At 5 p.m. on June 14, 250 guests arrived at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel, where they found what they had come for: five chefs, 20 judges, 300 pounds of pork, 400 bottles of wine and 200 pounds of cheese. It was time for Cochon 555, an event presented by the Taste Network and billed as “5 chefs, 5 pigs, 5 winemakers in friendly competition for a cause” (Cochon is French for pig).
The cause in this case is heritage pig breeds, specifically raising awareness of their importance and appeal. “Heritage” refers to breeds that were raised by small farmers before industrial agriculture funneled our eating habits into narrow channels that pare the genetic diversity out of our foodways. These breeds are hardy in traditional farm environments but ill-suited for the intensive techniques of today’s mechanized, volume-oriented farming system. Some of these breeds are endangered, and all of them taste delicious due to their need to be raised on pasture. Preserving these species is important to maintain genetic diversity, conserve these animals for the benefit of future generations and keep our traditional food heritage alive.
So we’ve already got one good cause going, but throw in “supporting family-owned wineries and cheese makers” for good measure and you have yourself an event with a mission.
The chefs, all local notables, each prepared a 70-pound heritage pig provided by eco-friendly farmers from the Bay area. The guests — for the ticket price of $125 — sipped local wines, sampled local cheeses, enjoyed a pork feast of a lifetime and went home full and happy. At the end of the evening, the judges crowned Peter McNee of Proggio Trattoria “Prince of Porc.”
The San Francisco event was the final stop on Cochon 555’s 10-city U.S. tour. In a mere nine months, Taste Network has wined and dined hundreds of pork enthusiasts all over the country, put 50 chefs to the test and made good use of 50 heritage pigs. The term “pigging out” has a whole new meaning.