Mighty Fine Swine: Reflecting on 16 Years of Pig Island

This feature comes from food writer Andrea Strong, author of The Strong Buzz on Substack. If you want to write for this newsletter, please get in touch. -Sean

Nearly 20 years ago, the legendary food writer and devoted carnivore Josh Ozersky began hosting a massive outdoor burger and barbecue party called Meatopia on a small patch of city beach off the coast of Long Island City.

Around that time, Ozersky’s longtime pal Jimmy Carbone, the owner of Jimmy's No 43, a popular East Village craft beer bar known for its locally sourced menu, was approached by some Greenmarket friends who asked him if he might want to create a direct farm-to-chef-sourced event.

“I was asked by Slow Food NYC to host the farm-to-chef food festival on Governors Island,” Carbone recalled. “That night, I was having dinner with Josh and told him I needed more introductions to chefs. He suggested combining it with Meatopia.” 

That first year, 2010, the pair teamed up to co-produce Meatopia on Governors Island.

During the planning, Josh coined the name Pig Island for the festival as a joke. The event was a resounding success and led to a call for a sustainable meat event by Carbone’s friends at Greenmarket and Slow Food.

“I created Pig Island immediately after Meatopia,” recalled Carbone. “Josh had coined the name previously in jest, and I ran with it (with his blessing), buying direct from Greenmarket pig farmer Violet Hill Farm and giving them to chefs to cook nose-to-tail.” The rest, as they say, is history.

Now in its 16th year of “mighty fine swine,” Pig Island NYC, to be held September 6th at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens, has expanded to include over 20 chefs from as far as Charleston, South Carolina, to Philadelphia, and the Hudson Valley, to local chefs in New York and New Jersey. This year’s event includes newcomers serving up their best and returning award-winners defending their titles.

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The lineup includes nearly two dozen leaders in the world of heritage meats and award-winning barbecue, including Rodrigo Duarte of Don Rodrigo, Vinny Mangual of Empire BBQ, Gavin, Jamie, and Chris Farella of Brothers BBQ, and Tank Jackson of Holy City Hogs. Morgan’s Brooklyn BBQ is also a longtime participant and one of the event’s core restaurants at all our BBQ events, typically featuring Chef Cenobio Canalizo, a native of Mexico who has become known for crowd favorites like bacon mac’ n cheese and pastrami ribs.

Carbone’s event is known just as much for its dedication to classic American barbecue as it is for expanding barbecue’s borders to include Thai stars like Oak Marprasert of KAM RAI THAI, who won the 2024 Best in Show trophy with a Thai BBQ ceramic oven smoked pork belly dish, and recently opened Samseun on 9th Avenue in Manhattan. Caribbean and West Indies flavors are highlighted by chefs like Darlene Lawrence of Sands Jerk Hut and Jase Franklin of Jase BBQ in Rockaway, Queens.

“Franklin came on the scene five years ago with a stall at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn,” said Carbone. “At the time, he featured BBQ Pig tails in a jerk style sauce. This will be his 5th or 6th Pig Island NYC event. He brings Island traditions and flavors to our event.”

Launching the Careers of BBQ Stars

Food Karma Projects like Pig Island, and others like Brisket King and Rib King, “have had an impact on both micro and macro levels,” said Carbone. “We’ve helped fuel people’s careers: Chef Ray Sheehan of New Jersey started out as a competitor in our hot sauce competition, Sauce King NYC, won it, and then used that momentum to go on to write a book for Big Green Egg,” Jimmy recalls.

Indeed, the exposure many of these chefs get at Pig Island has helped propel many careers, including Brothers Barbecue, owned by brothers Gavin, Jamie, and Chris Farella, New York natives with roots in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, who have grown their family restaurant group from one unit to three locations now in NY and NJ.

“The most significant aspect of the event is the invaluable opportunity it provides to connect with a wider audience of barbecue lovers who may not have had the chance to try our food yet,” said Chris Farella.

“We also want to commend Jimmy for his efforts. We believe it's truly great that he utilizes his platform to showcase and support small businesses like ours within the barbecue community.”

