Indianapolis chef Collin Hilton, Chef de Cuisine at Cunningham Restaurant Group, took home the top award at this year’s Taste of Elegance held on February 4, 2025, 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.
Chef Hilton’s dish featured a buckwheat dumpling stuffed with braised pork, anchovy and charred cabbage, and served with a bacon fat chili crisp. As the Taste of Elegance winner, Hilton was presented 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,” said Jeanette Merritt, Director of Communications of Indiana Pork. “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
Source: Indiana Pork