On March 13, five of DC’s best chefs will compete in Cochon 555 (The Pork Olympics), a nationwide tour that promotes heritage breed pigs, small farmers and winemakers, and sustainable food sourcing. The winner will represent DC at Grand Cochon, the prestigious national championship of hog. This is food done right, from farm to table, and this week, Sam’s Good Meats will be profiling the passionate DC chefs who are taking on this challenge, mission and all.

Everyone knew someone like Adam Sobel in high school. In his own words, he was a “terrible student” whose mom nudged him into vocational school to learn cooking. Within days, he said, he bought in and never looked back. The difference between Sobel and that guy you knew back then? Well, read on.

At age 29, Sobel is Executive Chef of Bourbon Steak DC in the Four Seasons Hotel. The restaurant, which he took over just over a month ago, is a power joint in a city full of them. It is part of Michael Mina’s empire, the kingdom built on butter poached steaks. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was known to curse there frequently. And Sobel’s longtime friend and predecessor as Executive Chef, David Varley, left him a steaming pile of acclaim to live up to, including Washingtonian Magazine’s award for Best New Restaurant 2009.

I doubt any of that is on Sobel’s mind this week. Varley also happens to cast a lonnngggg Cochon 555 shadow, having been crowned 2010 King of Pork after winning the DC event and the national title, Grand Cochon, before decamping to San Francisco to become Mina’s corporate chef. As Sobel put it, “there is tremendous pressure on this restaurant to perform” at the event on March 13^th.

While the young chef has huge hog shoes to fill, he betrays not even a hint of anxiety. In fact, he is all scrappy Long Islander, even in polite conversation. With almost 15 years of professional cooking experience under his belt (he’s 30?!), Sobel is confident and sincere when he says, “I didn’t move to DC to be the average Joe.” The way he came up in the kitchen seems to have prepared him well for a pressure moment like this.

-Trained under John Murphy and Paul Magro at Barry Tech in Long Island

-Apprentice to Certified Master Chef John Johnstone; Chef de Partie under Johnstone at Tavern on the Green in New York City (at age 18)

-Line Cook, Judson Grille by Bill Telepan

-Culinary Institute of America in a class that included David Varley (Mina Group), Bryan Ogden (Restaurant Bradley Ogden), Gerald Chin (The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas), and Lucas Riemens

-Externship, Seeger’s in Atlanta

-Sous Chef, Parcel 104 by Bradley Ogden in San Francisco

-Chef de Partie, Charlie Trotter’s Chicago

-Chef de Cuisine, Bradley Ogden Las Vegas (2004 Beard Award for Best New Restaurant) and Restaurant Guy Savoy Las Vegas

-Consulting Chef, Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood Las Vegas

Sobel calls Seeger “maybe the best chef in the world.” From Telepan, he learned “taste.” From Trotter, he learned “hospitality” while getting his “ass kicked all over the place” on a grill where he did 14 proteins. From Guy Savoy, he learned to “connect with guests.” And from his CIA classmates, he learned things that he assured me were not fit to print.

With a resume this deep to draw on, the young chef will undoubtedly leave his mark on Bourbon Steak, where he now oversees an protein palace that includes a thriving in-house charcuterie operation. Of all the Cochon 555 DC chefs, he was the only one whose signature pork dish was actually one of the lighter things on the menu. I smelled Sobel’s ricotta gnudi with seared mortadella, egg yolk, swiss chard, and parmesan brodo when the runner was 10 feet away from the table. It was a delicious, double surprise, even for someone who already has an abiding affection for the champagne of bolognas.

Perhaps Sobel will bring that light touch with pork to the task of impressing the Cochon 555 judges, but given that his menu often features some mix of crepinettes, pork belly, trotter, and head cheese, I’m not going to be counting on it. The chef gave me an interesting window into how his planning for the event has played out.

When I got the call from Brady Lowe, 50 different ideas went through my head. I thought about what dishes would be an obvious hit. I built a theme. I thought about utilization and the logistics of pulling it all off for 500 people. Once I worked out all of those things, I put things on paper and test them with my team (which includes Will Morris, who assisted Varley last year). Then we test. At this point, I’m going to do eight dishes and perhaps a couple of extras for the judges.  When we get that hog, Will and I are going to break it down and then we are moving. Flavor is number one.

And yes, he believes as deeply in the Cochon 555 mission as Varley and the other chefs he’ll be competing against. “The competition can get in the way of the message, but we’re in deep trouble if we don’t change [our sourcing practices],” said Sobel.  “Brady is making a difference by connecting farmers with chefs and people.”

Sobel seems to be getting comfortable with DC, although there is still clearly an element of culture shock in the way he talks about the city. He tries to eat out as often as he can, naming Blue Duck Tavern and Bibiana as places with inspiring menus.  He says Bar Pilar is a favorite place for a casual bite and 51^st State is the best place to catch his beloved Yankees.

That Yankee swagger was on display when I asked him if he had any messages to send to his competitors. “I hope they’re taking it seriously, because I’m not just the new guy, I’m here to win,” said Sobel. “I have been thinking about Cochon 555 since the day I was hired at Bourbon Steak.”

A fellow Yankee fan, Top Chef contestant Mike Isabella, who will soon open the highly-anticipated Graffiato in DC, said of Sobel: “I met him when he was working for Rick Moonen during Top Chef Vegas. He gave us the tour of Moonen’s place when we did restaurant wars that season. I’ll be interested in what he brings to the table. To take over a Mina-caliber restaurant is a big deal that gives him credibility. I’m excited to taste his food.”

Sam Hiersteiner grew up in Kansas City, and the answer to your next question is “Arthur Bryant’s.” He lives in Washington, DC, where he consults for non-profits and foundations by day and entertains pipe dreams of becoming a butcher after dark. Read his full Sam’s Good Meats archive on HyperVocal.

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