A prestigious pig cook-off at the Governor Hotel Sunday night was followed by at least two head buttings and a fist-fight outside an Old Town strip joint. Portland police were called to break up the rumble, which sent a renowned chef and the event's organizer to jail after one had been pepper-sprayed and the other shot with a taser.



And it was all over a pig.



Eric Bechard, the heralded young chef behind Thistle in McMinnville, confronted Brady Lowe, the Atlanta-based organizer of Cochon 555, around 2 a.m., angrily denouncing his event for giving top marks to pork raised in Iowa.





"People need to support Oregon farmers and local business," Bechard told the Portland police officer who arrested him. He added that he thought it was "messed up" that the culinary show "would have guests from San Francisco and that a pig was brought all the way in from Iowa."

Lowe, who said he had a concussion and a fractured leg, was getting ready Tuesday to pick up a dressed pig from Sweet Briar Farms in Eugene for the next Cochon 555 scheduled Sunday in Seattle.

The promoter of heritage pork – antique breeds raised on small farms for epicures -- said the ruckus took the focus off good food, which was the point of the event.

"It's sad to the see a celebration for heritage pork get upstaged by the actions of a local hooligan. There's no place in the true chef community for someone like that."

Besides, Lowe said the event in Portland featured three pigs from Oregon, one from Kansas and one from Iowa. Judges and the 400 participants who paid up to $175 to attend voted on the outcome of the cooking competition.

Bechard was not one of the five chefs to compete and in fact, had not heard of the event before a week ago. He said he isn't the only chef to find the whole idea distasteful. "We as Oregonians pride ourselves on sustainable and local, so to be in a room full of those people, who then voted for this Iowa pig, it was disappointing."

Bechard, whose restaurant was mentioned in the New York Times last month, first made his mark in the Portland dining scene as chef at the now-closed Alberta Street Oyster Bar. He was noted as a rising star among the new breed of young chefs emphasizing locally grown food. At Thistle, Bechard prides himself on sourcing all of his ingredients from Yamhill County.

Lowe takes his road show to 10 cities in what is billed as a friendly competition between the best local chefs. Five competitors are paired with whole pigs and charged with making dishes from the entire animal.

Sunday night, Jason Barwikowski, head chef of the Portland restaurant Olympic Provisions, won the title Prince of Porc, using a red wattle pig raised on Koerperich Farm in Iowa.

The trouble began around 9:30 p.m. when the party moved to Davis Street Tavern in Old Town. Witnesses said Bechard elbowed and then head-butted Craig Hedstrom, sales manager for Elk Cove Vineyards, one of the wineries participating in the earlier event. Hedstrom said former chef Tom Hurley, who happened to be at the bar that night, stepped in to escort Bechard out of the bar.

Blake Smith, owner of the bar, told police that Bechard was visibly intoxicated when he first arrived and threatened him when he was asked to leave.

After the tavern closed, Bechard, Lowe and others ended up at the Magic Gardens strip club a few blocks away. Shortly before 2 a.m., police were called to break up a fight outside the club at 217 N.W. Fourth St. Witnesses said Bechard started shoving Lowe and then was throwing punches, with the two ending up on the ground. One witness quoted Bechard as saying, "Food doesn't come from San Francisco, food comes from Portland."

At least seven officers were called to the fight which ended with Lowe getting tased and Bechard being pepper-sprayed. Bechard was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and interfering with a police officer. Lowe was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer.

The Multnomah County District Attorney's office declined to prosecute and dropped the charges.

Jason French, owner of Ned Ludd, a Portland restaurant that also emphasizes all local food, said if anything he blames the melee on chefs, egos and lots of alcohol.

"If there's any question why things go down, you don't have to look past the amount of wine and booze flowin," he said. "It was a fun event that went bummer."

As for Lowe, he said he plans to return next year.

"I love Portland," Lowe said. "I don't think this chef should give the city a black eye.

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