Jean-Francois Millet (October 4, 1814 – January 20, 1875) was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon School: a group of artists that included Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Charles-François Daubigny, Théodore Rousseau and the Dutchman Johan Barthold Jongkind belonged. He is known for his scenes of farmers. Initially he mainly painted idyllic scenes in the romantic style taught by his master Paul Delaroche. But later Millet felt more attracted to the socially committed work of the realist Honoré Daumier. The social injustice of his time begins to affect him more and more. His parents were small farmers themselves. He remains an exponent of 'naturalism' and 'realism'. He inspired Vincent van Gogh and Eugène Boudin, among others. In 1848 he achieved his first success with the painting Korenwanner (1848) at the major annual exhibition of the Salon in Paris. This is the first time that he has managed to sell a work showing a peasant scene, instead of a portrait painting with which he normally earned a living. From 1849 he settled in Barbizon where he lived in poverty but with respect among other artists. This work inspired us to make a pulled pork sandwich; slowly cooked meat in the steam oven.

Jean-Francois Millet Millet, Death of the pork (ca 1870)
National Gallery of Canada

Pulled Pork on brioche bread

500 grams of pork cheek
Herb mixture of, for example, pepper, salt, thyme, oregano, honey and mustard
Salt and pepper the cheek
Infuse the cheek with the herbal mixture
Vacuum the cheek
Heat in a steam oven at 75 degrees for at least 4 hours
Remove the cheek from the plastic and separate the meat with two forks

Serve with a brioche bun, for example, and a honey-mustard mayonnaise.