Wine Country Pig Throwdown

We’d call it a “throwdown,” except that when the dish you’re talking about weighs some 125 pounds, it’s not all that easy to toss around.

Yet that’s essentially what Sonoma celeb chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes will be doing next Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Cochon 555 U.S. Tour Kick-Off. With their special ingredient, a 125-pound

Black Pig Meat Co. Mangalitsa Pig eating Redwood Hill Yogurt

whole pig, the chef-owners of Santa Rosa’s beloved Zazu Restaurant are taking on four other North Bay chefs to show who’s boss when it comes to heavenly hog recipes.

They plan on kicking some tail as they take on competing talent from Napa and San Francisco. Nose-to-tail, actually, as each chef’s assignment is to create a feast utilizing every last bit of the oinker.

According to event spokesperson Carolina Uribe, chefs keep their menus secret until the day of the event. “Sometime the chefs have an idea of what they want to do,” she said. “And then they receive the pig, bond with it, and their menu changes.”

That’s a type of bonding we’ll pass on, personally, but we did get Stewart to squeal a little about what he plans to make Sonoma shine.

“When I see the pig, I’ll make all the final decisions,” he explained. “But tentatively, I will make a terrine or soup out of the head, and pig heart sliders, as well as possibly pork cheek sandwiches with kimchee.”

For a snack, he and Estes may whip up some popcorn popped in bacon fat and drizzled in maple sugar and bacon salt. There may be that joyous guilty nibble of corn dogs, too. It all depends on how the porker, er, speaks to them.

“The pigs are on the small side at 125 pounds,” Stewart mused about the Heritage breed animals being provided by Devils Gulch Ranch of Nicasio. “I would normally work with pigs twice that size or bigger.”

With a theme of “5 Pigs, 5 Chefs, 5 Winemakers,” the second annual Cochon 555 claims to be the only national chef competition promoting heritage pigs and breed diversity. Upcoming cities include New York, Washington D.C. and Seattle, though the kickoff event at Napa’s Silverado Resort promises to be extra-special, held as it is on the eve of National Pig Day.

Guests and professional judges will determine a winner based on utilization, presentation and overall best flavor, and when Stewart and Estes win (as they will), they’ll have the opportunity to compete with other national winning chefs at the Grand Cochon during the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 18-20.

Other competitors include the very worthy chefs Christopher Kostow (Meadowood Resort), Devin Knell (French Laundry), Peter Pahk (Silverado Resort), and Dennis Lee (Namu Restaurant, San Francisco). Jeremy Fox, meanwhile, recently departed from the vegetable-friendly Ubuntu, will prepare local produce in delicious incarnations.

To wash down all that fine pig, five family-owned wineries will showcase their wines, including Wind Gap Wines of Forestville, while Magnolia Brewing will be slopping suds.

And though we don’t recommend actually attempting such a feat at home, you can indeed learn how to conduct a whole pig breakdown, as demonstrated by Ryan Farr of San Francisco’s 4505 Meats.

Details: Cochon 555, Sunday, Feb. 28th, 4:30 p.m. (VIP Reception at 3 p.m. with RSVP required). Tickets $110 per person, advance purchase required.