Five pigs. Five chefs. Five wine makers.
That is the premise of the national culinary competition and tasting event, Cochon 555.
The Washington leg of the ten-city tour might have been in Seattle on Feb 20, but it was Lopez Island that stole the show.
More specifically, it was pork from the Jones Family Farm that excited the urban taste buds.
Nick and Sara Jones of Jones Family Farm have been raising Heritage Hogs (the definition given to any non-industrialized breed of hog) for about five years.
They have been selling to the Seattle area for three years and in recent months they have been supplying stock to renowned chef John Sundstrom of the restaurant Lark.
It was Sundstrom who won the Seattle Cochon 555 with his preparation of a Jones Family Farm hog.
“John specially requested one of our hogs” said Sara. Nick added, “We have never enterd before, we were delighted, John is not only a great customer and a good friend, but Lark is an amazing restaurant and being a creative partner in that sort of operation is very gratifying.”
Sundstrom competed against some of the top chefs in Seattle, Holly Smith from Café Juanita, Rachel Yang from Joule / Revel, Jason Stratton from Spinasse and Ethan Stowell from Staple & Fancy Mercantile and Ethan Stowell Restaurants.
Each chef prepared a heritage breed hog from head to toe before the dishes were judged based on presentation, utilization and overall best flavor
Cochon 555 is the only heritage breed pig culinary competition in the country.
Its goal, as stated on cochon555.com, is “to help family farms sustain and expand their businesses and to encourage breed diversity.”
These principles fit perfectly with the mind set of the Jones’ farm.
Nick said, “We grow pigs the old fashioned, Lopez Island way. We select for breeds that flourish outside and on natural foods, We run them on pasture and grow a variety of cover crops for them and feed a supplemental, low protein high carbohydrate grain blend.”
The Jones family sent their hog down to Seattle on Feb. 16, following it down on the day of the event to attend the Cochon 555 event in the Westin Seattle hotel.
They gave a talk to the judges about how the hogs are raised, what they are fed and their general treatment. “We were nervous,” Nick said, “It fet like a really big deal.”
According to Nick, the event was packed with both the public, and professionals in the food and restaurant business.
He said the family was pleased to witness first hand the innovative food scene of Seattle, and to know that their, island grown meat was part of a food scene rapidly becoming known for its quality and innovation.
Nick said that when it comes to the flavor of their family’s hogs, “There is just something different and better.”
Nick attributed the supiror flavor to a variety of factors including the salty air, the quality of what the hogs eat, and the temperature of the island.
Hog co-ordinator for Cochon 555, Michael Sullivan, agreed and spoke highly of the Jones’ meat, “We look for small, pasture based producers for our hogs. We aim to partner the very best pork available with some of the very best chefs in the nation. We are delighted to find such passionate pork producers in the neighborhood. Lopez Island meats are rapidly becoming legendary on the food scene.”
