The Wilmington chef and the Virginia-based company responsible for the fine charcuterie served at downtown Wilmington’s Manna restaurant collected accolades at the national Good Food Awards on Jan. 18 in San Francisco.

Manna kitchen team cook Kyle Lee McKnight works with EcoFriendly Foods based in Moneta, Va., to produce the prosciutto, coppa, lardo, salami and other cured meats for Manna’s menu as well as restaurants and markets in other states, including Washington, D.C.
The Good Food Awards recognize “people who make food that is delicious, respectful of the environment and connected to communities and cultural traditions,” according to the awards’ website.

EcoFriendly’s Iberico Americana Long Leg Ham, aged 20 months, in which McKnight had a hand, not only won a Good Food Award but caught the attention of Good Food Awards co-creator Sarah Weiner.

Weiner highlighted the EcoFriendly ham and the company’s owner Bev Eggleston as one of the finalists she was most excited about.

“It is so neat that someone is doing a really quality, long aged, acorn fed prosciutto-style ham out in Virginia where there is such a strong tradition of ham,” Weiner told Civil Eats, a food blog focused on sustainable agriculture. “And Bev Eggleston, the farmer, is a total character, so passionate about his pigs and revolutionizing how they are raised, slaughtered and processed.”

Longtime friends Eggleston and McKnight attended the awards ceremony. They have been working to expand EcoFriendly’s charcuterie market, with McKnight regularly traveling to EcoFriendly’s Virginia plant to prepare charcuterie, also available to the public at the company’s website, ecofriendly.com.

EcoFriendly uses free-range hogs, which are raised on open land allowing the animals to roam and rout, according to the company’s website. Their diets contain no antibiotics or hormones. North Carolina farmer Willi Starling, of Starling Family Farm in Autryville, is among hog farmers supplying EcoFriendly Foods.

One hundred and thirteen Good Food Awards were bestowed on food producers across America, including North Carolina winners:

* Durham’s Fullsteam Brewery for its First Frost winter ale.
* Fairview’s Looking Glass Creamery for its Carmelita caramel sauce.
* Graham’s Blessed Earth Farm for its Summer Squash Curry Relish.
* Farmer’s Daughter of Hillsborough for its Rosey Strawberry Rhubarb Preserves.
* Raleigh’s Escazú Artisan Chocolates for its Dark Chocolate Basil Ganache.