Prince Edward Island chefs will compete for the title of “Best PEI Porktoberfest Chef” during an October campaign featuring Island pork and gourmet creations of sausage on a bun.
The Prince Edward Island Hog Producers, Hometown Pork, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, PEI Flavours, and Fresh Media have partnered to create a new culinary campaign that celebrates PEI Pork.
“The department is very pleased to invest in this campaign to encourage Islanders to eat more local products,” said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry George Webster. “The hog industry is valuable to the economy of Prince Edward Island. We are proud of our farmers who produce tasty, nutritious pork.”
Local chefs have gone hog wild with their creativity by taking the traditional pork sausage on a bun and elevating it to a Porktoberfest gourmet sausage delight. Using PEI pork as the main ingredient, they have created unique gourmet pork sausage combinations such as The Red Baron, Stout ‘N’ Snout, Pork-Pourri, Devil’s Heat, and the Boar-N-Berry.
“Though the industry has faced many challenges in the past couple years, and most recently the drought that has caused feed prices to skyrocket and market prices to plummet, we’re excited to be a part of a fun and positive local campaign,” said Tim Seeber, manager of the PEI Hog Marketing Board. “We want to remind everyone that there is still a hog industry on PEI and that it is important to support local.”
Islanders across the province will have an opportunity to sample the gourmet sausage creations at 15 participating restaurants in Morell, Charlottetown, Summerside, Kensington and Long River. At the end of the campaign, one of these 15 Island chefs will win the title of “Best PEI Porktoberfest Chef.”
“Seeing what our talented, local chefs have created with these gourmet pork sausages is amazing,” said Melody Dover, owner of Fresh Media, the Charlottetown marketing agency that came up with the idea for PEI Porktoberfest and also created the successful PEI Burger Love campaign. “And with our ‘Home Chef Challenge,’ we’re just as excited to find out what home-based chefs can dream up as well.”
PEI Porktoberfest is asking Islanders to share the flavour combinations they would use at home to create the perfect PEI sausage on a bun. All of the entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges who will select three finalists to move on to the final round of voting. It will then be up to Islanders to review the recipes submitted by the three finalists, and vote online to crown the first ever winner of the “Home Chef Challenge.”
“As a PEI hog farmer who is launching a new brand focused on unique ways to market local pork, partnering with a culinary event like PEI Porktoberfest comes at a perfect time,” said Scott Dingwell, owner of Hometown Pork and a member of the PEI Hog Marketing Board. “What better way to showcase the superior taste of PEI Pork than with a gourmet sausage created by our talented Island chefs.”
Islanders can visit www.PEIPorktoberfest.ca to see all of the gourmet sausages and to vote for their favourite sausage creation. With each vote, people are eligible to win tasty prizes such as restaurant gift cards, PEI Porktoberfest shirts, and more. The campaign runs until October 31.