Sunday, April 3rd at 5pm
On Sunday, April 3, the ten-city traveling culinary competition, Cochon555, will be in our backyard.
The three year-old brainchild of Brady Lowe features 5 local chefs, 5 heritage breed pigs, and 5 winemakers, all brought together to promote the sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs.
Sustainable agriculture, personally my favorite foodie concept, aims to shift farming back to a smaller scale. Definitively, sustainable foods are produced in a manner that do not harm the environment, are humane to animals and provide fair wages to farmers (sustainabletable.org).
Hundreds of years ago, all agriculture was sustainable. A farmer raised his pigs, slaughtered them, and distributed the meat locally. Different breeds of pigs were raised for different flavors, marbling, and fat. When factory farms took over, those gene pools were lost in the mix and some of these heritage breeds of pigs are now becoming incredibly rare.
A Red Wattle pig
Cochon555 aims to bring heritage pigs back. To honor porcine history, the competition uses the animal in its entirety from nose to tail, leaving nothing to go to waste. While it may seem a bit backwards to preserve these breeds by eating them, supporting farmers of these breeds is what keeps them alive for future generations to enjoy.
The 5 chefs featured in Denver’s chapter of Cochon555 are:
Alex Seidel (Fruition)
Kelly Liken (Kelly Liken)
Frank Bonanno (Luca D’Italia, Bones, Mizuna, Osteria Marco)
Lachlan Mackinnon (Frasca Food and Wine)
Jennifer Jasinksi (Euclid Hall & Rioja)
Five wines will be featured from:
The Scholium Project
Elk Cove Vineyards
Failla Wines
Chase Family Cellars
Domaine Serene
Additionally, there will be a butcher competition featuring:
Jimmy Cross (Marczyk Fine Foods)
Connie Dunn (Sunnyside Meats, Durango)
Cutting Berkshire from (Newman Farms)
This weekend’s Prince or Princess of Porc will travel to Aspen’s Food and Wine Classic to be crowned King or Queen.
The showdown will take place at the Ritz Carlton in Lodo (1881 Curtis Street). Tickets are $125 and can be purchased at Cochon555.com.
To learn more about heritage pigs: Field Guide to Heritage Breed Pigs, or to learn how to live, eat, and shop sustainably click here.