Catching up…

Just catching up. New post today or tomorrow. Got a little company as you can see– that’s Cosmo laying down and Olive on alert.Penny was the photog for this one.  Having a Bulleit bourbon rocks with an A.J. Fernandez San Lotano box press maduro. This cigar is obviously well crafted– you can tell just by looking it over.  I’m  a big fan of box press and torpedo shaped cigars. This one started off fairly mellow spice wise, but with a full flavor. Just my style. I’m more of a medium cigar guy, especially during the day. Great burn and perfect tight draw for me. I don’t usually cut my cigars; I prefer to punch them with an insta-read thermometer for that tighter draw– a trick my dad taught me. It maintained a nice sweetness throughout, especially towards the end. Great smoke– I’ll be returning to this smoke in the future. Glad I chose bourbon for this one– rye may have been a little harsh.

Check back for my next post real soon.

Dispatch from the Pig Zone– Cochon 555 Vail

Yep. That about sums it up.

Dateline: March 10th, 2013
Location: Four Seasons Resort Vail

Event: Cochon 555 Vail

Mission: Judge the event without succombing to over-idulgence

5 Chefs, 5 Heritage Breed Pigs and 5 Wines pairings. That how Cochon 555 works, all in the name of promoting heritage breed pigs and the small-scale, family farms that grow ‘em. There’s no other event that I know of where one can get so completely stuffed all for a good cause.

So, I hit Vail about 2 hours before the event. I’d never been. I pass through Vail to go to other places in Colorado, but I have never stopped there. So I took the extra time to look around, grab a soft drink, people watch, and play a game of “Spot the Rich White Guy” by myself. I totally won every round.

The judging started at 3:00 pm, about an hour prior to the event’s start, led by Cochon 555 founder and all-around pork fanatic Brady Lowe. The guy’s got a passion for heritage pig, for sure. I don’t know how he stays as svelte as he appears to be– maybe he’s sportin’ Spanx.

So in the span of about 45 minutes, the other dozen or so judges and I tried every single item each of the five chef competitors prepared. Oof. I had judged Cochon 555 in Denver two years ago and nearly hurled at the after party at the Green Russell from eating so much. And when I say eating so much I mean pig– fatty, meaty, gut-bombing swine in all forms and fashions– charcuteries, roasts, rillettes, bacon, hams, snouts, ears, guts and tails. The whole beast, as they say. There were few vegetables in sight at Cochon 555 Denver, but there were plenty of desserts, as if we weren’t gorging enough. Cochon 555 Vail would turn out to be the same type of situation. I may sound like I’m complaining. I’m not. But I was challenged for sure– to the point of having to take several fernet breaks to get my stomach back up to speed for the next rounds. OK. On to the food.

Up first– Kelly Liken: Top Chef contestant, owner of the screamingly popular Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail, and all around laid back and cool person. At her side, two of my favorite people (and chefs): Mark DeNittis, long-time friend, mentor and meat-man extraordinaire; and his fiancee Jenna Johansen, who is such a doll– but you wouldn’t know it if you watched her on Around the World in 80 Plates. Selective editing can make the nicest people into reality show troll-fodder, and Jenna is so not as she was portrayed. I have a link to Jenna and Mark’s blog, The Last Thing We Ate in the “Friends and Links” section of this blog. Team Kelly was given a breed of pig known as the Large Black from Tender Belly, Denver to work with. Check out their handiwork…

Kelly’s menu.

Kelly’s plate. That hushpuppy and BBQ were splendido! And the porchetta bun was terrific. I am such a sucker for chicharrones, too.

Up next, Alex Seidel: Chef-owner of the incredible Fruition restaurant in Denver, receiver of Best New Chef accolades from Food & Wine magazine, good friend and stellar human being. You’ll read more from me about Chef Seidel in an upcoming article I’m writing for Food Arts, which will be posted here. At his side, two Denver rock-star chefs: the great Jeff Osaka from twelve and Troy Guard of the TAG empire. Team Seidel went with a Hawaiian theme, which seems fitting with Troy on his side. Troy worked for a long time with Chef Roy Yamaguchi at the original Roy’s in Honolulu (I am also a Roy’s alum from Roy’s at Pebble Beach). Team Alex also used the Large Black, but from Eden Farms, Iowa, for his pig. Check it:

Alex’s menu.

