CHEF JOSE ADORNO OF GRAFFIATO WINS HERITAGE BBQ BY COCHON 555 IN DC HIGHLIGHTS AND PHOTOS FROM THE GLOBAL BBQ EVENT AT UNION MARKET
Notable chefs and farmers worked together to spotlight global BBQ grilling traditions and old world cooking techniques at North America’s hyper-local culinary tour this past weekend in DC
WASHINGTON, DC (October 5, 2015) – On Sunday, Chef Jose Adorno was announced the King of BBQ at Heritage BBQ, with a Red Wattle pig from Creekside Farms at a friendly culinary competition promoting heritage breed pigs and global grilling cultures. The winning menu included Pernil Asado which is a Slow Roasted Marinated Shoulder served with Rice, Pigeon Peas and Pique. Jose’s Sopa de Habichuelas, a Red Bean Stew with Trotters, Belly, Jowl, Calabaza, and Culantro served on a Coconut Arepa was accompanied by an explosive Croqueta de Jamon y Queso with a Lardo Mayo-Ketchup. There was also a Chuleta de Pansa Belly Chop with Mofongo and Chicharrone and a Morcilla with Spicy Pineapple Kraut, Malanga en Escabeche, a Hot Pickled Cocoyam with Pearl Onion and Crispy Pig Ears, Coriander-herb Salad with Pickled Coriander, Compressed Cilantro Stems, Fresh Herbs and Honey-Bacon Vinaigrette. His final sweet move of the night was Quesitos de Fresas, a Strawberry Danish with Lardo and a Honeyed Ginger Demi-glace. Photos from the event and winning menu can be found here (http://j.mp/DCBBQPICS).
Cochon555’s Heritage BBQ aims to rebuild our perception of BBQ by going back to its roots and showcasing the original context of BBQ, which meant, local meats cooked with native spices, over fires and shared with a community. The series of events aims to tilt the scales in favor of building long-term relationships between family farms and the larger commodity meat buyers like BBQ restaurants who can join the fight to support small family farmers.
This year’s competing chefs included Nicholas Stefanelli of Masseria who cooked old time Italian, Will Morris of Vermillion who prepared a Thai menu, Sam Molavi of Compass Rose who featured six Global influences, and RJ Cooper of Rouge24 who returned to the competition after being the first chef to win Cochon 555 in Washington DC in 2009, yet it was winner Jose Adorno of Graffiato who took home top honors with his Puerto Rican inspired menu. Each chef was given a whole heritage breed pig raised on a local family farm, and in seven days, worked with their teams to present a “Judge’s Plate” consisting of six dishes scored on utilization, global influences, cooking techniques and overall flavor. The winner in Chicago was crowned the “BBQ King” and took home more than $3,000 in prizes, including a Dream Bar from Wilsonart, exclusive bar tools and cookware from Williams-Sonoma, alongside a large supply of premium whiskey, ryes and bourbons.
In addition to sampling the competitor’s dishes, guests enjoyed Cochon 555’s spotlight called “BBQ Traditions”, an epic tasting inside the event where notable chefs prepared one dish from their favorite BBQ culture like Hibachi, Char Siu, Barbacoa, Asado, Satay or even regional American BBQ styles. Erik Bruner-Yang of Maketto prepared Traditional Sides, Scott Drewno of The Source by Wolfgang Puck prepared Char Siu, Zack Mills of Wit & Wisdom Tavern prepared Thai Style Pork Satay, Kyle Bailey of Birch & Bailey prepared Barbacoa, Louis Goral of Rural Society Argentine Steakhouse prepared Asado, Craig Hartman of The Barbeque Exchange prepared Barbacoa, Jeremy Waybright of Boss Shepherd’s prepared Carolina BBQ, Danny Lee of Mandu prepared Korean BBQ and Haider Karoum of Estadio/Proof/DoiMoi prepared an East Asian Ground Pork on a Chicharrone.
