Last night, five of Chicago's best chefs got together to show what creative things could be done with whole heritage pigs. There was blood, organ meats, bacon and enough pork fat to submerge a Volkswagen. more ›

Cochon 555, the national touring competition where competing chefs are given an heritage pig and told to use it to make as many dishes as they can, returns to the Four Seasons Hotel Sunday with a loaded lineup of local chefs vying for the title of Chicago's "Prince of Porc." more ›

Cityscape Bar is located on the 15th floor of the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, 350 W. Mart Center Drive. more ›

It was around 5 p.m. Sunday when I and the other judges for Cochon 555 gathered around a series of tables set up in the middle of a cavernous ballroom in the Drake Hotel, like a scene straight out of "Top Chef." Any questions about how we were to judge the competition were answered by Cochon founder Brady Lowe. We were asked to judge the chefs on a scale of 1-5 based on three factors: presentation, flavor, and utilization of the whole pig. That last factor was important, since this was a snout-to-tail competition. more ›

A couple weeks back a post ran about Cochon 555, the snout-to-tail pork competition Sunday at the Drake Hotel featuring Graham Elliot Bowles, Stephen Dunne, Chris Pandel, Patrick Sheerin and Sam Burman. Each of them is tasked with breaking down and preparing a heritage breed pig for eating. Since then your humble food and drink editor was invited to be one of the judges for the event. I have no earthly clue what I bring to the table that chefs Koren Grieveson, Rick Gresch, Seth Siegel-Gardner and Doug Sohn don't, but it should be a fascinating time. more ›