National Pork Board Teams Up with Award-Winning Chef Jose Mendin to Create the First-Ever Pork Burger at Burger Bash at the 2017 Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival in...

DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- This week, food enthusiasts across the country will visit the Magic City to take part in the 2017 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), where the National Pork Board (NPB) returns as the Official Pork Sponsor and Preferred Protein of the Festival. This year, the NPB has invited five-time James Beard Award nominee Chef Jose Mendin to create for the first time the only pork burger at Friday's Burger Bash.  Chef Mendin's Pork Mojo Burger features ground pork and pork shoulder with citrus aioli and pickled onions.

"I am very excited to compete in this year's Burger Bash in partnership with the National Pork Board," Chef Mendin said. "One of my passions is to cook with pork, and I'm looking forward to presenting the only pork burger of the competition. You don't want to miss my Pork Mojo Burger."

Throughout the Festival, the NPB will participate in key events bringing top influencers to showcase the ongoing marketing campaign, the Taste of Now, which highlights pork as the most flavorful and ideal protein of any occasion.

"The Festival is the perfect setting to engage with consumers who love pork and are looking for additional ways to enjoy it," said Jose de Jesus, director of multicultural marketing at the National Pork Board. "Pork means flavor and some of the best food experts will show consumers all the different ways they can cook and enjoy pork."

The five-day festival runs from Wednesday, February 22 through Sunday, February 26, 2017, and features culinary events at a variety of venues throughout the city. The NPB will be featuring their delicious pork-inspired recipes in these three signature events:

• Tequila Cazadores presents Tacos After Dark sponsored by the National Pork Board. It will take place Thursday, February 23, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. SOBEWFF's late-night event – and one of the hottest tickets at the festival – will be held poolside at the luxurious Loews Miami Beach Hotel. It will be hosted by popular celebrity Chef Aarón Sánchez. The NPB has partnered with Chef Jose Garces, winner of Season 2 of Food Network's The Next Iron Chef and James Beard Award recipient, to delight attendees with one of the country's best pork tacos: Tacos de Cabeza.

• Heineken Light's Burger Bash presented by Schweid & Sons and hosted by Rachael Ray will take place Friday, February 24, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.Taking place on the shimmering sands of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in South Beach, this event calls on chefs to battle it out for a chance at earning bragging rights for presenting the winning burger. Chef Jose Mendin will create his exclusive Pork Mojo Burger.

• Goya Foods' Swine & Wine presented by The National Pork Board and home of the National Pork Board's 3^rd Annual Critics' Choice Awards will take place Sunday, February 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.The exclusive, all-pork event features over a dozen acclaimed chefs who will compete to create the best pork dish. Taking place at The Biltmore Hotel, this will be hosted by award-winning Chef Cindy Hutson, who has also partnered with the NPB to create and feature a signature dish. The competition will be judged by National Pork Board Ambassadors celebrity Chef Richard Ingraham, Chef Jose Mendinof The Pubbelly Restaurant Group, and Latin singer-songwriter, actor, and heartthrob Carlos Ponce. In addition, Miami's favorite duo Los Pichy Boys will serve as the NPB's social media correspondents, sharing live behind-the-scenes news via Facebook Live at @LosPichyBoys and via Instagram at @LosPichyBoys.

Also, Eddie Zamora, creator of the popular travel and food blog, The Yum Yum Foodie, will serve as NPB's social media correspondent throughout all NPB's sponsored events, sharing highlights and chef interviews via Twitter at @TheYumYumFoodie, Instagram at @TheYumYumFoodie and Facebook at @TheYumYumFoodie.

For more information on the National Pork Board, including new recipes, information on choice and lean cuts, health, and safety information, cooking tips and promotions, visit Pork Te Inspira. To join the social conversation, like the Facebook page at Facebook.com/PorkTeInspira, and follow on Twitter.com/PorkTeInspira and Instagram @PorkTeInspira, using #SabrososMomentos. PorkTeInspira.com is a resource of pork information and inspiration, including mouthwatering recipes, nutritional content information on pork, choice cuts, health and safety information and cooking tips.

About National Pork Board
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion, and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. Importers of pork products contribute a like amount, based on a formula. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management.  For more information, visit Pork.org.

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