The Farmers Mart Apr-May 2020 - Issue 68 | Page 38

38 HEADINGLEY FARMERS’ MARKET
APR/MAY 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
MOUTH-WATERING ARTISANAL
SMOKED FOODS - DIRECT
FROM THE YORKSHIRE DALES
On a bright sunny morning in March, I drove to the small village of Kilnsey in North Yorkshire, home of the famous
Kilnsey Crag. I had the pleasure of meeting ‘The Quiet Entrepreneur’, award-winning chef Jake Buchan, owner
of the new smokehouse at Kilnsey Park Estate, The Holy Smokery. Jake creates premium, artisanal smoked
foods direct from the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated directly adjacent to the estate trout farm on Mastiles Lane.
THE Kilnsey Estate dates back
to the 1100s, when monks from
Fountains Abbey farmed sheep
there. Current owners, the
Roberts family, have lived on
the Estate since 1911. Sir James
Roberts ran Salts Mill World
Heritage Site, and made his
fortune importing wool from
Russia. He was a philanthro-
pist, who donated Haworth
Parsonage to the nation.
The family began farming
trout in 1978. It has established
a top-notch reputation for the
quality of its trout that is sold
fresh, and many come to fish.
The prime reason for the quality
of the fish is that they are kept in
100% fresh spring water, which
is fed from the mighty limestone
hillside; this means that the
water is well aerated and enjoys
a constant year-round 8 degree
temperature, ensuring the fish
grow slowly and develop good
muscle mass. They process
around 20,000 fish a year. The
trout is considered to be some
of the very best in the north and
is produced with 100% sustaina-
bility in mind.
In 2018 the current owners, Sir
James’s great grandson Jamie
and his wife Amy, wanted to
sell the then smokery in order
to focus on the fresh fish side.
They placed an article in the
Yorkshire Post. Jake, at the
time, was looking to move to
Yorkshire to be with his partner
Michelle, who then lived in
Keighley. He saw the article in
The Holy Smokery
@theholysmokery
the Yorkshire Post and came
to see the potential of the
business and see what Kilnsey
was like. He instantly fell in love
with the peaceful and idyllic
surroundings.
Jake was born in Hexham,
Northumberland and moved
with his family to Withington,
Manchester when he was five.
He has always worked in the
restaurant trade, working in
high end establishments that
specialise in using fresh local
produce. Jake worked in many
prep rooms and found he pre-
ferred this to the actual cooking.
He was doing a lot of drying and
curing as well as butchery and
also experimenting with herbs
and spices creating flavours
which he found immensely
satisfying.
He had always had the dream
of starting his own preparation
business, so rather than buy
the smokery from the Roberts
family he agreed to lease the
building. Prior to Jake taking on
the smokery in October 2018,
it had not been run for a year
and even then, only really as
a hobby. Jake used his savings
and started very slowly to build
the business. He runs the entire
business on his own. Partner
Michelle is a probation officer
and she helps Jake by doing the
books and admin.
Jake now smokes and cures
both trout and salmon, duck,
chicken and all manner of