From our friends at Cochon 555...
Cochon555 Washington, DC Returns April 17, 2016
Loews Madison Hotel to host epic culinary competition
Cochon555 announces the return of the one-of-a-kind stand-up tasting reception featuring five chefs cooking five heritage breed pigs in a friendly competition for a cause on Sunday, April 17 at Loews Madison - Official Host & Hotel. Upping its commitment to the good food movement and charitable cause, this year’s tour includes two guest chef dinners that will benefit Piggy Bank, a genetic sanctuary that will provide free heritage breed pigs and business plans to emerging family farms. Tickets for the weekend are already on sale at www.cochon555.com and for a behind the scenes look at the culinary competition, watch Cochon555’s stunning video below.
Looking back on 2015, Cochon555 DC was a massive success, the sold-out weekend included three back-to-back events and a winner that went on to compete for the national title. Cochon555, the signature event on Sunday featured local farmers, a renowned chef lineup, prominent winemakers, restaurateurs, craft brewers and distillers. Danny Lee of Mandu emerged victorious; he took home the trophy and the “Prince of Porc” title by preparing a whole pig menu featuring the most popular breed of pig called the Berkshire raised by Buckingham Berkshires. This breed originates from Britain and is a favorite among chefs because of its intramuscular marbling. The breed yields brighter pork than most and features a thick, delicious fat cap. The sweet meat blended with creamy hints of nuttiness worked in tandem with Chef Danny’s winning menu of five uniquely created delicious bites. Dishes included Jokbal, trotters braised in mixed spices and herbs, Bindaedduk, a pancake of tenderloin strips, Mandu, ground shoulder and cheek dumplings, Dweji Galbi JJim, slow braised spare ribs with soy, Duru JJigee, slices of belly marinated in homemade gochujang, sautéed with kimchi and to close, Mochi, crispy skin mixed with sweetened red beans.
The DC flavor-studded weekend supports a great cause by starting with two unique dinners bringing together five guest chefs, world-renowned winemakers and beverage experts to create a multi-course, interactive dining experience to benefit Piggy Bank. Friday kicks off with a Late Night Asian Speakeasy, an all-inclusive guest chef’s dinner party paying homage to Chinese, Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Japanese restaurants. On Saturday, the Chef's Course Dinner Series is a multi-course feast featuring notable chefs including five guest chefs cooking courses paired with premium wines and spirits. Tickets to the dinners are available online at $125 per person and 100% of the proceeds will benefit Piggy Bank. On Sunday, the epic feast features celebrity chefs cooking whole hogs in a stand-up reception of epic proportions. Guests are encouraged to buy tickets as the event is expected to sell out earlier this year. Cochon555 is running a 21-day contest, “Can’t We Just Be Friends,” giving away two VIP Tickets worth $400. Friends of the good food movement can sign up for the latest news on the weekend and enter the contest here: http://woobox.com/jnesum.
The Cochon555 US Tour would not be possible without our amazing lineup of sponsors including, Williams-Sonoma, Wines of Germany, The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley, DRY Sparkling, Breckenridge Distillery, Anchor Distilling, Buffalo Trace, Wines from Rioja, Martinez Lacuesta, Creminelli, Lake Sonoma Winery, Michael Mondavi Family Estate, Tequila Don Julio, Creekstone Farms, Junipero, Alysian Wines, Eagle Rare, Antica Napa Valley, Don Amado Mezcal, Fidencio, Mezcales de Leyenda, Rhum Clément, Plantation Rum, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao, Koch el Mezcal, La Venenosa, Mezcal Derrumbes, Azzurro Wine Company, Luxardo, Pax Wine Cellars, Ridge Vineyards, Scholium Project, Sandhi Wines, Pisoni Vineyards, Arista Winery, Common Cider, Rappahannock River Oysters, Hedley & Bennett, Cypress Grove Chevre, Coach Farm, Parrano, Sun Noodle, 34º Crisps, La Fromagerie and Birchware. The beverage program includes Cochon555’s Punch Kings local barkeep competition a spotlight on Five Winemakers including sought-after wines and a Wines of the World spotlight Sommelier Smackdown. The official chef lineup and more tasty experiences will be announced with the Official Chef Announcement lineup 45 days in advance of the event. For an in-depth look at the Cochon555 movement and tickets to this must-do culinary weekend, please visit www.cochon555.com.
About Cochon555 US Tour:
The Cochon555 US Tour, executes a variety of authentic, hyper-local food events focused on raising awareness for heritage breed pigs with the world’s first nose-to-tail pig competition. Created in response to the lack of consumer education around heritage breed pigs, this epic pork feast visits 20 major cities in North America annually with over 60 events. The tour also features a multitude of live-event expressions including Heritage BBQ (global cultures), Heritage Fire (live-fire event), EPIC Cochon (hyper-premium), All-Star Cochon (fan favorites) and Cochon Island (agri-tourism). All Cochon555 events cultivate a long-term impact for heritage species raised by family farms, reaching the top culinary markets in North America while promoting our sponsors’ messages to 16,000 guests by drawing from the biggest names in the hospitality industry, including 2,200+ chefs, 150+ family farms and 16 culinary schools. Since 2009, 50,000+ consumers have experienced heritage pork for the first time, more than $500,000 has been donated to charities and over $750,000 has been paid directly to our farmers. Together with winemakers, brewers, distillers and craft food makers they create authentic culinary events celebrating champions in the good food movement. For more details about the events and to see videos referencing all the events in the Cochon555 family, visit www.cochon555.com or follow @cochon555 on Twitter and Instagram.
About Piggy Bank:
Launched in 2015 by Brady Lowe, founder of the Cochon555 US Tour and Taste Network, Piggy Bank’s mission is to create a heritage breed pig sanctuary that provides free genetics and business plans to emerging family farms. The sanctuary will change the future of food by uniting a community working together for safer, responsible farming practices and sharing of genetics, livestock and the sharing of information. Piggy Bank is dedicated to creating the first Open Source agriculture platform through the responsible farming of heritage species. The Piggy Bank farm, located in Missouri, will raise pigs to be gifted only to communities dedicated to elevating the cause and expanding the model of social and agricultural transparency. Piggy Bank is a project of The Giving Back Fund, Inc., a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation with federal tax exempt status as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3.) Follow the Piggy Bank conversation on Twitter @PiggyBankOrg. For more information about Piggy Bank or The Giving Back Fund, please contact Kerith@piggy-bank.org, watch the video http://j.mp/PIGGY_BANK or visit www.piggy-bank.org.