Indianapolis chef Craig Baker took home the top award at Taste of Elegance, a premier chef’s competition hosted by Indiana Pork on Jan. 27 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.
Each year, the Taste of Elegance competition brings talented chefs together to compete in the prestigious event created to encourage chefs to use pork more frequently in creative, non-traditional ways. The event attracts over 400 pig farmers, lawmakers, ag industry leaders and dignitaries to downtown Indianapolis for an evening of elegance and celebration, Indiana Pork says in a release.
Baker, executive chef at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Indianapolis, prepared a dish that featured a banana leaf–wrapped pork shoulder marinated in achiote and citrus and slow-roasted until meltingly tender. It was presented over fresh masa sopes with a silky black bean purée enriched with pork stock, finished with pineapple–habanero salsa, pickled onions, fresh cheese and micro cilantro. As the Taste of Elegance winner, Baker was presented with a check for $1,000 from Indiana Pork and an automatic entry into the 2026 World Food Championships.
“Chef Baker is no stranger to food competitions,” says Jeanette Merritt, director of communications of Indiana Pork. “Chef is a previous winner of Taste of Elegance and has a great understanding of how to make pork taste delicious and design a plate that is appealing to the judges. His dish was an outstanding example of well-prepared pork!”
The 2026 Indiana Taste of Elegance featured some of the state’s top chefs, including:
Scott Cramer, Crystal Events at the Roof Ballroom
Dave White – Great White Smoke
Ian Stricklin - Stricklin Catering & Productions
Dean Sample – Bonge’s Tavern
Brady Foster – Foster’s Catering
Chefski Laskowski – personal chef
Jason Hertenstein – Hert’s BBQ
Craig Baker – Intercontinental Hotel
Turon Cummings – The Bull Grill
Brian Pleasant – Damar Services
Tyler Shortt – Tinker Street Restaurant and Wine Bar
Steven Amore, Savant Chefs
Cole Padgett – Taxman Hospitality Group
Brian Mendenhall – Central Nine Career Center
Michael Gomez – Gomez Catering and Events
Other winning chefs from the night include:
Superior Chef Award (2nd place): Dean Sample
Premium Chef Award (3rd place): Tyler Shortt
Wine Pairing Award: Turon Cummings
People’s Choice Award — Favorite Entrée: Dean Sample
People’s Choice Award — Favorite Display: Cole Padgett
People’s Choice Award — Favorite Wine: McClure’s Orchard & Winery
