Still porktastic: Popular tasting event turns to takeout in the COVID-19 pandemic
.jpg "This year you can gnaw on bones in the glorious privacy of your own home at the new takeout Cochon555.")
A popular pork extravaganza is taking place in a brand new spot this year — your dining room.
And you’re cooking, with a little help from one of Miami’s top chefs.
The 2020 version of Cochon555 has a new format, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tasting event, usually held at a venue like the Biltmore or 1 Hotel, typically showcases a group of local chefs and winemakers.
This year, the event takes place over five days and will showcase a different chef each night. You pick up a meal kit at the chef’s restaurant and then join an interactive class with the chef via Zoom to learn how to make his favorite pork dish.
“Regretfully, as COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our lives and community, we recognized we could not produce our event tour as we had hoped,” said Brett Friedman, Partner& CEO of Agency 21 Consulting, which owns and operates Cochon555. “People are hungry to connect, so transitioning into something virtual was a natural reallocation of the brand.”
Tickets will include a multi-course meal kit prepared by the featured chefs, with most ingredients coming from heritage breed pig farms; a bottle of red or white wine from Bodegas Ontañon and a cocktail kit or pre-mixed cocktail of Buffalo Trace or Wheatley vodka. During the Zoom, the chef will make one of the featured dishes and guests will cook along.
Don’t worry — you don’t have to do all the work. The other dishes will be ready to heat and serve.
The event runs Sept. 22-27 and the participating chefs are:
Sept. 22: Michael Lewis (KYU)
Sept. 23: Michael Schwartz (Amara at Paraiso)
Sept. 24: Jeff McGinnis and Janine Booth (Root & Bone)
Sept. 25: Giorgio Rapicavoli (Eating House)
Sept. 27: Brad Kilgore (Ember)
Tickets are on sale now for $115 for one, $200 for two, with 80 percent of the proceeds going to the participating restaurants. Tickets available at https://cochon555.com/events/cochon-carryout-miami/
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 7:00 AM.