Pick up a fork and prepare yourself for pork: The Houston leg of the Cochon 555 tour is happening Sunday, February 28, 2016.
Competing this year are chefs Jean-Philippe Gaston of Izakaya, Justin Yu of Oxheart Restaurant, David Cordua of Americas, Richard Knight of Hunky Dory and William Wright of Helen Greek Food and Wine. (Not familiar with this event? Click here to see our photos from last year’s competition.)
Friday, February 26, is the official kick-off of the festivities, with two guest chef dinners (locations to be announced) raising money for Piggy Bank, a heritage breed pig sanctuary established by Cochon 555 founder Brady Lowe in 2015.
Piggy Bank is “a physical farm made up of 90 pigs, split evenly amongst 10 different heritage breeds. Each heritage breed community consists of nine pigs sourced from bloodlines chosen for efficient breeding purposes and genetic management. This agricultural marvel of endangered breeds will produce approximately 600 offspring each year that will be gifted and never sold,” allowing the genetics of these animals to remain accessible to farmers in the United States.
Friday’s dinner is listed as a Late Night Asian Speakeasy, an all-inclusive feast paying homage to Chinese, Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Japanese after-hour establishments known to inspire great kitchens across the country.
On Saturday, guests can ready themselves for Sunday’s fete with a three-hour Chef’s Course Dinner Series, which includes an opening reception featuring passed hors d’oeuvres followed by a seated dinner and wine pairings. Both dinners will be limited to 40 seats each night; tickets will be available online at $125 per person and 100 percent of the proceeds benefit Piggy Bank. Additionally, ticket buyers are welcome to sign-up for Chefs Course, Cochon555’s annual rewards program with 100-plus restaurants participating nationwide.
Cochon555 tickets range from $131 to $258 and are now available. This year’s event is expected to again sell out. If you’re a gambler and feeling lucky, keep your eyes peeled to SideDish, as we’ll be giving away a total of 4 VIP tickets – valued at $800 – in the coming weeks. Squeal!