Provenance & Process

So how do we smoke our salmon and eel? Well, as much as we’d like to bare all, some things are best kept secret. We admit that woodchips are involved (oak and beech as a rule) and, naturally, there’s also a pinch or two of salt.

But regarding the exact blends, quantities and techniques, in essence the magic of the craft, that information we’ll keep to ourselves. It’s a joy to share the fruits of our labours with people who love what we do. The dedicated artisan ultimately craves an appreciative audience, but the mystery of how it’s done must remain just that.

Now as part of our mission to bring you divinely smoked seafood it’s vital to source the very best raw materials. That’s why our salmon hails from the pristine island waters off Shetland. We rely on the finest quality farmed salmon and this remote part off mainland Scotland provides ideal breeding grounds.

The fish reach peak physical condition owing to Shetland’s very strong tidal flows. These encourage the salmon to swim constantly resulting in much leaner and firmer flesh. It’s ideal for smoking.

Regrettably, European stocks of wild eel have plunged drastically over the years. Rampant over-fishing and man-made disruption to migratory patterns have not spared them. Therefore, we only ever take our eels live from sustainable farms in the Netherlands. Thanks to a long-standing passion for eels the Dutch take their farming very seriously indeed. It’s why we wouldn’t dream of importing them from anywhere else.