Cochon 555 Pig Event - Perceptor's Report

[Perceptor]

This was my 1st Cochon 555 experience and I had an amazing time eating awesome pork dishes and sampling alot of wines.... if you love anything pork then you MUST check this event out!!!

alittle background about this event from their website:
"Cochon 555 is a one-of-a-kind traveling culinary competition and tasting event–five chefs, five pigs, five wine makers–to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs. Each stop along the ten-city tour offers hard-working local farmers the opportunity to connect with like-minded agriculturalists, renowned chefs and the pork-loving public. Our goal is to help family farms sustain and expand their businesses and to encourage breed diversity. Cochon 555 is the only heritage breed pig culinary competition in the country."

The Los Angeles participants:
FIVE CHEFS
Octavio Becerra – Palate Food & Wine
Chad Colby – Mozza (winner of the night)
Tim Goodell – Public Kitchen & Bar
Ben Ford – Ford’s Filling Station
Joshua Whigham – The Bazaar

FIVE PIGS
Berkshire – ReRide Ranch
Hampshire – Hopkins Hog Farm via Tender Belly
Spotted Poland – Hopkins Hog Farm via Tender Belly
Hereford – Hopkins Hog Farm via Tender Belly
Red Wattle – Walnut Keep Farm & Vineyard

Here is my photo coverage:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/s...

- Perceptor

[Porthos]

Awesome report in photos as always. Knew Chad had a leg up since he's been doing on average 2-4 pork dinners a month over the past year or so now. What were your top 3 favorite dishes of the night?

[Perceptor]

Porthos...... 3 top bites for me were... Mozza's porchetta, Mozza's 10hour shoulder with cracking and Public's pig's head & trotter sausage..... all damn good

[Porthos]

That porchetta looks amazing. So do the two whole roasted piggies. Again, great photos. Public needs to put that pig's head and trotter sausage on their menu permanently!

[Perceptor]

Tim Goodell totally should

[JAB]

Was the whole pig with the leathery skin smoked?

[Perceptor]

JAB.... good question.... im not sure.... i think is roasted

[Will Owen]

The photo gallery with Jonathan Gold's report on LA Weekly's website shows that pig in a smoker oven. I very much enjoyed seeing both those photos and Perceptor's, since Fishbein's pix were from an insider's viewpoint and Perceptor's were those of an attendee (and a damned lucky one, he said enviously).

[JAB]

Thanks Will, I had suspected as much and had always wondered what the skin would turn out like if I ever smoked a whole hog. I'd be apt to place that smoked skin under a broiler to crisp it up for consumption.

[Norm Man]

Thanks for the great photos.

How much were tickets to this event? And was it all-inclusive or did you have to pay extra to sample the goods?.

[Perceptor]

Norm Man... it was $125 and it was all inclusive (food/drinks)... the only money i spent there was for buying t-shirts....

[JAB]

OMG, that porchetta pic!

[Perceptor]

JAB.... it was a ridiculously insane log of pork