Smokehouse revival nearly complete
The Salar Smokehouse, which had been facing an uncertain future following Loch Duart’s decision to close it down in April, has since been bought up by its former production manager, Iain Macrury, who is keen to ensure the continued production of its hot-smoked flaky salmon – a firm favourite of the former chef and the smokehouse’s number one product since it opened in 1987.
Set up by Eric and Jane Twelves, who ran a salmon farm on the island for a number of years, the smokehouse uses utterly unique kilns, which were designed and built by the couple and are thought to be the secret of the fish’s special flavour and appearance.
As Iain Macrury explained to Fish Farming Expert: “I started working for Loch Duart because I liked the flaky salmon so much and it’s for the same reason that I decided to buy the company after Loch Duart closed it down.
“Luckily Loch Duart and I shared the same goals – to keep the business on the island and to keep as many people employed here as possible and this helped us come to an agreement.
“We’ve managed to retain six jobs here, and we’re now looking to bring the flaky recipe back to as close to the original as possible. We expect it will account for 90% of our sales to begin with, while we’re also going to keep on a honey and thyme salmon product.
“We’ll just be using Scottish salmon at the moment, but looking further ahead, we see the possibility of producing an abundance of locally caught and grown ingredients – from other species of fish and shellfish, to Hebridean lamb and venison – as no one else does so locally. We’ve also got plans to create an onsite shop – both for our own produce and for that of others, to act as a one-stop-shop for local produce. As everything is so spread out on the island, it’s hard for people to get round more than one or two individual producers in a day.”
Iain officially took over the premises on 3rd July and has since been frantically renovating and improving the smokehouse and developing packaging for the fish. However, with final trials taking place next week, the famous flakes will be available locally and to caterers further afield very soon, while those hoping to track them down in mainland retailers will have to wait a little longer until the packaging has been fine-tuned.