The all-inclusive stand up tasting event included 1,400+ pounds of heritage pig, “pop-up” culinary experiences, premium wines, artisan cheeses, sustainable seafood, hand-crafted spirits, fine cocktails, and a very impressive selection of whiskies, ryes and bourbon. The stunning lineup of sponsors behind this celebration of heritage species included Williams-Sonoma’s local butcher demo with Marco Pauvert of Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, Wilsonart’s “Perfect Manhattan Experience” featuring Eagle Rare, Buffalo Trace, Breckenridge, Westland Whiskey, Bulleit, George Dickel and Luxardo cherries and the brand new TIKI Bar was a huge hit including three different Tiki-inspired libations created with The Perfect Puree of Napa and the spirits of Breckenridge Distillery. Guests enjoyed cocktails and reserve tequila tastings from the team at Don Julio, neat tastings of Beer Barrel Bourbon from New Holland Artisan Spirits, a Chupito Bar featuring Fidencio, Koch el Mezcal, La Venenosa and Mezcales de Leyenda, stunning wines from Alysian Wines, craft beers from Bluejacket, a Rib Cart experience courtesy of Creekstone Farms prepared by Victor Albisu of Del Campo and Taco Bamba Taqueria, welcome bites from Berkwood Farms and Ribs from Yona, Rappahannock River Oysters served from the BBQ, the Artisan Cheese Bar presented by La Fromagerie including Creminelli Fine Meats and La Brea Bakery, iced coffees from Shenandoah Joe, California Olive Ranch, Krave Jerky, and the Pop-up Pie Shop presented by Whisked! A portion of the proceeds benefitted the local culinary school and Piggy-Bank.org while building opportunities for local family farms.
“It’s always amazing to be in DC; a great market of socially conscious people and a demographic we truly identify with” said Cochon founder Brady Lowe. “With the launch of our new charity, Piggy Bank, we couldn’t pick a better city to support our new cause and message that family farms are still a minority group needing our support. DC was the perfect city to include in Heritage BBQ’s five-city tour and a big thank you to Scott Volmer and the whole team at Union Market, the host of the event. It was another strong turnout in DC and I’m truly honored to have collaborated with a team of amazing chefs, sponsors and farmers who were so receptive to the flavors, charity and cause.”
About Heritage BBQ by COCHON 555
Started in 2012 in an effort to bridge the gap between family farms and all categories of BBQ restaurants, Heritage BBQ by Cochon 555, is the first national BBQ competition dedicated to supporting a new direction for heritage breed pigs by expanding the conversation to a global economy. Created by Cochon 555 Founder Brady Lowe, Heritage BBQ engages existing BBQ restaurants in the local and sustainable food conversation taking place nationwide while simultaneously breaking ground on a new hyper-local, globally-themed, farm-supporting BBQ.
About The Cochon US Tour
The Cochon US Tour executes a variety of unique, local food events that are focused on raising enthusiasm for supporting family farms with the world’s first environmentally conscious nose-to-tail pig competition. The flagship Cochon 555 event is celebrated as the world’s first nose-to-tail pig competition in the fine-dining community. Created in response to the lack of consumer education around “heritage breed pigs”, this epic pork feast visits 20 major cities in North America annually. The US Tour also includes other live-event festivals, these focused culinary expressions include Heritage BBQ (global cultures), Heritage Fire (live-fire event), EPIC Cochon (hyper-premium), and Cochon Island (agri-tourism). The events feature top chefs preparing locally raised heritage breed proteins. Together with winemakers, brewers, distillers and craft food champions, they create authentic culinary events celebrating the good food movement. Since its launch, the tour has supported responsible family farming by sharing heritage breed pig experience with over 50,000, by donating more than $450,000 to charities and culinary schools, and buying more than $1,000,000 in food raised by local farmers. For more details about the events, visit www.cochon555.com or follow @cochon555 on Twitter.
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