17 Mar Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Cochon 555

In today’s world, we care where our food comes from. We want to know where our fruits and vegetable are grown. We want to know where our meat came from and how the animals lived and what they were fed. We want transparency in our food. We want safety and honesty. And we want good tasting food. All of this is what Cochon 555 stands for and that is why it is the Please The Palate pick of the week. Cochon 555 was created in 2008 and since 2009 they have been organizing nose-to-tail culinary events around the country. Responding to the lack of education around heritage breed pigs, they support family farmers and educate buyers about the agricultural importance of eating heritage pigs. The meat from a heritage pig is more flavorful and robust. Some of these pigs have a higher ratio of meat to fat for moisture and others are leaner animals producing rich and juicy meat. Heritage pigs are also more nutritious as they are raised on family farms without antibiotics or steroids. These are pigs that are raised naturally on open pastures. They are raised with a purpose and a passion and this is the meat that the participating chefs work with to prepare dishes for guests to enjoy at Cochon 555 events. The 2018 tour Cochon 555 kicked off in New York in January and has visiting Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles to date. Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, Banff, Austin, Miami and Denver will take place over the coming months. The winner in each city will compete at the national finale, the Grand Cochon, in Chicago on September 30th. Los Angeles’ winner, the Prince of Pork, is Brian Redzikowski of San Diego’s Kettner Exchange. The event in Los Angeles this past week served more than 1500 pounds of heritage breed pork, almost 600 guests, including chefs, sommeliers and bartenders, and raised more than $13,500 for Piggy Bank. Piggy Bank is a pig farming sanctuary in Missouri that was started in 2015 by Chochon 555 founder Brady Lowe. Piggy Bank provides free genetics and business plans for new family farms, as well as support in the wake of a disaster. Since 2009, the Cochon 555 US Tour has visited 20 cities, hosted more than 60 events and more than 50,000 consumers have experienced heritage pork. In addition, more than $500,000 has been donated to charities and more than $750,000 has been paid directly to farmers. From concept to execution, Cochon 555 is a responsible event and therefore the Please The Palate pick of the week.