After a weekend spent consuming massive quantities of meat for two excellent causes, we just wanted to congratulate the winners. We’ll start with Brad Farmerie, of Public, who won yesterday’s Cochon 555, the Heritage Pork lovefest. His pork creme caramel and sausage and forest of pork cinnamon buns on sticks and pork pie and pork blood skewer and pork rillette and bacon and cachaca pork cocktail were all excellent, as was the pitcher covered with tiny pigs from which it was served. He went above and beyond in all three categories — presentation, utilization and flavor — and as a result swept the scoring system. However, we had a very big soft spot for the one-dish — and what a dish! — number presented with a lovely little crock of mustard by Savoy/Back Forty/Peter Hoffman. It was the best choucroute we’ve ever eaten.
Kudos also go to Andrew Gottlieb — who actually attended Cochon 555, naturally — the man who took Jimmy’s No. 43 cassoulet competition on Saturday afternoon to raise money for the Greenmarket’s youth programs. Jimmy Carbone handed over $3,000 to the farmers’ market program at the end of the night, which was also a serious boon to Cayuga Pure Organics, whose white beans were used by a good 75 percent of the cassoulet chefs in the room.
