Cochon555 Engages Local Superstars for Heavenly Pork

You’re familiar, of course, with these Austin restaurants: Salt & Time, TRIO, L'Oca d'Oro, Foreign & Domestic, and Dai Due …

And you’re familiar with them not just because we’ve extolled their many virtues here in the pages (or, well, the screens) of the Austin Chronicle, but because the excellence of what they purvey has garnered them praise everywhere.

Other media, your friends, our friends – we all know those five are among what makes the Austin food scene so vibrant and strong.

Now: Imagine that top chefs from each of those places are competing to see who can perform the most astonishing culinary miracles with an entire pig – a pig of heritage breed – in just one week’s time. And then those chefs will serve up what they’ve done with those five pigs – each pig of a different heritage breed – for specific judging and general dining. And that you are among those treated to the “general dining” part.

Sound like a good thing to imagine?

Well, stop. Stop imagining.

It’s really happening.

That actual competition reaches its perfectly cooked fruition at Sunday’s Cochon555 celebration of heritage pork at the Four Seasons in Downtown Austin.

Note: We fairly raved about the goodness of Cochon555 a while back, remember?

And of course the chefs’ competition takes place within a well-orchestrated environment that also features booths and grills and tables of samples from other acclaimed Austin restaurants and producers-of-fine-edibles. And that especially features tastings from many top wineries. Azzurro Wine Company. Silver Oak Cellars. Kosta Brown Winery. Twomey Cellars. Sandhi Wines. And – hell, they’re even staging a sommelier competition at this glorious gig.

It’s going to be a gorgeous day, too, because the inferno of another Texas summer is not quite upon us yet. So, yes, the only things that will be (expertly) roasted are those tasty, tasty pigs. Which is why we reckon we’ll see you there, reader!