It’s been seven years since Cochon 555 was established by founder Brady Lowe as a way to educate chefs and consumers about heritage breed pigs, as well as encourage the practice of nose-to-tail cookery.

The 10-city tour is a friendly-fire competition in which five local chefs duke it out for the title of “Prince/Princess of Porc” based on their utilization and talent cooking with a whole hog (sourced from local farms and ranches whenever possible). Every June during the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, the Grand Cochon (held this year on June 18 at the Viceroy Snowmass) serves as the finale of the tour, in which the winners from each city engage in a culinary throw down to become “King/Queen of Porc.”

The weekend isn’t just focused on pork, however. Snowmass will also be hosting Cochon 555’s epic Heritage Fire for the second year in a row. The whole-animal, wood-fired bacchanalia features 50 chefs from across the country cooking over 3,500 pounds of meat—from game birds and goat to seafood. The goal, explains Lowe, “Is to network consumers and chefs with responsible farmers raising honest and safe food, with purpose and passion.” Ticket sales help benefit charities like the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and Piggy Bank, a heritage breed pig sanctuary in Missouri. It is, says Lowe, “A great reason to come out and eat for a cause.” Continue Reading.