The flagship event of COCHON555’s weekend, Grand Cochon, featured 10 chefs competing for the crown with 30 best bites from across the country. These winning dishes were served to the sold-out crowd of more than 500 pork-loving epicureans and 20 celebrity judges who voted for their favorite bites, including Andrew Zimmern, Tyler Florence, Laura Werlin, 2016 Food & Wine Best New Chef Brad Kilgore, “2015 King of Porc” Thomas Boemer, Celebrity Chef Mike Isabella, Food Artisan Cristiano Creminelli amongst other notable food celebrities. Together they crowned Walter Manzke of Republique the King of Porc and National Champion.  The winner walked away with a four-day wine experience in Rioja, Spain’s most prominent wine region, gifts from Williams-Sonoma, a 2016 Pro Series Grill from Traeger and a Chef’s Coat courtesy of Hedley & Bennett. Grand Cochon was part of a weekend of epic events hosted by Viceroy Snowmass, Snowmass Tourism and Related and the events benefitted Piggy Bank, a farm devoted to providing free heritage breed pigs and business plans to emerging family farms. Continue Reading.