The national touring food fest called Cochon555 will bring it's final events for 2017 to Chicago this weekend. Cochon's signature finale, Grand Cochon, has selected Chicago (once the hog butcher to the world) as its destination to crown the Queen or King of Porc after a year-long 14-city visit.
Returning as part of the Cochon brand will be Last Call: Punch Kings and making its premiere is Bespoke Taste: An Exploration of Taste & Thought which will feature several of today's thought leaders and food culture experts as well as a sampling of food and drink as a preview to Sunday's grand finale.
BESPOKE: An Exploration of Taste & Thought is proud to announce the debut of an innovative day-long food summit to be held in Chicago on Saturday, September 30 at the Chicago Athletic Association. The goal is to bridge the gaps between the worlds of academia, food culture, and hospitality through a series of inspirational keynote speeches, educational panels, and round-table discussions.
The theme for this groundbreaking conference will be Food and Identity. Through various forms of engagement, we will explore new ways of considering how ideas, people, and cultures move across places and spaces and impact how we conceive of who — and why — we are within the realm of food and culture. The line-up for the day includes:
Keynote Speech: Renowned cookbook author, writer, and photographer Naomi Duguid (Taste of Persia, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, and many more) on gastro-nationalism, Persia, and home cooking.
Keynote Speech: University of California - Berkeley Food Institute Director Nina F. Ichikawa on Asian-American farmers culinary identity.
Themed Panel: Diversity, Labor, and Power in the Food Industries – Nina F. Ichikawa, chef/owner duo Edward and Vicki Kim of Mott Street, CEO Jim Slama of FamilyFarmed, debate issues surrounding food and labor. Chaired by BESPOKE Founder Robert McKeown
Round-Table Discussions: Guests will rotate through tables of 10-12 people, intimately engaging in debate and questions with at least 3 of the day’s speakers. This is meant to foster engagement and discourse beyond the ordinary Q&A format and includes other community and food business leaders.
100% of the profits go will go to two charities: Piggy Bank, supporting family farms raising heritage breed animals in America, and the American Friends of the Oxford Food Symposium, a scholarship fund for students in the food studies or culinary disciplines. The hope is to create a community among future farmers, food conservationists, and food thought-leaders.
“We believe Chicago is the perfect place for us to debut this day-long food summit in support of two fabulous charities, Piggy Bank and American Friends of the Oxford Food Symposium,” says BESPOKE Founding Chair Robert McKeown. “By spending a day in a city that so embraces food culture while exploring food and thought for inspiration, education, and social action, we hope to both enrich and change the way our guests perceive not only food, but the industries that define it.”
EVENT INFO
Where: Chicago Athletic Association, 12 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL. 312.940.3552
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 30,2017
Cost: $55 (students with ID)/$75 (general admission)
Punch Kings - Last Call: The national finale of the Cochon555 bourbon punch competition pits 14 city winners from some of the top drink cities against one another making their take on the original communal cocktail experience. It's a whole-bottle battle to determine which barkeep will be crowned Queen or King among our country's cocktail "royalty".
Punch Kings immediately follows Bespoke Taste at the Chicago Athletic Hotel. For ticket and venue location see the event information listed above.
Grand Cochon - The epic finale to the 14-city touring culinary competition, will crown its “King or Queen of Porc” at Morgan Manufacturing on Sunday evening, October 1st. Cochon555 brings together the 14 winning chefs of regional competitions and 14 pigs for a friendly competition with a cause. More than 2,500 pounds of heritage pork raised by American family farms will be served to a crowd of 30 celebrity chefs and 500 pork-loving epicureans. The grand champion will be rewarded with a 4-day wine experience in Rioja, Spain’s most prominent wine region. Tickets start at $150 for general admission and $225 for VIP (includes early entry). Tickets are available at the link listed above.
This fairy-tale heritage pork event will feature celebrated chefs and nose-to-tail cookery. Representing an array of cultures, cities and cooking styles. Each of the chefs are tasked with preparing at least 3 bites of heritage breed pig from the whole-animal menu they created to win their respective cities. The event is akin to a stand-up tasting menu, with dozens of competition plates served alongside artisan wines, boutique spirits, handcrafted cocktails, and some of the best cheeses, charcuterie, sweets, and pop-up food experiences the country has to offer. Grand Cochon is also an event with a greater meaning and a message: to combine responsible agriculture, culinary excellence, and luxury hospitality alongside modern culinary interpretations of heritage breed pigs raised by family farmers with purpose and passion.
Communal feasting is an integral part of the Cochon555 culinary fabric. Beyond the 42 chef-competitor dishes – all told, some 2,500-plus pounds of heritage pork from family farms – guests will sample beef tartare featuring Sabatino truffles prepared by Joshua Pollack of Rosenberg’s Deli in Denver paired with the wines of Antica Napa Valley; a farmhouse cheese spread from Pastoral Artisan Cheese Wine & Bread featuring Savile Row and Cypress Grove; a pop-up bakery from La Brea; a Salami Snack Bar from Creminelli and Divina; organic pâté offerings from Les Trois Petit Cochons; a Luxury Butter Bar featuring truffle butter, foie gras, and more; and Chef Zac Young of Craveable Hospitality will create an innovative take on pastry presented by Perfect Puree of Napa Valley.
Cochon555 events are theaters for innovative spirit, wine, and cocktail experiences. Libations include a special cocktail experience inside the Glenfiddich Experimental Dome, Smoked Old Fashioneds with Breckenridge Bourbon; The Manhattan Project presented by Poached Jobs; the Tiki Bar featuring Angostura Rum and Perfect Puree of Napa Valley; a Courvoisier Cognac cocktail and “neat” tasting with hand-crafted chocolates; and a Heritage Rum Cart. New pours incorporating the historic bitters and luscious rums of Angostura will be unveiled at the Swizzle Bar. An array of wines grouped under the “5 Winemakers” banner featuring Scholium Project; Kosta Browne, CIRQ, Pax Wine Cellars; Silver Oak and more. Other experiences include the Welcome Lounge featuring Buffalo Trace; non-alcoholic sodas from DRY Sparkling; Wines of the World and Azzurro Wine Company.
Photo credits: All photos courtesy of Cochon555 and Grand Cochon
No comments:
Post a Comment