All our smoked products - prime local white fish, salmon and herring - are firstly salted in brine before being drained and hung in our century-old smokehouse in the heart of Eyemouth. Split herring for kippers, and split haddock for Finnans, are hung from tenterhooks (long sticks with L shaped nails) and racked above head height in the smokehouse. Sides of salmon are laid horizontally on metal grids before being positioned above head height. Finally, haddock, whiting, cod, hake and ling fillets are laid over long wooden sticks in rows and stacked above head height.

Once the fish are 'arranged', fires are laid on the brick floor of the smokehouse. These fires are made of light wood shavings (usually pine) to get the fire started. The light wood shavings are topped with oak shavings which cause the fire to smoulder and smoke and give the smoked products their distinctive flavour. Under normal conditions the fillets are 'cured' overnight but herring and salmon spend much longer in the smokehouse. Salmon are 'fired' about 10 times. None of the fish is taken down ready for sale unless we are satisfied that the fish are properly smoked. No artificial colouring or ingredients are used - our products are cured in a completely natural way.