Belvelly Smoke House is our pride and joy. We are by no means the only smokers but we do have Ireland’s only authentic smoke house, and the only place where fish, including wild Irish salmon are hung for smoking. It makes all the difference.

The smoke house plays such a vital role in such a traditional process that it is now protected by EU legislation. It also produces utterly delicious smoked fish, whether it is wild or cultivated.

Frank is self-taught, and has passed on his skills to Dan and Tom, who share a further 30 years of smoking experience. We are now in our fifth decade of producing smoked food – mostly smoked fish – but we also add delicious flavour to butter, spices, nuts and so on.

In 2022, which marked forty years in business, Frank became the first person in Ireland to win the Walter Scheel Medaille, a European award that recognises recipients’ outstanding contribution to local food culture. In the last 20 years we have grown from a team of three to a team of ten.

Frank and Caroline have always been champions of food and farmers markets, and we still trade at Midleton, the English Market, Cobh and Mahon Point. Until Brexit red tape put an end to trade with our closest neighbours, we enjoyed years of wonderful business with restaurants, food-halls and private clients in the UK. Our focus is now on home soil in Ireland and on the European continent.

In 2024 we launched the refurbished smoke house, Tasting Room, courtyard and walled garden, all designed and developed by Caroline in the years since Covid. We now offer public and private tours and have a lovely space for private lunches and events, and, after all these years, a proper shop on our premises, open six days a week.

Frank byname, Frank by nature…on private tours you will learn the home truths of life as an artisan fish smoker in Ireland, as Frank takes you on personalised, humorous, unscripted voyage behind the scenes of Ireland’s only smoke house. Or you can enjoy the depth of knowledge of any of our team on public tours when beautiful imagery of various stages of the process is projected onto the walls, so you don’t miss anything.

The smoke house premises is also our home. You are invited to relax and have refreshments in the walled garden or courtyard, or you can enjoy the warmth - and shelter! - of the newly created Tasting Room - with views of the island and estuary.

At the end of every tour, there are splendid, generous tasting platters put together by Alessandra and Pablo, or private tour menus that celebrate the smoke house and the delicious food produced here.

We look forward to meeting you soon!

Caroline & Frank