Blown Away at Cochon Lafayette

Boudin and Pickles at Cochon Lafayette

First of all, allow me to congratulate Chef Donald Link for his 2012 James Beard Awards "Outstanding Chef" nomination.  The Louisiana chef known widely for his work with the pig at Cochon, Herbsaint, Calcasieu, and Butcher in New Orleans has certainly earned his bid at the most elite title in American cuisine.  Just this past Fall, Chef Link opened up a new location closer to his Cajun Country home: Cochon Lafayette.

I swung by the Acadiana hotspot to check it out for the first time during a recent lunch.  My buddy Tommy Talley and Cochon bartender Brian Thom both joined me at the bar as we had some beers, multiple appetizers, a couple sandwiches, a tour of the facility, and then some whiskey.

Tin Roof Voodoo Bengal Pale Ale

Cochon Lafayette sits along the new water-front development in Lafayette's River Ranch area.  With the brand new construction, they did a remarkable job of making the restaurant feel slightly rustic and rather comfortable.  The open floor plan including high ceilings, a showroom kitchen, and plenty of large windows and  wood accents made me feel right at home.  I took a seat at the bar and rejoiced at the Louisiana beer on tap.  Though they happened to be out of Lafayette's own Parish Canebrake, I was able to get a Tin Roof Voodoo Bengal.  I drank happily.

Braised Pork Cheeks and Other Goodies

Manager Brian Fuller started us off with some of Chef Link's signature boudin.  Rather than steaming the boudin like most truck stops would do, the Cochon secret is to bake the boudin in a relatively low oven - around 275 degrees - in order to crisp up the skin and make it crack as you bite into it.  Served with some house-made pickles that I could actually tolerate, this pork and rice concoction is what many Cajun dreams are made of!

Fried Chicken Livers on Pepper Jelly Toast

Our next appetizer consisted of braised pork cheeks atop spoonbread with baby lima beans and crushed herbs.  The cheeks had that fabulous fork-tender, melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture that proper braising will give.

The pork cheeks were followed by fried chicken livers on top of pepper jelly toast.  I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.  It is easy to understand why chicken livers aren't for everyone, but being the adventurous food spirit that I am, I scarfed down one after another.  The pepper jelly went wonderfully with the livers in order to add some sweet and spicy flavors to the golden fried delicacies.

Cochon Lafayette's Oyster and Bacon Sandwich

Another Look at the Oyster and Bacon Sandwich

Choosing an entree did not prove to be an easy task.  At the suggestion of Brian, I opted for the oyster and bacon sandwich.  The BLT with fried oysters turned out to be a great decision.  They fresh Louisiana oysters were deliciously fried in a hearty batter and placed with the bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes between two slices of buttery toast.  Each bite bustled with textures and flavors that made one incredible sandwich... and I do like sandwiches!

Selection of Whiskeys that I tasted at Cochon Lafayette

After the meal, we began talking about Raise a Glass and our Whiskeys of the World Tournament.  I realized that Cochon Lafayette had quite a few whiskey varieties that were not in the tournament, and several rye whiskeys that I had never tried before.  So what else were we to do other than hold a whiskey tasting right there on the spot?  And don't forget the moonshine, as seen on the left.  After downing some whiskey and eating all of that glorious food (don't worry, it was captured on video for "I'm Not Trying to be an Underwear Model"), I got a tour of the Cochon Lafayette terrace with their herb garden, their fully stocked kitchen, and the outdoor smokestack with Chef de Cuisine Kyle Waters.  The restaurant is truly an impressive facility, and I have a feeling that I'll be back fairly often!

Louisiana Culinary Institute's Race to Cannes

The Louisiana Culinary Institute's Third Annual Race to Cannes cooking competition presents an opportunity for state's best culinary students to challenge each other for a trip to the Cannes Film Festival.  Their journey to France will provide them with an opportunity to work with world-famous chefs as part of the festival's culinary team.  I had the privilege of judging two of the head-to-head match ups in the second round of the single-elimination bracket.  The ingredients that the chefs had to work with were chicken livers, red lentils, and oyster mushrooms.  Let's see what the chefs created!

Rumaki served with braised lentils and oyster mushroom salad

Chef number one was Bryan Poche.  His colorful dish featured rumaki with braised lentils and an oyster mushroom salad.  Rumaki, for those wondering, is a bite-sized morsel typically consisting of a water chestnut and duck or chicken liver wrapped in bacon and marinated in soy with either ginger or brown sugar.  Bryan's rumaki had excellent texture and flavor.  I would have preferred to have a little more flavor in the salad and in the lentils, but overall this dish had plenty appeal.

Southern fried chicken liver with red lentil and oyster mushroom tomato sauce over pasta shells

Our next dish came from Taylor Johnson.  Taylor took his chicken livers and gave them a nice, crispy southern fry before placing them over some pasta shells.  These were easily my favorite fried livers of the day, but I found the rest of the dish to be a little displaced.  The lentils were hardly noticeable and plate could have used more sauce.  The oyster mushrooms were there, but they didn't add much to the dish and kind of got lost as well.  In the end, I loved the livers, but the lentils and mushrooms didn't get their share of the love.

The other judges seemed to agree with me.  While the scoring was extremely close, Bryan Poche moved on to the third round of the Race to Cannes!  I think one thing that set him apart was that he happened to be the only competitor to not deep fry his livers.  Way to do something different, Bryan!

Pan-fried chicken livers with red lentils and oyster mushrooms

The next match up began with a spectacular dish from Jeremy Campbell.  His fried livers sat on top of a bed of red lentils cooked to a point where they still retained a little texture.  He added a veal demi-glace and the cooked down oyster mushrooms to bring it all together.  I didn't want to stop eating the lentils and demi-glace at the bottom of the dish.  The livers left a little to be desired as they had lost some of their crispiness, but everything else worked so well that I ate every bit of my food.

Southern style fried chicken livers with pepper jelly sauce served with sauteed red lentils and smoked oyster mushrooms

The final plate of the evening came from Logan Alfred.  Logan delivered more delicious food, though his plate could have been a little less monotone.  Still, his smoked oyster mushrooms were absolutely my favorite mushrooms of the day.  They had just the right amount of hickory smoke flavor to make me thing I was at a KCBS competition.  Additionally, Logan used some panko bread crumbs on his fried livers and topped them off with a pepper jelly sauce.  Unfortunately, the lentils were a little bland, especially compared to flavors from the mushrooms and livers.

Both of these dishes were really amazing and it was hard to see either of them lose.  I had one point separating the two dishes.  The other judges clearly scored them fairly evenly as well.  Ultimately, the judges and I agreed that the winner was Jeremy Campbell's dish.  I think that veal demi-glace with the lentils is what really set him over the top.

I'll be excited to see how Bryan and Jeremy do moving forward in the competition.  My hat off to all of the competitors as well as everybody at the Louisiana Culinary Institute for putting on this great culinary challenge.  I can only hope to be back to judge (and eat) more!