Gerry Furth-Sides

Chef Walter Manzke has plenty to smile about as the 2015 and 2016 Los Angeles COCHON555 champion

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Welcome back to the Viceroy Hotel on March 12, “Cochon 555,” the ambitious and most talked about culinary competition and fundraiser starring “5 chefs, 5 pigs, 5 winemakers” in a national ten-city North American tour //cochon555.com.

Watch a sample of the excitement here //cochon555.com/2017-tour/losangeles/

The one-of-a-kind stand-up tasting reception features five local celebrity chefs cooking five heritage breed pigs in a fierce but friendly competition for the Piggy Bank cause. (see below) Guests vote for the best bite of the day and the winner goes on to the nationals.

What is so special about the event is that it is themed, and that top chefs in the city have fun but take seriously the competition and go all-out with a glorious variety of dishes.
Personable returning champion Chef Walter Manzke of Republique was crowned the Prince of Porc. Chef Walter will go on to represent Los Angeles against the other nine cities’ winners in Grand Cochon at Snowmass / Aspen for the title of 2016 King or Queen of Porc and the grand prize, a four-day wine experience in Rioja, Spain’s most prominent wine region.

The auction for heritage pork and pork-related products (that somehow included spirits) was as exuberant as the event itself, and somehow included spirits along with entire animal sides.  The MC really hosted the afternoon with continuous coverage that gave the event a cohesive feel.
So, true to its billing, the seven-year-old flagship tour, touting itself as “the world’s first environmentally conscious nose-to-tail pig competition celebrating fine-dining,” lived up to its word.

Although 36 dishes definitely provided enough food to go around for two entire days (I found containers in my purse today from chefs who lovingly offered dishes at the end of the afternoon), this event presented a varied, gourmet introduction to heritage pork dishes.

The five chefs prepared a maximum of six dishes from one whole hog each in a competition for hungry gourmands (the right term) and celebrated judges. Competing chefs include Brooke Williamson of Playa Provision, Jason Neroni of Rose Cafe, Bruce Kalman of Union, Carlos Salgado of Taco Maria, and returning champion Walter Manzke of Republique.

The stage was set at the Viceroy near the beach.    Fancy white covered food booths resembling cabanas were scattered about the area with an inviting sign to “Meet the CHEFS & their PIGS.”  Chef Brooke Williamson’s beautiful smiling face was nearest.  She was working with RED WATTLE pork from Rainbow Ranch, originating in New Caledonia, a French Island in the South Pacific.

Sliders had a hearty but tender, almost beefy taste for which they are known I later read. At this hungry beginning, the guest next to me asked if the bacon decoration was edible (top right corner of the lower right image)!   Brooke’s cotton candy on a stick with a shredded pork filling happily ended the menu.

To the right, the station of gentrified Rose Cafe Executive Chef-Partner, Jason Neroni, offered such startling, diverse dishes as double ramen, an insanely rich yet delicate broth with pork fat, spring garlic, fermented turnips, poached belly and noodles (my favorite bite shown at the bottom here) and a lasagna with fennel and pork sumo, porcini jus, stuffed trotter terrine with foil gras, black truffles, cognac soaked morels (below left). The bold middle dish below is roasted pork meatballs with smoked burrata, chicharrones, tomato marmalade.  Always serious, Neroni barely had a second to look up.

Across the way, popular Bruce Kalman from Union Restaurant was having a good time.

Chef Walter Manzke – and eager son- prepare for the competition

Returning champion, Republique’s Walter Manzke’s staff spread out over six working tables, with dishes that could not seem to be replenished fast enough.  Chef has plenty of help from his talented pastry chef wife, Margarita and four-year-old son, Nico.

Pork Tartare with Black River Caviar on a potato chip; a Cuban Sandwich with Braised Pork, Cured ham, Mojo and Dijon, and a Pork “Torte Gibier” with Blood Sauce (shown above). 

Chef Walter, The winning “Prince of Porc,”  of the regional event goes on to compete for the national title of “King or Queen of Porc” at Grand Cochon, the tour finale, held at the Viceroy in Snowmass / Aspen on June 18th.

Below, elegant Taco Mari Chef, Carlos Salgado, prepared Corazon Asado with torpedo onions, caracara oranges, and Serrano, working with Red Wattle from Walnut Keep.

Voters were handed a PIGGY button and a ticket to vote at a table with the chef’s photos. One of the most fun parts of the event was the “auction” with packages to-go of heritage breed pork at the Pop-Up Butcher Shop, a retail fundraiser for Piggy Bank with the support of Williams-Sonoma and Hedley & Bennett.  Many of the donated items were the generous gift of sponsor Williams-Sonoma.  By this time the crowd was so thick you could only hear the auctioneer add more and more to each package in the 100’s of dollars – all the money to go to donations.

The beverage program included Cochon555’s Punch Kings local barkeep competition featuring Breckenridge Distillery.

The pork was even creatively, lovingly infused into the spirits. The 1942 and the mobile Heritage Rum Cart featured Rhum Clément and Plantation Rum. Bourbon lovers were greeted with the “Perfect Manhattan” featuring Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace finished with Luxardo cherries.  A Smoked Old Fashioned featured Breckenridge Bourbon with the support of Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao.

“I’m excited about all the new partners who support family farming and independent business,” reported founder Brady Lowe.  “The Cochon555 Tour is now a movement, from hosting celebrated culinary events and dinners all over North America to reaching a global audience with the news of the first open-source agricultural model. The tour is dedicated to helping family farmers succeed, period,” he added.  “Together, with some of the best chefs and partners in hospitality, we amplify the conservation of heritage pork once again, which for many is a ‘gateway’ to a larger appreciation of where our food comes from and the people that raise it, leading to more mindful eating and safer food choices for our youth. Piggy Bank, a 501(c)(3) project of the Giving Back Fund.”

The weekend began with a pair of guest chef dinners to benefit Piggy Bank, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the cause.  The dinners bring together high-respected chefs, world-renowned winemakers, and beverage experts to create a multi-course, interactive dining experience where guests have the opportunity to interact with the participating chefs.    The series is connected to Cochon555’s annual rewards program which encompasses over 100+ restaurants participating nationwide.

Founder Brady Lowe has a long-term commitment to making Piggy Bank the charity recipient of the tour moving forward. The Cochon555 tour sources 275 donors each year in addition to hosting dinners and other activities. Piggy Bank seeks to build a future of family farming with the goal of changing the future of food and promoting long-term farming sustainability.

Piggy Bank provides funds to raise heritage breed pigs to be gifted to new farmers and culinary schools, assist new family farms with herd development and help existing farms challenged by da disaster. For more details about Piggy Bank, please visit www.Piggy-Bank.org, or follow @piggybankorg on Twitter.

And the next day for breakfast, the barista created a final tribute: