Swine Loving Cochon555 Returns to Miami

On Sunday, March 24, the all-things-pork event known as Cochon555 heads back to Miami for its fifth installment. Taking over the The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach (1 Lincoln Road) from 4 to 7:30 p.m. the Heritage BBQ edition of the event will pit five chefs against each other to be crowned the BBQ Prince or Princess.

The chefs competing this year are Clark Bowen and Rick Mace of db Bistro Moderne & Café Boulud Palm Beach; Tito Vargas of The Bazaar by José Andrés; Paula DaSilva of Artisan Beach House; Jeremiah Bullfrog of gastroPod; and John Gallo and Rene Reyes of Pinch Kitchen. Each chef is each given one whole, heritage-breed pig of 200 pounds and one week to prepare the whole animal. Each chef must present a “Judge’s Plate” of six dishes to a panel of 20 judges — plus hundreds of hungry event attendees.

Amongst the sea of swine, there are plenty of other events happening including a beef tartare tasting by Timon Balloo; a pop-up bakery from La Brea; a salami snack bar from Creminelli and Divina; a ramen noodle soup bar by Drunken Dragon; organic pâté offerings; something called a “Luxury Butter Bar” featuring truffle butter, foie gras, and more.

And of course there needs to be something to wash it all back with and Cochon555 has guests covered in that department too. Libations include Smoked Old Fashioneds; a Manhattan Bar; a Tiki Bar; a cognac ‘neat’ tasting with caramels; a Heritage Rum Cart plus drinks created with historic bitters at the Swizzle Bar. An array of wines grouped under the “Five Winemakers” section along with cider and beer will also be on hand.

Tickets for general admission start at $125. They can be purchased here. But if you want to enter for a chance to win two VIP tickets (value of $400) head to the Eater Miami Facebook page and comment on this post telling us what pork dish is your favorite and why? A winner will be chosen at random and announced at noon on Wednesday, March 23. Good luck!

Editors Note: The contest is now closed.