Tuesday night’s Indiana Pork Taste of Elegance brought Indiana’s top chefs, pork producers, agriculture leaders and tastemakers together for an unforgettable evening of culinary creativity and competition at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.
According to the Director of Communications at Indiana Pork, Jeanette Merritt, “Taste of elegance is a decades long celebration of all that’s good about Indiana pork. We invite chefs from all across the state to come and make their best pork creations for our guests who are here. And then we invite our legislative friends, our who’s who of Indiana agriculture, and our pig farmers to come and celebrate those pork creations. Tonight, we have 16 fantastic chefs who represent everything from some of our highest end restaurants and hotels across the state, to food service, culinary programs, college programs, who are showcasing their best ways to cook pork.”
In addition to delicious food and lively conversation, the competition served as an official qualifier for the World Food Championships, giving chefs a chance to take their pork prowess to the national stage.
Craig Baker, Chef at the Intercontinental Hotel won the Par Excellence Award and a golden ticket to the Championships, “”I do a lot of competitions and you don’t always win. And so, yeah, there’s a lot of really good chefs here. And so tonight, you know, it means a lot to win.”
And Mike McCloud, CEO of World Food Championships made a special announcement.
“We’re going to do the 14th annual World Food Championships in Indianapolis for the third year in a row. Hopefully many more to follow.”
The World Food Championships will be held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on October 15-18.
Organizers say Taste of Elegance continues to be a highlight of the state’s food and farming calendar, strengthening connections between producers, chefs and food lovers across the region.
