Garden at The Cellar’s new pigs, Porcini and Truffle, are very cute, but don’t get too attached. In August, they’ll be providing the main course at chef Will Gilson’s dinner at the James Beard House in New York. Gilson spoke with MenuPages about his plans for the pigs, who are currently about two months old and feasting exclusively on farmers’ market produce, mostly greens, turnips, and radishes. Porcini and Truffle could soon get a new diet, however. Gilson is about to go on a trip to Spain with Toro’s Jamie Bissonnette and Lou DiBiccari of Sel De La Terre to research traditional pig feeding methods, like the largely acorn-based diet that produces jamón ibérico. Despite naming the pigs and lavishing attention on them, Gilson isn’t worried about getting too attached: “I’m more concerned about them having a good life before they’re slaughtered. They’re bred to be delicious.”
If you can’t quite swing a trip to New York for Gilson’s August 4 Beard House “Modern Farm-to-Table Cooking” dinner (the full menu for which is after the jump, along with more pig pictures), you’ll still get an opportunity to try Gilson-raised pigs. The chef is planning on raising a new generation of piglets starting this fall, and these ones will be for the restaurant.
Menu
-Passed-
Island Creek Oyster
3 lemon garnishes
Local beef tartare
“steak and eggs”
Summer melon and “Cellar” cured ham
“linguine”
Potager Garden Gazpacho
15 vegetables
-Dinner-
Native Corn and Local Lobster
Succotash, corn puree, coral buerre blanc
Tasting of Summer Tomatoes
Dad’s basil, Mom’s greens,
Stripped Bass with Garden Romesco
Tea smoked, peaches, tarragon
Assiette of Our “Farmers-Market-fed” Pig
Root vegetables agrodolce, mustard greens, thyme
Blueberries and Corn
Ice cream, cornbread, lemon verbena
[Photos: Will Gilson]
