One kiln behind the harbour wall

Chapter I

Beginnings in 1923

In 1923 our great-grandfather, his name to be supplied, began smoking fish in one kiln behind the harbour wall in Ardglass. That is where this business started, and it is where it still is today, on Harbour Road.

He had a recipe for the cure and a way of doing things, and both were passed down. We still use that family recipe. We have never found a reason to change it.

Photograph: boats coming into Ardglass harbour

What he knew then is what we still believe now. Good fish, oak smoke and time. You cannot hurry a cure and you cannot fake the smoke. If you try, people can taste it.

More on the early years, from family memory and anything found in the office, to be supplied.

Chapter II

The original kiln

The kiln from 1923 is still standing behind the harbour wall. It is the reason for the little building in our logo, and to us it is the whole story in one place.

Photograph: the original 1923 kiln as it stands today

A kiln that has been smoking fish for a hundred years is not a museum piece to us. It is a working reminder of how this was always meant to be done: slowly, over oak, by people who know the fish.

Chapter III

Four generations

The smokehouse has stayed in the family for four generations. Each one has kept the recipe and the kiln.

1. 1

   Our great-grandfather

   Starts smoking fish in one kiln behind the harbour wall, 1923. The family recipe we still use starts with him.

2. 2

   The second generation

   Name and story to be supplied by the family

3. 3

   Declan

   Runs the business and looks after our trade customers across Belfast, Glasgow and beyond. He has answered the smokehouse phone, 028 4484 1223, for forty years.

4. 4

   The fourth generation

   Declan's son or daughter, name to be supplied, now opening the smokehouse to home customers, so the fish can reach anyone who misses it.

Alongside the family there is Paddy. He has been head smoker for forty years and knows the kilns better than any of us. When people ask who makes the fish, the honest answer is Paddy.

Chapter IV

From the archive

We are going through the office for old photographs and ledgers. What we find will go here. For now, one we know we have.

Have an old photograph of the smokehouse or the harbour? We'd love to see it. Ring us on 028 4484 1223.

Chapter V

How we smoke today

Much the same as in 1923. The fish is cured to the family recipe and smoked over oak, slowly, over days rather than hours. It takes as long as it takes.

Photograph: Paddy in the smokehouse

“Paddy, in his own words, on the smoke and the cure. To be supplied.”

Paddy, head smoker

We are careful about where our fish comes from, and we would rather tell you straight. Our salmon is farmed, mostly in Scotland. Our trout comes from a farm inland, not far from Ardglass. Mackerel and eel are landed locally, off Ardglass, and the eel only when it is in season. These are suppliers we have trusted for a long time, not whoever is cheapest that week.

Some things are new. We are SALSA certified and keep that certification up to date, and we are members of Food NI. Our hygiene rating to be confirmed will be shown here too. And for the first time, you can order from us online and have the fish sent chilled to your door anywhere in the UK and Ireland.