Local Chefs Love Personalized Pork Products

By Lauren Hendrick, Denver Eater Chefs in the Denver and Boulder area have taken a liking to personalized pork from Tender Belly, a pork vendor based in Iowa that raises pigs specifically for individual restaurants. The Denver Business Journal reports that Tender Belly currently caters to 120 restaurant clients in Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. Executive chef Elise Wiggins of Panzano's and chefs at Elway’s, Vesta Dipping Grill and Frasca Food and Wine are fans of the business, noting that the superior pork yields far better dishes. How'd they get hooked? The Tender Belly founding brothers handed out cases of free samples to high-end restaurants to use as specials. The result? The business is now expanding into a consumer market that will launch in January.