and Jocelyn Guest from White Gold Butchers. Together with gifts from chefs, sponsors and John Boos & Co., they will raise money to benefit Piggy Bank, a start-up farm in Missouri that serves as a kickstarter for new family farms and a safety net for those in the wake of a disaster (flood, fire and disease). As an accelerator, Piggy Bank supplies piglets to small farms in exchange for business plans that are posted online in the name of a transparent “open-source agriculture”.
The ultimate aim of Cochon555 is to provide education to chefs and consumers and create experiences that guests can sink their teeth into: honest food from real farmers. The goal is to raise the bar on building a sustainable and profitable relationship for brands and chefs participating in culinary festivals.
Although tickets are still available with general admission starting at $130 and VIP tickets (early admission + exclusive access to cocktail competition and allocated wines and spirits) at $200, we are giving away 2 VIP tickets to this event which provides you early access to the event at 4pm (whereas general admission tickets can enter at 5pm).
ENTER TO WIN 2 VIP TICKETS TO THIS WEEKEND'S COCHON555 IN NYC
Follow and tweet @Cochon555, @AthleisureMag and tag a friend that you would like to join you at Cochon555. We will accept entries until 5pm EST on Wed Jan 16th. A winner will be randomly selected later that evening.
