The salmon is prepared by a very experienced chef with fish harvested from the most sustainable type of salmon farming.
Royal Nyborg Smokehouse was founded by John Taylor, a talented chef who has cooked for 30 years completing 16 restaurant openings, 7 of them in Copenhagen. When coronavirus forced the closure of the restaurants he worked for, John further indulged his love for learning about food-related topics. Eager to use his developing skills, John learned about the environmental issues caused by salmon farming and decided to do something about it.
Salmon is the second most consumed fish in the world but farming it is devastating for the environment. It is mostly grown in large numbers in offshore farms where the fish are stressed and toxic waste leaks into the ocean. On top of that, the fish that escape are ruining the genetics and survivability of the wild salmon. As a result, Royal Nyborg Salmon takes its fish from Danish Salmon, a salmon farm that is growing the salmon in the most sustainable way possible. The salmon is grown in water tanks on land so all waste is filtered out, contained, and subsequently used in biofuels. On top of that, the farm takes care of all details to make sure the farm is best for the fish and the environment: all of the residual water is filtered, they make sure that the salmon is stress-free, and no antibiotics are used.
As soon as it is delivered from the farm, the salmon is first hung in a chamber made of Himalayan salt bricks.
John started smoking the fish in a small box in his garden, but then he moved to a building in Ullerslev, close to Nyborg, where he set up the salmon smoking process and developed his unique dry aging technique. Dry aging not only makes the fish taste better, but it also enhances the structure and adds a unique buttery bite to the flesh.
The fish is prepared in 3 stages: First, it is hung in a chamber made of Himalayan salt bricks. Next, the fish is filleted, salted, and left to continue drying. Lastly, it is cold-smoked with a blend of three types of wood. The whole process takes 10 days. As an experienced chef, John is focused on improving the recipe and perfecting the process to craft the best product possible.
John beside the fillets of dry-aged salmon, salted and resting, awaiting the alchemy of three wood-blend cold-smoke
The first customer of Royal Nyborg Smokehouse was the restaurant Henne Kirkeby Kro with 2 Michelin star chef Paul Cunningham who says it is the best smoked salmon that he has ever eaten. That helped John to achieve some recognition for the outstanding product that he has crafted. And John makes great efforts to make his products known and recognized. Even the Danish Queen and British royal family have tried it! At the Danish Startup Group, we had the opportunity to taste the salmon when the Smokehouse participated in our Food Startup Competition on November 10th, 2023.
John presenting Royal Nyborg Salmon at the Food Startup Competition in November 2023
With the great feedback that John receives from everyone who tries the salmon, and his drive to take his unique, ethical, and sustainable product to a global stage, John Taylor is determined to rise to the challenge of getting his product known and expanding into new markets. And with his skills and experience, he is always both eager and able to scale up the production.
It is amazing to see the close attention and great work that John puts into making an exceptional dry-aged cold smoked salmon that he is constantly working to improve. It is also amazing to find such an ambitious enterprise that is founded and operated by just one person.
For more information about the startup or if you would like to purchase some salmon, you should check the website: https://royalnyborgsmokehouse.com/
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Author by: Nicolae Mariuta, Journalist, Danish Startup Group (DSG)