Cochon 555 Competition in Los Angeles

By admin

Cochon 555 2011 LA Winner Chad Colby, chef at Osteria Mozza, with his team and Sophie Gayot

UPDATE 5/01/11 : The winner is Chad Colby (Osteria Mozza). See photos from the event below.

This Sunday, May 1, five top LA chefs will each prepare a 175-pound, heritage-breed hog from head to toe for a friendly competition called Cochon 555. This ten-city touring event is the only culinary competition of its kind in the country, and will help family farms sustain and expand their businesses. Competing in the LA stop will be Octavio Becerra (Palate Food + Wine), Chad Colby (Osteria Mozza), Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station), Tim Goodell (Public Kitchen & Bar) and Joshua Whigham (The Bazaar). To support the event and its worthy cause, I will be there with other local judges to determine a winner based on presentation, utilization and overall best flavor.

In addition, five selected winemakers will showcase their wines: The Scholium Project, Alysian, Arnot-Roberts, Copain Wines, and Red Car Wine. The event begins at 5 p.m. at Vibiana, 214 South Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. General admission tickets are $125, and VIP tickets (which allow entry at 3:30 p.m.) are $175. Tickets and more information are available at: www.cochon555.com. All judges have received instructions from the organizers to neither eat nor drink 24 hours prior. May I assume there will be lots of bacon, pig’s ears, pork belly, pork chops… and wine? I hope to see you Sunday. And for those who can not attend, I will announce the winner of the 2011 Los Angeles Cochon 555 in the evening here in this blog, so check back. Good luck, chefs!

You can click on each photo to enlarge. All photos by Sophie Gayot.