The event is casual. Each venue is different, so please dress accordingly to the style of our host. A good pair of jeans and a jacket are considered dressed up. If we gave away prizes for the best pig t-shirt, we would.

Yes.

Yes, groups of 10 get 1 free ticket. If you feel you have a good question, please contact us.

COCHON promises to be a fantastic event with five outstanding pig breeds. Make sure you watch the butcher competition, when two cutters go head-to-head in a display of speed and superior carving. The award ceremony is at 7:30pm, followed by an after party with our good friends at a location TBD, everyone is welcome to join us after the event.

Cochon 555 is a casual event. Come VERY hungry, and on time. It’s like a movie, arrive late, you will miss the most important developments–in this case, the food. Cochon 555 is a stand-up tasting event. The five chefs in competition have spent more than five days cooking these amazing heritage pigs and they will be campaigning for your vote. Cochon 555 promotes the idea of slow food prepared with respect for the animal, purpose and passion. Please be understanding if you have to wait a few minutes for food, as each chef tries to prepare the best possible bite from every inch of the pig making the food more amazing than any food and wine event around the country. Stick around for the awards and we promise that no guest will leave wanting more.

Everyone is a JUDGE: here are considerations as guest

Cochon 555 [C555] features five CHEF stations on the main competition floor (by rules of the competition, C555 cannot add any food activities beyond to the main floor while chefs are campaigning for your vote). Five chefs will be in service from 5:00-6:30pm plating individually for each guest in line. Each chef’s bite is hoping to earn your vote for “best bite of the day”. At 6:30pm, each guest will need to vote at which point C555 collects the ballots. At 6:35pm we release the second wave of swine. A sixth chef will prepare TWO WHOLE PIGS for family meal (the five chef teams are invited to eat with the guests during family meal). If you want to talk to the chefs and to meet their teams, please utilize this time between 6:30-7:30pm to say hello and explore the preparations of the pigs (during competition, please respect the chef’s time during “service” as plating for 400 guests is extremely challenging – at times, busier than any Saturday night at the restaurant). Right before awards, we serve a family-style dessert course called “Swine & Sweets” and finally – the chefs are called to the stage.

Here are some tips to an enjoyable experience: Don’t arrive late, or leave before 7pm. There’s more than enough meat per person (2.1lbs per guest), so you won’t leave hungry unless you leave early. In the first 30 minutes, all the chefs are getting crushed – don’t stand in the largest line you see, navigate to smaller lines.

Grab your first glass of wine and head to your favorite chef first, while your companion goes to your second favorite chef – grab plates of food for each other. Sweet, you have 2 out of 5 chefs complete. Eat quickly, toss your plates in the trash (don’t worry, they’re biodegradable). Then stop by a wine station while you strategize your next few moves. Grabbing food and looking for a seat is a time killer as there won’t be many seats. Instead, work the chef stations hard for the first hour revolving among the five wineries. Moving around the room is key to enjoying the complete Cochon 555 experience. A guest once told me, “you couldn’t pay me to sit in the first 90 minutes, I can’t miss a thing”.

Watch the front of the lines where chefs are serving, chefs will be looking to provide direction to guests as the best way to get their food. Just because someone started a line doesn’t mean you need to stand in their line. Find solutions. Its a creative floor plan complete with extremely creative and accommodating chefs, event hosts, wineries etc…and everyone wants you to enjoy your experience.

This is not a traditional event: if you are in line, send your companion up to the front to explore the hold up – most times, the chef will hand you something or having food passed to you while you wait. Honestly, poke your head around and look for little pockets of food, most times you will find them. Remember, there are lines at this stand-up tasting receptions, the chefs and production teams have food planned all the way until 7:15pm. Leaving early means you will miss something amazing. If you bought tickets for a friend, please copy and paste this information into an email and send it to them so they can be prepared.