Jan
07
National whole hog cooking contest “Cochon555” rolls into Dallas on February 9 – and you’re invited to eat
On Sunday, February 9, five North Texas chefs will compete for a finalist spot at Cochon555, an annual celebration of whole hog cookery.
Like last year, the February cook-off returns to the Four Seasons Resort in Las Colinas, and the public is invited to eat and drink the goods. This year’s
competing chefs at the Dallas event include Chef Lance McWhorter of Culture ETX, Chef Rich Vana of The Heritage Table, Chef Andrea Shackelford of Harvest Seasonal Kitchen, Chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman of José and Chef Christof Syré of LAW at Four Seasons Resort Dallas at Las Colinas.
Each chef and their team receives a heritage breed pig to create a maximum of six dishes for competition. Tickets are on sale now ($125, $185 VIP)for the event that includes samples of the dishes plus an array of beverages. Somm Smackdown, a face-off of five area sommeliers pairing the best wine with heritage pig, runs concurrently.
Cochon555 is part of a 15 city tour across North America. Since 2009, 108,000+ consumers have experienced heritage pork for the first time, more than $1,100,000 has been donated to charities, and over $1,200,000 has been paid directly to Cochon’s affiliated farmers.
Cochon555’s proceeds benefit Texas’ Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance, a national organization that supports independent family farmers and protects a healthy and productive food supply for American consumers, and The Council for Healthy Food Systems, its sister organization that provides science-based information to help consumers make what the Council deems as healthy choices.
If I recall correctly from judging the first Cochon555 event in Memphis a few years ago, the 555 originally referred to five competing chefs, five dishes from each, and five somms.