Salmon Smoker

Director Nikolaj Belzer hones in on the idiosyncratic owner of famed artisanal salmon smokery Hansen & Lydersen, Ole-Martin Hansen, in his latest short, produced by Everything is Okay and Freunde von Freunden. Using a recipe dating back to 1923 and handed down through generations of Norwegian fishmongers, Hansen provides his tender salmon to leading London restaurants such as Yotam Ottolenghi’s Nopi, Hakkasan’s Sake No Hana and Terence Conran's boutique hotel-restaurant the Boundary. Living in a secluded, self-built urban cabin above his warehouse smokery in the center of Stoke Newington, Hansen works singlehandedly with each piece of sustainably farmed salmon from the British Faroe Islands. “I like to have as little as possible in here,” explains Hansen of his premises, “so it is a space for thinking, for ideas to develop.” Skinning, deboning, salting and finally smoking each fish with his traditional blend of juniper-infused hay, the former Sound Arts and Design student even plays improvised classical scores on the piano while the salmon smokes. "When I first met Ole he immediately struck me as a fascinating character,” says Belzer. “His approach is much more than just a working method, it is an attitude, a way of life."