FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COCHON 555 BRINGS MORE THAN FIVE TONS OF HERITAGE PORK TO 10 CITIES NATIONWIDE IN FOURTH U.S. TOUR
– Tickets on Sale Now – Atlanta, GA (November 16, 2011) – More heritage pig. More family wineries. And more responsible chefs and farmers. Cochon 555 announces its fourth U.S. tour today with a list of star-‐studded talent, including Jason Barwikowski, Jamie Bissonnette, Tim Cushman, Ben Ford, Marc Forgione, Neal Fraser, Carlos Gaytan, Danny Grant, Stephanie Izard, Barbara Lynch, Naomi Pomeroy, Shaunna Sargent, Michael Schwartz & Bradley Herron, and Rita Jia You. The 10-‐city tasting tour and culinary competition promoting heritage breed pigs and breed diversity will kick off its annual nose-‐to-‐tail event series this January 22nd in New York City. Other stops on the 2012 tour include Miami, Memphis, Portland and Los Angeles. General admission tickets start at $125 per person and are on sale now at Cochon555.com. Each regional event celebrates whole animal utilization through a friendly competition, challenging five chefs to prepare a menu entirely from one breed of heritage pig. The winner, chosen by the audience and a panel of 20 local judges, will go on to compete for the title of King (or Queen) of Porc at the finale event, Grand Cochon at the 30th anniversary of the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen on June 17, 2012. The 2012 Cochon 555 schedule of events is as follows: • New York on January 22 • Napa on January 29
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Memphis on February 4 Portland on March 11 Boston on March 25 Miami on April 1 Washington, DC on April 22 Chicago on April 29 Los Angeles on May 6 San Francisco on May 20
In addition to eating more than 20 different pork dishes, swine-‐loving epicureans will also have an opportunity to sample wines from five different small wineries, meet with farmers, try cured pork products, and experience a live butchering competition. 2012 sponsors include Anchor Brewing, Anchor Distilling, Blackberry Farm, Le Creuset, and Newman Farms. Also, events have been planned for the week of January 19th, timed with the launch of the 2012 Cochon 555 US TOUR in New York City. An amazing lineup will gather at the James Beard House to support local agriculture and help usher in the 25th anniversary year of the James Beard Foundation. Festivities include a Magical Dinner with Blackberry Farm on Thursday, January 19th; an Epic Feast of Heritage Pork with a star-‐studded lineup of Cochon 555 chefs on Friday, January 20th; and a sweet and savory private after-‐party at the James Beard House on Sunday, January 22nd. ### About Cochon Created by Taste Network’s Brady Lowe in 2009 in response to the lack of consumer education around heritage breeds, COCHON is a national event series that takes place in 14 major markets. Every January, COCHON 555 embarks on a 10-‐city culinary competition and tasting tour where 50 chefs are selected to prepare a ‘snout -‐to-‐tail’ menu created from heritage breed pigs. The 10 winners of each regional event are flown to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen for the final competition, Grand Cochon. Cochon All-‐Star, Cochon Heritage Fire and a BBQ competition will be hosted as well in 2012. For more details about the events, visit www.cochon555.com or follow @cochon555 on twitter.
Press Contact: Lori Lefevre (914) 630 -‐ 0961 lori@cochon555.com