We couldn’t make it to Cochon555 last night, so we sent former MP: Chicago editor and current BU Law student Adam Peltz in our stead.
Last night, several hundred smartly dressed people descended on the smartly appointed Liberty Hotel to gorge on that smartest of feed mammals, the pig. Cochon555, halfway through its ten-city tour, threw down the gauntlet for five local chefs (Providence is local, right?) - who among Tony Maws of Craigie On Main, Jamie Bissonnette of Toro, Matthew Jennings of Farmstead (that’s the Providence entrant), Jason Bond of Beacon Hill Bistro and Joseph Margate of Clink would put forth the most pleasing porcine products?
Throughout the evening, the hot competition seemed to be between the be-tattooed Bissonnette and his surprising but welcome clean-up dish of delicately smoky pulled pork mini-sliders (served with healthy dollops of creamy cole slaw and slices of raw jalapeno left over from his banh mi upon request), and modest Maws, who churned out plate after plate of pates, charcuteries, sausages, pork belly sandwiches and the like while barely breaking a sweat. We impetuously asked both of them what they thought the “new bacon” might be; Bissonnette demurred that he’s “on the ass-end of trends,” and Maws replied that he merely tries to make tasty food and is “not looking to reinvent the wheel.”
If anything is the new bacon, it’s pure pig fat, which appeared in the form of pork belly sliders, as large chunks of charcuterie slices, and, in large bowls provided by the Johnson and Wales culinary students, mounds of whipped lard. A well-coiffed woman of a certain age pointed to a fat-smeared toast point and asked one of the students, “is it Kosher?” as apologetically as in jest. But she ate it anyway.
Bacon still reigns supreme in the novelty department, with bacon praline marshmallows (an amazing concoction from Jason Bond’s fertile mind) and baconated jalapeno chocolate truffles making heavy rounds. Okay, we get it!
When the winner was finally announced, dark horse Matthew Jennings emerged victorious with his (somewhat underwhelming, we must admit) whole hog carnitas, pictured above. The judging was based on an opaque system where a professional panel including Tim and Nancy Cushman of O Ya and Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park had 49% of the vote and we the people marshaled the other 51%. To our mind, nothing trumped Bond’s flawlessly executed pork liver mousse, the single best component of the evening (even though some of his other stuff was too esoteric to please). Take that to the bank!
A whole lot of pork-y food porn after the jump.
First, there was the butchering, done by Joel Cox.
Ooh, that sort of feels good!
Pig, deconstructed.
Bond’s bacon praline marshmallows on the left
Bissonnette assembles a banh mi
The finished Bissonnette banh mi
Maws also made banh mi!
Bond’s gellatinized pig head was scary, but it tasted delicious all the same.
Masterful charcuterie from Maws
This little piggy went to the blood bath!
Bond’s bodacious pork liver mousse, although the fruit compote wasn’t so great.
Yes, it looks like whitefish salad, but no, it’s really pig fat! Aaah!
