Pig porn. Swine-apalooza. Porkfest. Whatever you want to call it, COCHON555 (C555) has quickly grown to become the ultimate culinary roadshow for America’s pork lovers. In each of the 10 cities on the tour, seven chefs from top local restaurants cook up every square inch of their favourite heritage pigs as part of the nose-to-tail cooking competition. Throw in local sommeliers, brewers, distillers (you get the idea here…) and even more responsibly produced craft food, and you can see why thousands can’t wait to pig out when C555 makes a stop in their town. The tour attracts celebrity chefs from some of America's most renowned eateries, including New York’s Babbo and San Francisco’s Plum, and culminates with the Grand Cochon - a winner takes all pork-off between regional winners at the famed Aspen Wine & Food Classic.

For those of you who fell asleep during your 1st grade field trip to the farm, cochon is the French word for pig. And pig is what C555 events are all about. The tour’s mission is to shine a spotlight on heritage breed pigs and encourage more sustainable breeding in the pork industry. Every chef in the competition has to prepare a ‘nose-to-tail’ menu to showcase this ethos, while at the same time showing people that food prepared sustainably can still make for a true epicurean experience.

"I never realized just how many different heritage breeds existed and how they all differ not only in look, but more importantly in flavor, texture, and fat content."

-Huge Galdones

We caught up with Huge Galdones, C555’s official staff photographer, to get his take on heritage breeding, eating every part of the pig, and the most decadent dish he’s ever tried on tour.

WRG: What is the most mind blowing fact about pigs that you’ve learned on this tour?

I never realized just how many different heritage breeds existed (i.e. Berkshire, Mangalitsa, Duroc, Kune Kune, etc.) and how they all differ not only in look, but more importantly in flavor, texture, and fat content.

WRG: C555’s founders have said the event was created in response to the lack of information around heritage breed pigs. How did it evolve to become the incredible quest for flavor it is today?

I think that at the onset of the event, both education and the so-called ‘quest for flavor’ came hand-in-hand. By making the whole idea of heritage pigs user/consumer-friendly via a food festival, I think the message has been spread more efficiently and in a relevant way.

WRG: The participating chefs have to cook the pig from nose to tail. What part of the pig should we get creative with when we cook our next pork dish?

There are so many non-conventional cuts that have been used to create amazing dishes on tour, from pig heart ceviche to pork loin tartare. However, using the bones for more than just making broth excites me. Jamie Bissonette (Coppa/Toro, Boston, MA) served deep fried pork bones with Southeast Asian flavors. I’ve learned that the sweet meat adjacent to the bone can be a great canvas for a myriad of flavors.

WRG: For a lot of fans, the COCHON555 tour is all about unexpected flavors. What unusual ingredients do you recommend we try pairing with pork?

Highly acidic components like those you’d find in ceviche for instance (citrus) have paired really well with pork (raw or otherwise). On the unusual spectrum, bone blood has been oftentimes taken the place of eggs in pastry preparations. The rich metallic flavor works surprisingly well with sweeter components.

WRG: Since C555 is about celebrating chefs and farmers who grow the food we eat responsibly (albeit in the form of an orgy of food, drinks, and fun), have you noticed people leaving the events ready to change their eating habits?

That’s really hard to say, but definitely worth some form of quantification/assessment going forward. I do know that industry/restaurants involved in COCHON 555 are more keen towards showcasing pork from local farms on their menus rather than utilizing conventional pork. When the consumer sees these items, we hope that they will support the food movement. There are definitely a larger number of butcher shops today that operate sustainably and are more adept at whole-animal (and heritage breed) butchery, so these specialty proteins are more readily available to the end consumer.

WRG: What is the most decadent pork dish you’ve had on the tour?

This is a tough one because I’ve had so many dishes this year alone. Five* chefs per city, four-to-six dishes per chef, 10 cities, that adds up to 200-300 different bites… That being said, Jose Mendin from Pubbelly Group in Miami, FL prepared a luscious mofongo, which is a pork-shoyu broth, with braised/fatty shoulder and topped with chicharron, that I still crave. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

So do ours. For more information on Cochon55 visit their website.