This past Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Loew’s Hotel South Beach, 5 talented chefs went head to head ( or nose to tail! ) in Cochon 555 Miami's delicious swine battle preparing 6 dishes utilizing different parts of a whole heritage breed pig. Cochon 555 is a national competition that travels around the country supporting the sustainable farming of heritage pigs with local winners competing for national title of "King or Queen of Porc".  With about 500 hungry foodies, chefs, winos and fans in attendance, everyone tried bites of pork dishes that ranged from soups, salads, BBQ, pates, tacos, pastas to desserts and cocktails with bacon bits and bacon strips. It was a very PIG event on all accounts.

For those who wanted to dine on other dishes that did not have pork, there were assortments of various cheeses from The Cheese Course (locations in Midtown and Downtown), fresh oysters from Mignonette, macarons from DB Bistro Moderne, and more. All that eating makes one thirsty! There were a variety of white and red wines, bourbons, whiskies and beers for attendees to imbibe on.  A live butcher demo captured guests’ attention midway through the event, in which every part of the pig was auctioned off and all proceeds donated to the local culinary school.

Cochon 555 Miami Competing Chefs:

Lindsay Autry of Palm Beach's Fin & Feather

Xavier Torres of Drunken Dragon

Todd Erickson of HaVen South Beach and Hua Huas

Jason Pringle of db Bistro Moderne

Richard Hales of Blackbrick aka Midtown Chinese 

After hours of eating, drinking and celebrating, the guests and a pack of notable judges, led by last year’s Prince of Porc, Jose Mendin, and including Aaron Brooks of Edge Steakhouse, Daniel Serfer of Mignonette, Bradley Herron of Michael’s Genuine and Norman Van Aken of Norman’s voted and chose this year’s winner, the only female competing chef, the Princess of Porc… Chef Lindsay Autry of Fin & Feather! Her unique dishes were both delicious and creative.

Chef Lindsay Autry resides in Palm Beach and is no stranger to food competitions. She is a former Top Chef competitor and her reputation has garnered respect from some of the greatest chefs in America. Lindsay has held various chef positions at restaurants such as the Omphoy Ocean Resort.  Her cuisine embraces Mediterranean flavors while blending in her southern roo

Chef Autry's dishes not only had great flavor, but were uniquely presented. She had the most creativity in all the small bites.

For example, the BBQ pork sliders had small squeeze tube in each one so it was not messy and overly sauced. It had the perfect amount of sauce. Such an ingenious way to pack some flavor without getting it all over the place!
The pork liverwurst push pop in the trunk filled with grass was not only appealing to the eye but to the tastebuds as well. There are dessert push pops and ice cream push pops, but a liverwurst and pickles push pop?! Wow!
My favorite perfect little bite was her pork ceviche. I have had a seafood and fish ceviche, but pork?! Absolutely delicious with the perfect combo of tang and heat. The added crunch of the chicharones made the play of various flavors and textures, dance in your mouth.
Chef Autry not only delivered great flavor but also utilized pork in a creative manner. Her talent and personality was evident in this competition.

Congratulations Chef Lindsay Autry and the very best of luck in Aspen!

Cochon 555 continues onto Chicago for the last of the local Cochons on April 26th and then onto the Finale in Aspen on June 20th, where all ten local city winners will compete for the Porc Crown.

Stay tuned to MIAbites for final results. And if you missed this years PIGtastic competition you can sign up for email updates at http://cochon555.com/cochon-tour/