Cast Iron Kitchen ILM

10/23/2026

We’re not saying bourbon fixes everything, but it does make fall more interesting. Come see what all the maple is about! 😉🥃🍁

10/21/2026

Not quite how we pictured this holiday season, but one thing hasn’t changed — how thankful we are for YOU. 🫶 Thanks for always showing our little kitchen so much love!

10/16/2026

Not your grandma’s country ham. (But we think she’d approve.) 😋🐷 A little fancy, a little Southern, and a whole lot of Petty. Come see what we’re serving up this weekend!

10/16/2026

This little piggy went to Cast Iron Kitchen. 🐷
We’re celebrating Country Ham Restaurant Week with 10 other NC restaurants, and Chef Petty understood the assignment. October 15–25. Come hungry!

10/15/2026

Friendly reminder: we really DO want to seat you. Just bear with us when we’re a little short 🤏🤣

10/14/2026

Who decided caramel apples had to be eaten on a stick anyway? 🍎🍹Meet your new fall obsession: the Caramel Apple Mule.

10/13/2026

Not one but TWO Wilmington chefs!! Come check out what Chef Petty put together!🐖❤️

Some flavors have a way of taking you home.

The smell of country ham sizzling in a cast-iron skillet. The first bite of a warm biscuit filled with salty, smoky goodness. The memories of Sunday mornings around the kitchen table, holiday gatherings with family and recipes passed down through generations.

For many North Carolinians, country ham is more than something on the breakfast table. It's a connection to the people, places and traditions that shaped us. A taste of home that never really leaves you.

And this October, that familiar flavor is finding its way into some unexpected places. From Oct. 15-25, Country Ham Restaurant Week celebrates one of North Carolina's most treasured culinary traditions, bringing together 11 restaurants from the mountains to the coast to introduce country ham to a new generation of diners.

The celebration comes at a particularly meaningful time, coinciding with the return of the N.C. State Fair Country Ham Competition. Together, the competition and Country Ham Restaurant Week connect two sides of the same story: the farmers and producers who preserve the art of country ham and the chefs who are introducing it to new audiences.

Participating restaurants:
Chef Matthew Hannon, Ashten's Restaurant & Bar, Southern Pines — Goodnight Brothers country ham and foie gras toast

Chef Wendy Park, Beaufort Grocery Company, Beaufort — Welsh rarebit with country ham and tomato; Old Number Nine chicken saltimbocca with country ham; Carolina Benedict

Chef Josh Petty, Cast Iron Kitchen ILM, Wilmington — Sugar Grove country ham "prosciutto" and bone marrow board

Chef David Ellis, Figulīna, Raleigh — Country ham carbonara with Lady Edison country ham

Chef Matt Kelly, Nanas, Durham — Gnocchi fritto with Westwater country ham

Chef Ashley Christensen, Poole's Diner, Raleigh — Autumn tartine with Charlie Tripp's country ham

Chef Callan Buckles, Rada, Charlotte — Tripp country ham croquettes with sauce gribiche

Chefs Tina Houston and John Ortiz, Reid's Cafe, Sugar Mountain — Country ham scarparella tortellini with Goodnight Brothers country ham

Chef Jamie Davis, The Hackney, Washington — North Carolina shrimp and grits with Penn country ham

Chef Keith Rhodes, Voyce Bistro, Wilmington — Sweet corn carbonara with Lady Edison country ham

Chef Kyle Teears, Wh***ey Kitchen, Raleigh — Bourbon- and sorghum molasses-soaked Penn country ham on a buttermilk biscuit

Come hungry. We’ve got your cure.

Explore participating restaurants, featured chefs and special country ham dishes at: https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/nc-state-fair/country-ham-week

10/08/2026

Weekends get all the attention, but weekdays have the deals. 👀 Less of a crowd, more reasons to brunch. Just sayingggg

10/02/2026

Our phone has been a little too popular lately… and not with the right people. 😂📵 Weekend to-go orders: online + in person only!

10/01/2026

October 1st = permission to fully commit to the fall drinks. 🍂 Come get your fall fix!