“It’s good to go back to your roots”

The Campsie Glen Smokehouse blends centuries-old traditions with clever innovation to create its celebrated cured fish. Susan Low travelled to the outskirts of Glasgow to meet ‘seafood charcutiers’ Duncan and Cathie Smith

PHOTOGRAPHS JOAN RANSLEY

delicious. 2016 PRODUCE AWARDS WINNER

Duncan Smith has the charm of a born storyteller. As he explains in his lilting Hebridean accent how he and his wife Cathie created their business, I’m transported to the Isle of Lewis, their childhood home. Despite the romantic name, Campsie Glen Smokehouse is in a light industrial unit in a suburb north of Glasgow. Across the way is a laundry and, around the corner, Mr Bubbles Car Wash. But as Duncan speaks, I’m hearing the cry of gulls and feeling the Hebridean sea breeze (the penetrating drizzle falling outside is real enough).

LINKING PAST AND PRESENT

“I remember the days before domestic refrigeration on the island,” he recalls. “When you had a glut of fish, the only method of preservation was curing, salting, then drying. Every household had their own way. We had a peat-burning stove that was on all day, so the attic space above it was always warm and dry. At the end of curing time we’d hang up the fish to dry – there would be haddock, pollock and cod. Once dried, it was like cricket bats and, before using, it had to be steeped in water to rehydrate and remove the salt. That was my introduction to curing.