Vinny Mangual of Brooklyn-based Empire BBQ is one of the event’s great success stories. “A few years ago, Vinny started participating in our BBQ events,” recalled Carbone. “He owned a food truck commissary and just one or two food trucks. Since then, he has won top awards at all three of our BBQ events, including 2023 and 2024 Rib King NYC 1st place trophies, and 2023 Pig Island NYC 1st place Best in Show trophy.” Mangual credits winning with his business growth, and says he frequently gets large catering orders for his Rib King NYC 1st place RIBS. He has also grown his business, adding two Brooklyn bar food outposts.

“Sixteen years ago, I was working as an executive sous chef in a very established catering company in NYC,” said Mangual. “I had not even ever smoked a brisket by that point yet. Doing (and winning top prizes) at Pig Island and other Food Karma events has definitely gotten us a ton of business and given us the chance to expand and grow. We now have three full-time locations thanks to the connections I’ve made through Jimmy's events. We have a huge announcement coming this fall, and it had to do directly with Jimmy’s Food Karma events.” 

A Tradition of Giving Back

While the event was always first and foremost a celebration of chefs, heritage meats, and local farmers, it was also born with a mission to give back. Pig Island has always had a non-profit community partner, whether it be community food programs or its current longtime partner, the Friends of Firefighters.

Carbone says the partnerships also benefit non-profit community groups: “We’ve also helped bring attention to organizations that are doing incredible work and deserve the spotlight, like Friends of Firefighters,” said Carbone. “They provide independent, confidential, and free mental health counseling and wellness services to active and retired FDNY firefighters and their family members and have been our community partner at many of our BBQ events since 2018.

“Jimmy is a staunch supporter of small farmers and also one hell of an advocate for first responders and the guys who gave it all for us during 9/11,” said Tank Jackson, the heritage hog farmer, breeder, bbq guru and owner of Charleston's Holy City Hogs, who has taken home Pig Island’s Best Whole Hog prize several of the past years.

“I appreciate all that Jimmy does in his efforts to build a community for farmers, as well as the love and respect that he offers to the friends and families of those affected by 9/11," Jackson continued. "For us, it’s the opportunity to give back, and we appreciate all the folks who come out and support Jimmy’s efforts to make a positive change in the world!”

Rumor has it that this year Jackson will be bringing a custom country ham cured and smoked by Benton’s Bacon in Tennessee. “He keeps alive the Carolina Iberico genetics that go back to early Spanish explorers on the coast of South Carolina and Georgia,” said Carbone. “He’s a huge  advocate of regional culinary heritage with ingredients like Marsh Mill Grits and local onions from Lowland Farm.”

Given Carbone’s commitment to paying it forward to first responders, it’s interesting to note that both Sean Keever of Big Guns BBQ in the Hudson Valley and Kyle Smith of Smith Poultry Farm in South Jersey are both veterans. Keever was in the U.S. Army Artillery, hence the name “Big Guns BBQ,” and Smith is an active duty member of the Air Force and runs the family farm.

A Space for Creativity and Community

Chefs not only lean on the events to build a customer base and grow their business, but also for the sheer creativity it gives them license to explore. “I have been involved with Jimmy and his events for the past four years. My first year it was kind of learning the ropes,” said Empire BBQ’s Mangual. “I use Jimmy’s Food Karma events as an outlet to try new things I’ve been thinking about rolling out. The events are a great outlet for BBQ chefs like me who may be tired of smoking the same brisket or the same chopped pork sandwich, to use our creativity.”

At the end of the day, Carbone says it’s all about the community. "Our events are primarily about grassroots community building and networking for everyone involved,” said Carbone. “The participating chefs and restaurants, brands, community partners, and attendees. They reflect our belief that strong communities are thriving communities.”

About the Author

Known for her pioneering food blog, The Strong Buzz (now on Substack), Andrea covers restaurants, chefs, trends, and big picture stories about the intersection of food, business, policy and the law for publications such as Fast Company, Eater, The New York Times, Food & Wine, New York Magazine, and more. A past judge for Brisket King, and a huge fan of the event, she lives in Brooklyn, where she can be found wondering where she left her phone and where all the matching socks went.