The annual porcine tour known as Cochon 555 is swinging into its final round in San Francisco on Sunday, June 5, and the deal remains the same: five pigs, five chefs, and five wineries. Officially, the event is all about promoting heritage pig breeds and blah blah blah, but clearly for most, it’s a chance for indulging their unadulterated pork passions and eat a lot of bacon. This year’s competitors for the Prince of Porc title are Ravi Kapur of Prospect, Brandon Jew and Salvatore Cracco of Bar Agricole, Matthew Accarrino of SPQR, David Bazirgan of Fifth Floor, and David Varley of Michael Mina (Varley won Cochon 555 DC previously, and Grand Cochon 2010 in Aspen). Last year’s S.F. winner Staffan Terje will be on hand to drink and relax, and Grub Street editor Jay Barmann will be serving as a judge.
We also have word that David Bazirgan from Fifth Floor is getting a Red Waddle pig from Walnut Keep, which is the same breed from the same farm that won Cochon 555 in Napa in March for Zazu’s John Stewart and Duskie Estes. Reigning King of Porc David Varley is getting an Old Spot-wild boar cross breed from Clark Summit. Attendees will get to sample dishes from all the chefs, and help decide which chef gets the title of Prince of Porc, and a trip to Aspen to compete in Grand Cochon. Then, everyone is treated to whole pig breakdown demonstrations, followed by two whole roasted heritage breed pigs, and dessert.
There’s no further info on the other three pigs just yet, or the undisclosed “pop-up” location for the event, which gets announced all clandestine-like on Tuesday. (They’re telling everyone to park at 555 California, so we’re guessing it’s the Ritz.) Let’s just hope no chef brawls break out like what happened in Portland last year.
But here are the rest of the details:
WHEN: Sunday, June 5, 2011
3:30 pm VIP opening; 5 pm general admission
WHERE: Location TBA
TICKETS: $125 general admission, $200 VIP. Purchase them here.
