Indiana Pork Announces Taste of Elegance Winners
Indianapolis chef Collin Hilton of Chef de Cuisine at Cunningham Restaurant Group took home the top award at the Taste of Elegance held on Feb. 4 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. The premier chef’s competition, hosted by Indiana Pork, is a culinary event designed to inspire innovative and exciting ways to serve pork.
“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 said in a release.
Chef Hilton’s winning dish featured a buckwheat dumpling stuffed with braised pork, anchovy and charred cabbage, and served with a bacon fat chili crisp. He was honored with a check for $1,000 from Indiana Pork and an automatic entry into the 2025 World Food Championships.
“Chef Hilton is no stranger to food competitions,” Jeanette Merritt, director of communications of Indiana Pork, said in a release. “Chef 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 2025 Indiana Taste of Elegance featured some of the state’s top chefs, including:
- Chef Michael Gomez — Gomez Catering and Events, Indianapolis
- Chef Darrelle Soper, Executive Chef, Holy Family Shelter, Indianapolis
- Chef Chefski Laskowski, personal chef
- Chef Ross Katz, RHB Enterprises, Indianapolis
- Chef Dave White – Great White Smoke, Solsberry
- Chef Scott Cramer - Crystal Signature Events @ Indiana Roof Ballroom
- Chef Ian Stricklin - Stricklin Catering & Productions, Indianapolis
- Chef Steven Amore, personal chef, Indianapolis
- Chef Collin Hilton – Cunningham Restaurant Group, Indianapolis
- Chef Marcus Daniel – Bridgeport, Fort Wayne
- Chef Cole Padgett, Taxman Brewing, Fortville
- Chef Alex Robertson, private chef, Fort Wayne
- Chef Daniel Keiner, The Hulman at Hotel Indy, Indianapolis
Other winning chefs from the night include:
- Superior Chef Award (2nd place): Marcus Daniel
- Premium Chef Award (3rd place): Dave White
- Wine Pairing Award: Daniel Kiener
- People’s Choice Award — Favorite Entrée: Cole Padgett
- People’s Choice Award — Favorite Display: Cole Padgett
- People’s Choice Award — Favorite Wine: Acres Away Winery
Million Meals Program Rebrands to Hoosier Hogs to Homes
The Million Meals program, a long-standing partnership between Feeding Indiana’s Hungry and Indiana Pork, has provided invaluable support to communities across Indiana by combating food insecurity. Indiana Pork announced the program is undergoing a transformation. Effective immediately, the initiative will be rebranded as Hoosier Hogs to Homes, signaling a renewed focus and expanded mission to put more ground pork in food pantries across the state, Indiana Pork said in a release.
Indiana pig farmers have donated more than 1.6 million ground pork meals to Hoosiers through this partnership since 2009.
“One of our We Care Principles, the standards that guide our pig farmers in their day-to-day operation, is to serve our community in meaningful ways,” Merritt said in a release. “By transitioning to Hoosier Hogs to Homes, we’re continuing our commitment to providing ground pork to food pantries across the state.”
Farmers, community members, and businesses are encouraged to join the Hoosier Hogs to Homes effort through monetary donations or donations of ground pork to your favorite food pantry. Visit this link for more information.
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