Alex’s plate. Sorry– not a food photog– gotta work with what I got. Anyway– the green item in the middle bowl is his shiu mai. Oh, mai– it was great. It was the homemade spam sushi that got everybody talking, though.

Next came Chef Lon Semensma of Cholon in Denver, formerly of Buddakan in NYC. Denver was lucky to snag this star chef. At his side, one of my former JWU interns, Dustin, who also made the Food Arts article. Lon used a Red Wattle pig from Eden Farms, Iowa, so named because of the wattles of flesh on either side of its jowls. Let’s take a look at what team Lon did:

Lon had several pages of menu to look through in the form of a passport.

Lon’s plate. I love great charcuterie, and he nailed it. I’m a sucker for zampone, a cured sausage stuffed pig’s foot. His was exquisite. The Cracker Jack was a real treat. A buddy of mine could not get over the tea– it was a really creative combination of flavors that worked quite well. Thanks to Brandon Biederman, Exec Chef at Ace Eat Serve and Steubens for the pic.

Next up– Hosea Rosenberg of Black Belly Catering. Top Chef season 5 winner and a long time force on the Denver/Boulder culinary scene. Here’s what he had going on with his team’s Berkshire hog from Tender Belly, Denver:

Hosea’s menu.

Hosea had a sharp plate. My favorite item was the soup, made with an insane dashi and a liver won ton. Right up my alley, for sure. Loved it. The fenugreek sausage rocked. And the lard biscuit? Shut the front door.

Finally, Chef Jason Harrison of the Flame Restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort where the event was held. He had a decided home field advantage and certainly made the best of it with his Mulefoot hog from Black Cat Farms, in Boulder, Colorado. Chef Harisson wound up winning Cochon 555 Vail with his plate:

Jason’s menu.

Jason’s plate. OK, where to start. The presentation was gorgeous. Look at that oval dish. That white half is the rillettes and the other is a salad of ears, tail, apple and filberts. Both were amazing. In the back in that bluish take-out container is his char siu bao. Freakin’ great. Had people talking. And that dessert– look at it! Seriously, that dish was the buzz-bite of the night. And guess what? Jason, and this plate took first place and won Cochon 555 Vail.

In addition to all this, there were butchery competitions, heritage bbq samples, oysters, caviar,  cheeses and free flowing whisky, wine, beer and spirits. Holy cow, what a decadent event. I freaking love Cochon 555.

I wasn’t going to stay for the after party, I was actually going to drive home (believe it or not I had paced myself); but Alex had a spare bed and wanted to have some cocktails, so I stayed. Thanks for the hospitality, Alex! Like I said– great guy.

Two Manhattans, two Negronis with Mark and a Fernet Blanc later I was done. Mother of pearl, I was stuffed. I slept like a rock despite sharing a room with two people I had just met from Alex’s crew.

The next day I had a strong coffee and a 5-Hour Energy for the gorgeous, clear winter drive back down to D-Town. Cheers to all the chefs, sponsors, judges, guests and friends of Cochon 555. See you all again!

OK. Check out some random shots from Cochon 555, Vail.

Brady preps the judges.

The great Kelly Liken, and Jenna photobomb.

Kelly and Jenna Johansen getting ready for the judges.

The man, the legend, the chef– Mark DeNittis helps team Kelly.

Alex’s Homemade Spam Sushi.

A closeup of team Jason’s incredible dessert.

Did I mention free-flowing?

A view of the crowd at Cochon 555 Vail.

Alex Seidel dressed appropriately for his Hawaiian themed entry.

After living in San Francisco for so many years, I was glad to see Anchor Steam represented. I still have a soft spot for Anchor.

A jar of bacon from Tender Belly. ‘Nuff said.

A butchery demo.

Yep. That about sums it up.

Lon’s knockout charcuterie.

Lon’s zampone. One of my all-time favorites.

Oh yeah. Hosea’s roast fresh ham and fenugreek sausage.

Team Jason’s menu board. Clever, no?

Had a Romeo y Julieta 1875, which was a bit strong for the 10 year old Eagle Rare Single Barrel, but it was still a pleasurable smoke break. Several young cigar and pipe smokers attended the event, which was encouraging to me.

This is my happy face.

Always a classy crowd at Cochon 555.

A shot of Brady and me.

Awaiting the results.

Team Jason takes it!

Chef Jason Harisson and his Sous Chef.