Old smokies: Keeping a family tradition alive
Cat Thomson talks to Iain R Spink about the Arbroath Smokie and how he has fashioned a business by smoking them the way his family did 100 years ago in the smokie’s original home, Auchmithie village
Iain R. Spink has been called an unofficial ambassador for the Arbroath Smokie, and he is never far away from his home port, where his family ran their fish processing factory for about 100 years. He gets a bit mistyeyed about the history of Auchmithie village, the original home of the smokie
He said: "There is a whole different atmosphere down there. That is where my granddad and my great granddad made them and you feel like you are going back in time."
At the turn of the century the local town council in Arbroath lured the fishermen and their families away from the little village to boost the economy of the bigger town. They were promised newer housing, facilities and a better harbour, so Auchmithie Smokies came to be associated more with Arbroath. He is the fifth generation of his family to work in the fish trade, but he sadly will be the last generation.
Mr Spink started working in the family-owned fishhouse when he was a teenager. He said: "It was never my intention, I just finished up working there after I left school." In those days, he mainly gutted cod destined for Bird's Eye and Findus. "The cod has all gone now due to over fishing, but I feel privileged to have grown up in that era when Arbroath had two markets a day. I’m saddened at the loss of all the fishing boats with only a few small shellfish boats remaining, but the harbour is still bustling with activity in a different way with many visiting yachts and pleasure boats."
He describes the factory as, "a big shed with an asbestos roof and no heating, where we would break ice off the water trough in the morning. But you just got on with it." In those days "making smokies was just one of the things I did. It was not a job I was very enthused about at the time, and I never realised back then, that it would become the core of my business." He now smokes haddock in a whisky barrel the old-fashioned way, a method that had effectively died out by the 1960s and a skill that he had to relearn."
His journey began when Mr Spink helped his father to organise a demonstration of how smokies used to be made. Mr Spink left the family fish processing business in 2001. The reason was the company had been bought and his father retired. He said: "I lasted about a year. I couldn't hack the new regime. It wasn't a family business anymore." He missed the range of customers which included hotels, restaurants, shops and private customers. The new owners had decided to focus on supermarkets, and he said: "I basically became a production-line manager. I just detested it and I cannot say how much I hated it. It was the hardest decision of my life, leaving the only trade that I knew, with all those generations of history. I moved to the Highlands to stay with my then new girlfriend, who is now Mrs Spink.”
He studied for BSC in Environmental Science at University of the Highlands and Islands, but he had with no income so he started up the new smokie-making venture and booked up a few pitches at various Highland Games.
"There was a great deal of interest in both the process and the product as customers could see the whole process being demonstrated before them
and then enjoy it hot and juicy straight from the fire," Mr Spink said. "I never imagined for a second that I would go back into full-time smokie making again. When I left Arbroath I thought I was shutting the door, with a tear in my eye driving up to the Highlands to begin my new life."
He added: "A friend of mine asked if I'd go to Cupar farmers' market as a favour. I went along and took a box or two of fish, but a monster queue appeared and the whole lot disappeared in an hour and a half." So he returned the next month with double the amount and sold out again. He said: "From that one market it just grew." At the end of his degree he had created a viable food business.
People in Scotland know about Arbroath Smokies, but their only experience is from a fish shop or supermarket . Mr Spink’s way of making them allows people to experience the food at its absolute best. First, he removes the turf off the grass before setting the half barrel about a foot into the ground to insulate the barrel and minimise draught. He uses a half barrel from the Speyside cooperage, Craigellachie. He then lines the inside of the barrel with slates to protect it from worst of the fire and burns hardwood, mainly oak and beech in the bottom.
The village of Auchmithie is the true home of smokie making, but he dismisses the local folklore about a house burning to the ground and people finding smoked haddock in the ash that tasted really nice. He said: "Romantic rubbish. I think Viking settlers came here and brought their own particular fish preservation skills. In the old days they had no refrigeration so food, was preserved by pickling or smoking."
Covid has had an impact on the farmers' markets, with only St Andrews on the 1st Saturday of the month, and Cupar on the 3rd Saturday of the month surviving. He said: "It is really difficult times with social distancing measures, which is a
shame because the markets are really good." His entire programme of summer events has been wiped out. He said: "I lost my entire calendar and I make 3/4 of my income in the summer but I have had no compensation because of the nature of my business." Mr Spink has smoked at events like The Highland Show, The Golf Open at Carnoustie, and even T in the Park. He said: "I despair and I'm frustrated by the lack of support it just seems wholly unfair." The only upside of Covid has been the mail order which has taken off but this doesn’t compensating for the loss of the core business income generated at events.
But he said: "If I'm honest with you it's not what I'm really about. I'm about making a unique fresh product on the day, which lets folk experience the whole package. I had planned to taper down a bit last year but the Covid effect was akin to falling off a cliff for the business. However, I’m confident things will slowly pick up again and I’ll get back to doing what I love.”
He said: "There is a big part of me that doesn't want to stop, It is very much in my blood and it wouldn't feel right if i wasnae doing it." Mr Spink said. "I've had more than my fair share of publicity. I carved a niche of my own which has attracted a lot of media attention, so everyone else making Arbroath Smokies benefits." Celebrity chefs, including Rick Stein, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and James Martin are big fans.
In 2006 he won the best producer at the BBC Food and Farming Awards. He said: "I didn't realise it at the time but it was a massive thing to win. Two of the four finalists were
from Scotland. We both stood beside each other at the farmers' markets." Another award he is particularly proud of is his three star gold at The Great Taste Awards.
His father, Bob ( R R Spink) fought the case for the Arbroath Smokie to be given protected geographical indication (PGI) but since Brexit they are still covered by a new geographical indication scheme (GI). Before the PGI protection was gained, there were many companies all over the UK producing imitation ‘Arbroath Smokies’ which were invariably poor quality. Mr Spink said: "It was just doing our business so much harm that my dad felt something had to be done, so he the PGI protection and they said it was one of the strongest cases they had ever seen." Mr Spink has also written and published an Arbroath Smokie Bible which features 30 dishes. He said: "It is a versatile ingredient and we came up with the recipes ourselves. My dad's recipe was a variation of Cullen Skink (cold smoked haddock) which he called Cullen Spink (hot smoked haddock) soup.
Mr Spink said: "I have created something here that deserves to carry on. There is one lad who has always kept in touch with me. He wants to come back to making smokies but it's a pity it's not a sixth generation of mine." He said: "With my smokies, you always know what you are getting, a haddock with a bit of salt, smoke and cooked right in front of you. You cannae get much better than that, eh?"