Heritage BBQ Will Bring Smoky Competition to Atlanta This Month

Ladies and gentlemen, start your smokers. Cochon 555, the national event series that heroically raises awareness for heritage breed pigs, is bringing a barbecue blowout to Atlanta at the end of this month. Heritage BBQ will pit some of this city’s biggest culinary names against one another in smoky competition on Sunday, October 30, with the goal of determining who makes the best ‘cue.

Participating in the contest are Terry Koval (Wrecking Bar Brewpub), Nick Melvin (Venkman’s), Kevin Rathbun (Rathbun’s, Kevin Rathbun Steak, etc.), Ford Fry (The Optimist, JCT Kitchen + Bar, etc.), and Hector Santiago (El Super Pan). Each chef and his team will have a whole, 180- to 200-pound heritage breed pig, and will be charged with creating six dishes that showcase "global flavors and timeless cooking techniques."

In addition to the competition dishes, eight more chefs will be on hand to prepare their own takes on traditional barbecue. This roster includes Todd Mussman (Muss & Turner’s), Suzanne Vizethann (Buttermilk Kitchen), Stuart Tracy (Parish), Chad Clevenger (Alma Cocina), Drew Van Leuvan (Seven Lamps), Zeb Stevenson (Watershed on Peachtree), Todd Richards (White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails, Richards’ Southern Fried), and Mike Perez (Colletta).

The event will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Stave Room at 199 Armour Dr. NE. General admission tickets are $100 (VIP is $150) and available online. Admission comes with all-you-can-eat tastes of the porky delicacies.

Heritage breed pigs, defined by the Livestock Conservancy, are registered purebred, or the offspring of registered purebred, animals of an endangered breed that has "a long history in the United States."

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