The National Taste of Elegance

The National Taste of Elegance-by CITYPEEK Blogette, Holly Barzyk-It was one of those days in which I wished I had several stomachs. I was invited to represent CITYPEEK.com as a judge and VIP guest at the The National Taste of Elegance annual pork competition. The memo from correspondent Nidhi Singh said, "come on an empty stomach." Sound advice, considering there were 18 different pork presentations to be tasted.

Myself and four other members of the media, including STYLE magazine's Brian Lawrence, spent three hours deliberating over each multi-faceted, exquisite preparation.

I delighted in the fact that our favorite was also the judge's nod for Best in Show and the winner of this Pork Soiree: A Duo of Pork: Sumac and rosemary scented pork loin and Cider-braised Pork shoulder, with White Cheddar grits, Crispy Carrots and Leeks by Adam Wells -Morgan, of The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Missouri.A few other favorites included Hell's Kitchen contestant Jason Santos' Sous Vide Pork Belly with honeydew, Raspberry pudding, lime sugar, and pink pepper, Laurel Creek's Micheal Sicinski's Tribute to Pork shank- a beautifully braised pork shank with strawberry barbecue sauce, with my fave combination of tasso ham and corn hash.

Local Maryland favorite Jerry Edwards of CHEF'S EXPRESSIONS, who won his regional competition in the winter, represented his region wonderfully with a refreshing Wheatberry salad garnished with miso bacon, smoked pork loin with rosemary soubise and Brick pressed Pork belly. I loved the use of star anise in the latter part of his presentation.

Afterwards, it was onto the cocktail reception, where I met up with managing editor of Plate Magazine's Liz Grossman, who was also a media judge and CITYPEEK.com Founder, Patti Neumann. We ate more Heritage roated pork, artisan cheese, and other delightful nibbles provided by the host hotel, Renaissance Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel. During this time, I had a chance to chat with the contestants, such as David Vlach of Heidi's in Minneapolis, who prepared one of the top six best preparations, a spiced slow cooked pork shank with Gremolata and Black Beluga Lentil Tomato Stew.

As I sipped wines from Four Vines vineyards, including a versatile, oakey, but salt of the earth Old Vine Zinfandel and a refreshing chardonnay, I noted how each Chef I spoke with lovingly described their dish. It is moments like these that makes me proud to be a part of food culture.