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player ready...On Sunday, lovers of bacon, pork, wine and booze descended upon the dangerously caloric Cochon 555 in the West Loop to ostensibly help a good cause, but who are we kidding? It was a tasty bacchanal with fringe do-gooder benefits.
Part of a 14-city national tour and competition culminating in the Grand Cochon, also in Chicago in October, Cochon 555 is dedicated to showcasing heritage breed pigs to new audiences. Proceeds from the high-profile event benefit Piggy Bank, a foodways organization dedicated to educating farmers and chefs about heritage pigs and breeding.
Held at Morgan Manufacturing, the porcine fete featured chefs Ricardo Jarquin (Travelle Kitchen + Bar), John Manion (El Che Bar), Nathan Sears (theWit Hotel Chicago), Tom Carlin (Publican Quality Meats) and Pete Coenen (Cherry Circle Room), working with whole hogs to prepare up to six dishes for hungry crowds and a smattering of judges. Taking home the glory this year was Jarquin, who will go on to compete against his other peers at the Grand Cochon.
Working with a blond Mangalitsa heritage hog from 1936 Meadowbrook Farm in Benton Harbor, Mich., Jarquin and his team prepared adobo pork fritters, massaman curry, a Peruvian pan con chicharron, an annatto-braised pork butt, a pork shank wonton and honey-glazed bacon jam buns.
Competition was certainly tough — Manion’s El Che Cuban drew crowds, as did Carlin’s pork belly ‘nduja pimento cheese, Sears’ crispy pork head and Coenen’s pork liver beignet.
As the chef competition raged, smaller, boozier competitions also pitted sommeliers and mixologists against their peers. Taking home the prize for the Punch Kings big batched cocktail contest was Piers Smyth, of the Roof on theWit, for his Chatham artillery punch, made with Breckenridge bourbon, Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne and a slew of citrus and berry fruits. Rachel Driver-Spekan of City Winery beat out wine-and-food-pairings somms with her pick of Bodegas Los Bermejos’ Rosado made from the listan negro grape from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
By the numbers, more than 1,500 pounds of heritage pork was consumed by Cochon guests, even as they took part in a number of pop-ups ranging from luxury butter to ramen, rib-eyes and cured meats. Cider, mezcal, wine and even Angostura cocktails were on offer, keeping spirits bright. If this event is any indication, Grand Cochon will prove to be bigger and porkier.
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