Last weekend was New York’s Charcuterie Masters, an event held at Flushing Town Hall. In all my years within the food industry, it was probably one of the few food related show’s I’ve visited. I have to get out more often, as it was great! My local butcher, charcuterie master Jonel Piccoane, was a competitor and organizer.  The judges included John Patterson (of Salt Cured Pig) and my former sous chef Bob del Grosso. Besides seeing old friends, it was great to meet a lot of new folks, some of them tops in the field of butchering and artisan charcuterie. Below are shots of what I saw, ate, and bought. I got lucky with a parting gift of some duck ham, as well as a terrine from charcutier, Larissa Popa. Studded like a mosaic, it was fantastic.  I brought my own freshly baked loaves to give to friends, and ended up giving some bread away to charcutiers looking for a good pairing.