The Heritage Fire and Grand Cochon events were held this past weekend, at the same time as the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. It might seem like a challenge to be up against this big event, but the Cochon took a mission and made it its brand.
It was the finale of a months-long competition where some of the nation’s top chefs competed to find out who is the “King of Porc,” and it’s all the doing of founder Brady Lowe. The event grew out of a smaller one at the Hotel Jerome. Something didn’t feel right to Lowe there.
“I always wanted to expand my programming a little bit,” said Lowe. “I thought we were in a box.”
The goal of Chochon is to serve heritage-breed pigs instead of the standard pork you’d find in a grocery store, and to make consumers think more about what they’re eating.
Sarah Burrows-Vanderkar and Meghan Burrows-Swetish run Brown Boar Farm in Vermont. Their pig was cooked by Angie Mar, a chef based in New York City. They started farming heritage-breed pigs when Meghan realized that they could raise them more efficiently than they could grow vegetables.
Though the event is on the same weekend as Food and Wine, it couldn’t be more different, says Lowe.
“What is the content? What are you actually putting in your body?” said Lowe. “They’re both events but they’re doing different work.”
Sarah Burrows-Vanderkar from Brown Boar Farms said having her animals used in her regional Cochon event, and then at the Grand Cochon on Saturday was an honor.
“All the hard work, all the tough days — to get that validation that the people chose your chef that prepared your pig to win,” said Burrows-Vanderkar. “It was huge. It was a good day.”
Walter Manzke from Los Angeles took the grand prize. While Brown Boar Farms didn’t take home the King of Porc crown on Saturday, Sarah and Meghan said it’s a big step for heritage animal farmers to continue growing.
