INDIANAPOLIS — 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 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.

The event encourages chefs to use pork more frequently in creative, non-traditional ways. It drew more than 400 pig farmers, lawmakers, ag industry leaders, and dignitaries to downtown Indianapolis.

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. “He 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!”

 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