Voters named Jorge Guzman the Minneapolis Prince of Porc during the porcine revelry that is Cochon 555.

The Gourmet Gallery at Art Institutes International in Minneapolis will host Grandma’s Recipe Crawl, an event showcasing culinary students as they present small plates representing their heritage and recipes that have been passed down through generations.

The annual Cochon 555 tour is making its second trip to Minneapolis on Sunday, February 21, when one of five distinguished local chefs will be sent along to the national heritage-pig cooking contest.

The Great Sandwich Face Off has four Minneapolis restaurants competing to see which has the best gourmet grinder while also raising money for Second Harvest Heartland.

On the heels of a debate in Minneapolis over whether the city should require employers to offer paid sick leave, neighboring St. Paul is also taking up the issue. Mayor Chris Coleman made the announcement this week, saying the public and an appointed task force would be called upon to help shape a possible citywide mandate.

A few years ago, the Bakken Oil Field in North Dakota was the new Wild West, and Marcus Jundt was Doc Holiday. But now that oil is trading below $28 a barrel, Bakken is more like the Dust Bowl, and Jundt is watching the tumbleweed blow by.

Though not against the idea of workers earning paid sick time, per se, many employers are worried about another layer of regulations on top of those already enforced at federal and state levels.

A slew of restaurant closings are coming, predicted panelists at a Minnesota Shopping Center Association event last week, as soon as patrons use up their holiday gift cards. “There’s a lot of zombies out there who are dead and they just don’t know it,” said Stephanie March, senior editor at Mpls.St. Paul Magazine. “February will be the reckoning.”

Raise a glass–or two–to the busy holiday season we just enjoyed all around town in December. And cheers to the many tasty wine dinners with a toast to the new year ahead in 2016.

Check out our list of the 10 most-clicked stories on FoodserviceNews.net, with those articles covering restaurant expansion efforts leading the pack.

Hell's Kitchen chef Mitch Omer, 61, died at home December 18 after a yearlong battle with an undisclosed illness. A celebration of his life is planned for Wednesday, December 23, at 1 p.m. at the restaurant.

Le Cordon Bleu is set to close its 16 culinary campuses across the country, including its Twin Cities location in Mendota Heights, in 2017.