A STRATFORD SUCCESS STORY
Champagne, Gorgonzola, Jersey Royal potatoes, the humble Cornish pasty. What do all of these things have in common? They are types of food protected by Protected Geographical Indication status. This means foods that can only be labelled so, if they are produced within a specific location.
London, as large as the city is, only has one PGI certified product - Stratford based business H. Forman & Son’s London Cure Smoked Salmon. And, as the last of the traditional London smokehouses, there’s a wonderful story behind the success.
Over 100 years ago, in 1905, Ukrainian émigré Aaron ‘Harry’ Forman came to London with his family. Alongside his son, Louis, he set up his family business in London’s East End and spotted an opportunity for cured Scottish salmon. He developed a method using salt, oak-smoke and no sugar – the method which Forman’s still use to this day.
The father and son pushed their product out into the city, convincing the most notable luxury establishments in London that their product was a delicacy. Today they supply to Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Harrods, The Ivy and Mirabelle to name but a few. Four generations later, H. Forman & Son has outlasted all other traditional London smokehouses, and is still run by the Forman family.
Find out all you need to know about London cure smoked salmon and where you can taste it for yourself at formans.co.uk.