On Sunday, A Voce chef Missy Robbins won this year's Cochon 555 competition in New York. That's not so surprising: Robbins' refined yet earthy Italian cooking has already garnered praise from the Michelin Red Guide and President Obamaalike. (Though she now disavows the latter. When I met her at the New York Wine & Food Festival earlier this fall, on the eve of one of Obama's second presidential debate, I asked her what she'd cook to give him courage, and she got very angry at me. "The Obama thing is so played-out," she said.)
What is surprising, though, is who she beat out to win the day and the "Princess of Porc" title. Take a gander at this photo of the competing chefs, standing with Cochon 555 organizer Brady Lowe:
missy robbins
Notice anything out of the ordinary? All the chefs in that photo are women. From left to right, you have Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter, Elizabeth Falkner of Krescnedo, Leah Cohen of Pig & Khao, and Robbins, Lowe and Shanna Pacifico of Back Forty West. Not in this photo, but also competing, was Sue Torres of Suenos.