Cochon555 is a culinary competition and pork feast that champions heritage breed hogs. However, an incident during the Atlanta stop of the tour, during which more than 30 well-known Atlanta chefs participated , has angered some Asian chefs, who are calling for the need to champion racial diversity and inclusion in the kitchen.
On Oct. 28 during a "Late-night Asian speak-easy" dinner at Muss & Turner's , a photo was taken, with one individual wearing a kimono, conical bamboo hat and costume glasses with slanted eyes that appear stereotypically Asian. Other chefs, including Atlanta veteran chef Dennis Lange and Andre Gomez of Porch Light Latin Kitchen, as well as Cochon founder Brady Lowe , posed for the picture. The intention of the dinner was to pay homage to the diversity of Asian cuisine.
The photo was posted on Instagram and reposted on the Cochon555 Instagram account but has since been removed.
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As The Washington Post reported, the photo angered chefs Erik Bruner-Yang, Jonah Kim and Danny Lee, all former D.C. winners of Cochon555 , who view the photo as racist and offensive. All three chefs reposted the photo on their Instagram accounts and expressed their disgust with the image.
Bruner-Yang has since reposted the photo a second time, calling on Cochon organizers to "have a dialogue about this."
Lowe issued the following statement in response to the incident:
“Both myself and @Cochon555 would like to apologize for the inappropriate representation of race that took place at our recent ‘Late Nite Asian Speak-easy’ event in Atlanta. This demonstrated a lack of sensitivity and poor judgment, and it is not something we are proud of in any way. The celebration of global food cultures has always been at the core of our mission, and we will continue to strive to bring people of all backgrounds together in celebration of safe, honest, and authentic eating.”
He also released a video apology:
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