Monday, May 26, 2014

The Burren Smokehouse lands deal with Harrods


The first commercially caught Irish wild salmon of 2014 will shortly be found on sale in Harrods after a Co. Clare company landed a 12-month deal to supply its trademark product at the world famous department store's prestigious slicing area.
Burren Smoked Irish Wild Salmon, which is produced by The Burren Smokehouse, will be offered for sale at Harrods Food Hall in the latest commercial success for the Lisdoonvarna-based company which already supplies its products overseas to KaDeWe Berlin, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.

The family-run company sources its wild salmon from commercial fisherman, Mick Murphy on the River Nore in Co. Kilkenny, before smoking the fish in the Burren. Mr. Murphy, accompanied by Burren Smokehouse owner Birgitta Hedin-Curtin, this week landed the first commercially caught wild salmon in Ireland this year near the historic Kilkenny village of Inistioge.

"Mick Murphy catches the wild salmon in the traditional way with snap-netting and in traditional flat-bottomed fishing vessels called cots. Conditions have been difficult this year due to weather conditions and the catch is late coming. However, that has made the first commercially caught Irish wild salmon of 2014 even more anticipated, sought after and valued," explained Ms. Hedin-Curtin.

She continued: "The 12-month deal agreed with Harrods ie specially pleasing for us considering it coincides with the 25th anniversary of the company being established.  During this period, we have always stayed true to quality and local sourcing of the very best raw materials that we can get hold of. This is reflected in the developing interest shown in our product from overseas."

Burren Smokehouse Ltd. was set up in 1989 by Birgitta and her husband Peter. The company sources quality raw materials for its Burren Smoked Salmon, Trout and Mackerel products, and controls its own quality standards with backup of regular testing from independent laboratories and regular checks from organisations who certify it. The Smokehouse currently employs a staff of 18, and ships within Ireland and to countries all over the world.

In late 2013, the company achieved three 3-Stars for its Irish Organic Salmon products in Great Taste, considered the Oscars of the global food industry. Out of almost 10,000 products that were subjected to blind tasting by over 400 judges just 125 were awarded 3-Stars which is the highest accolade awarded by the scheme. The company also supplied Burren Smoked Irish Wild Salmon for the Irish State Dinner held during Queen Elizabeth II’s historic visit to Ireland in 2011.

For more visit www.burrensmokehouse.ie.