Congrats to Heritage BBQ Winner, Chef Jose Adorno of Graffiato!

On Sunday, Chef Jose Adorno was announced the King of BBQ at Heritage BBQ, with a Red Wattle pig from Creekside Farms at a friendly culinary competition promoting heritage breed pigs and global grilling cultures.

The winning menu included Pernil Asado which is a Slow Roasted Marinated Shoulder served with Rice, Pigeon Peas and Pique. Jose’s Sopa de Habichuelas, a Red Bean Stew with Trotters, Belly, Jowl, Calabaza, and Culantro served on a Coconut Arepa was accompanied by an explosive Croqueta de Jamon y Queso with a Lardo Mayo-Ketchup. There was also a Chuleta de Pansa Belly Chop with Mofongo and Chicharrone and a Morcilla with Spicy Pineapple Kraut, Malanga en Escabeche, a Hot Pickled Cocoyam with Pearl Onion and Crispy Pig Ears, Coriander-herb Salad with Pickled Coriander, Compressed Cilantro Stems, Fresh Herbs and Honey-Bacon Vinaigrette. His final sweet move of the night was Quesitos de Fresas, a Strawberry Danish with Lardo and a Honeyed Ginger Demi-glace. 

Cochon555’s Heritage BBQ aims to rebuild our perception of BBQ by going back to its roots and showcasing the original context of BBQ, which meant, local meats cooked with native spices, over fires and shared with a community. The series of events aims to tilt the scales in favor of building long-term relationships between family farms and the larger commodity meat buyers like BBQ restaurants who can join the fight to support small family farmers.

This year’s competing chefs included Nicholas Stefanelli of Masseria who cooked old time Italian, Will Morris of Vermillion who prepared a Thai menu, Sam Molavi of Compass Rose who featured six Global influences, and RJ Cooper of Rouge24 who returned to the competition after being the first chef to win Cochon 555 in Washington DC in 2009, yet it was winner Jose Adorno of Graffiato who took home top honors with his Puerto Rican inspired menu. Each chef was given a whole heritage breed pig raised on a local family farm, and in seven days, worked with their teams to present a “Judge’s Plate” consisting of six dishes scored on utilization, global influences, cooking techniques and overall flavor. 

In addition to sampling the competitor’s dishes, guests enjoyed Cochon 555’s spotlight called “BBQ Traditions”, an epic tasting inside the event where notable chefs prepared one dish from their favorite BBQ culture like Hibachi, Char Siu, Barbacoa, Asado, Satay or even regional American BBQ styles. Erik Bruner-Yang of Maketto prepared Traditional Sides, Scott Drewno of The Source by Wolfgang Puck prepared Char Siu, Zack Mills of Wit & Wisdom Tavern prepared Thai Style Pork Satay, Kyle Bailey of Birch & Bailey prepared Barbacoa, Louis Goral of Rural Society Argentine Steakhouse prepared Asado, Craig Hartman of The Barbeque Exchange prepared Barbacoa, Jeremy Waybright of Boss Shepherd’s prepared Carolina BBQ, Danny Lee of Mandu prepared Korean BBQ and Haider Karoum of Estadio/Proof/DoiMoi prepared an East Asian Ground Pork on a Chicharrone.

The all-inclusive stand up tasting event included 1,400+ pounds of heritage pig, “pop-up” culinary experiences, premium wines, artisan cheeses, sustainable seafood, hand-crafted spirits, fine cocktails, and a very impressive selection of whiskies, ryes and bourbon. A portion of the proceeds benefitted the local culinary school and Piggy-Bank.org while building opportunities for local family farms.