In collaboration with The Balvenie.
I confess that when I was a child I did not like fish. I went fishing, a lot, and I could out-fish any of the village boys with my trusty alder branch rod and fishing hook baited with a bit of hot dog, but when it came to actually eating them – no thanks.
It wasn’t until I became a mother for the first time that fish became a regular part of my diet. I would stop off at the local fishmongers and pick up a bit of white fish – I started with with the milder flavoured species: haddock, cod, monkfish, before moving onto the stronger flavoured fish like salmon, and now, as I’m older with a more refined palate – smoked salmon. I now eat a lot of smoked salmon!
The crystal clear waters of the North Sea are the ideal grounds for farming responsibly sourced salmon. I know, because where I live you regularly find salmon cages dotted throughout the voes and inlets. They are a common part of our landscape.
I know the fisherman who breed the salmon, I know the woman responsible for shipping up their feed, I know the fishmongers who sell them, I know the chefs who buy them from the market and serve them to their customers. It has been known, on occasion, for an entire salmon, fresh from the farm, to be hand delivered to my doorstep.
On the other side of the North Sea, nestled in one of the Norwegian fjords, you will find the salmon farm that provides the responsibly sourced salmon to the Hansen-Lyderson Smokery in North London. The family recipe used in this smokery dates back to 1923 and fishmonger Lyder-Nilsen Lydersen who used a subtle mixture of juniper and beech woods with great success.
Now, four generations later, Lyder-Nilsen’s great-grandson Ole Hansen continues to use the family recipe to produce smoked salmon the way his family has done it for 80 years. He is known as one of the world’s most prolific smoked salmon producers, and he regularly supplies the likes of The Dorchester in London and Paris’s Le Meurice with his products.
Hansen is also known for his rather unusual approach to smoking salmon: he plays them jazz music and sings to them in the belief that the flavour will be improved! Jazz infused smoked salmon, who would have thought?!
I have been following, with keen interest, a short series of six films featuring the multi-award winning Michel Roux Jr, chef at the two star Michelin restaurant La Gavroche in London. He has been traveling the length and breadth of the country exploring artisan food production which will culminate with The Craftsmen’s Dinner.
In a bid to uncover the stories behind some of the UK’s finest culinary craftspeople, Michel meets and profiles six ‘masters of craft’ including the Hansen-Lydersen salmon smoker Ole Hansen, a potter, one of the last remaining knife makers in the UK, a sparkling wine producer, an organic food producer and The Balvenie’s very own cooper.
You can watch the six videos on the The Craftsmen’s Dinner You Tube channel, or watch the video link below to view the short documentary on Hansen & Lydersen. Pay close attention while you watch the video so you can answer a question to enter the competition below to win a luxury dinner at Michel Roux Jr’s restaurant La Gavroche, in London. Make sure to subscribe to the You Tube channel so you don’t miss the rest of the series and the final installment.
The Craftsmen’s Dinner will be hosted by The Balvenie – producers of handcrafted single malt Scots whisky. Produced with a unique combination of natural alchemy and centuries old craftsmanship in the highlands of Scotland this whisky is rich, luxuriously smooth and underpinned by a distinctive honeyed character.
The Balvenie and Foodies100 are giving away a fab prize in “The Balvenie Craftsmen’s Dinner Competition” which offers readers a meal for two at La Gavroche. To enter, fill in the Gleam widget below leaving your comment with the answer to the question in the comment box below.
Win a luxury dinner at Michel Roux Jr’s restaurant, Le Gavroche.
Disclaimer: this is a paid post.
Fried Egg Picnic Spamwich
In Sweden we love all kinds of smoked salmon and I am crazy about it. This one looks splendid!
I love salmon in all forms especially the smoked one! What beautiful pictures!
One
2
One
I love smoked salmon!
What a lovely story. And that smoked salmon looks fabulous. I love hearing about sustainable fish becoming more popular. Thanks for sharing this!
one plate!
I hadn’t see fish farms until recently when we were in British Columbia. We sure do love our salmon here!
What a fabulous story and post…I love salmon and it’s a family favorite. Thanks for sharing! xo, Catherine
I adore Salmon, so delicious! Nettie
Love your fish story and the evolution of “fishy-ness” in your life, and jazz infused fish, yes – why not? Love the care he puts into the fish. Salmon is my fav and I can only imagine how delicious that must be!
Wow – I love pretty much everything about this post – the darling story of you and your alder branch, the responsibly sourced salmon (I just had smoked salmon for brunch today – seriously! 😀 ), the gorgeous photos, and the wonderful tip about the YouTube videos that sound phenomenal! My brother and his family have lived near London for several years now, and I can’t wait to share this with my sister-in-law, who’s a serious foodie herself and will absolutely love all of this! Thanks so much!
Eight
Eight
These photos are amazing!
this is very interesting and sounds like a wonderful experience.
Growing up in the North of England we always had the best smoked salmon. Great post and I am a huge fan of The Balvenie 🙂
This is a great post and love the photo of the salmon farm. Thanks for sharing.
One plate
One
I am not a fan of fish, but my partner adores salmon. The photos do make it look delicious though xx
We love smoked salmon in our house. That’s an amazing price. Will watch the vids in the morning and enter then x
1
Ohh I do like salmon! I haven’t had it for ages and what a lovely story and jazz infused smoked salmon, how very unique. 80 years is a long time and four generations! That’s amazing. Lovely post, very interesting. xx
Two
8
I love the history of this, really interesting. Smoked salmon is always a winner in our house X
One
2
8
I have only started eating salmon recently and I have no idea why it took me so long to try it as it’s lovely. x
I can only see one!
One the smoked salmon looks amazing and probably blasted expensive
Just one. Ole Hansen is a charmer. I’ve never eaten jazz-infused food, but I adore smoked fish, and his looks absolutely divine.
5
one plate
Oh wow what a story, Jazz infused salmon! Amazing. I do like smoked salmon, my daughter is a fan too!
5
9
One