About Sussex Smokehouse
This has been decades in the making.
Sussex Smokehouse started as a Rarely Shared Teenage Dream and became reality in my 40s, when I Finally had the space, equipment, and resolve to make it happen.
I’m Tom. A passion for smoked food and encouragement from loved ones to share my creations with the world (plus a few external circumstances beyond my control) has led to the creation of Sussex Smokehouse. Each variety of smoked and roasted nut has been tirelessly tested on unsuspecting house guests, colleagues and family members to ensure only the finest flavour profiles reach your lips. Let me explain how we got here…
A Passion for Smoking
An interest piqued in childhood, developed alongside higher education with skills learned through trial, error and dedication.
The BeginningS of Something
I grew up in the suburban outskirts of Croydon. Every Saturday morning meant a trip to the parade of shops near our home with my dad to visit the butcher, the bakery and to pay the ‘paper bill. Smoked back bacon in a decent chunk of fresh baguette was always on the menu and in my teenage years, my friends also realised that, if they timed their arrival right, they would also be rewarded with a sandwich.
A Lifetime of Interest
My grandparents had retired to Seasalter in Kent. That meant regular trips to Whitstable harbour for my dad to get vinegary pots of cockles, whelks and slabs of hot smoked salmon that left a lasting impression. I knew then that I wanted to run a smokehouse someday.
The Journey Begins
My parents had the odd holiday in Orford, Suffolk, and introduced me to black bacon. At university in Falmouth, my housemate Dan would go seafishing for pollock, ling, mackerel and whiting, and we built smokers from metal dustbins and smashed-up oak dado rails to cook whatever he brought back. It was rough, but it worked, and we ate well (for students).
The smokehouse in nearby Penryn became a regular haunt despite the student budget. Smoked prawns, smoked duck breast, and an education in ceviche and the perfect fish pie from the fishmonger next door. Every visit added to my knowledge.
Getting Educated
On a trip to Anglesey during a holiday in North Wales with Katherine, my then-girlfriend and now wife, we stumbled upon a smokehouse run by a charming man who showed us his live eels (get your mind out of the gutter), let us sample smoked eel (wasn’t a fan, sorry), and introduced me to smoked butter. That visit opened my eyes to what cold smoking could do beyond fish and meat.
For a time, the dream was forgotten. Careers needed to be started, money earned and rent paid. But when funds allowed, purchases from Black Mountains Smokery and the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse were a must.
Making it Real
By my late 30s, we’d moved to where we are now, in Sussex – somewhere with space to grow fruit and veg and room for a proper cold smoking cabinet. I started experimenting. Perfected nuts. Friends and colleagues couldn’t get enough.
I’d spent years in the corporate world – copywriting and digital marketing in agencies and inhouse teams, predominantly in the construction industry. In all honesty it was uninspiring and unfulfilling. The choice became clear; keep writing about other people’s businesses, or build something of my own.
Sussex Smokehouse is that something. And I’m delighted you’re here to experience it with me. Have you tried Tom’s Meaty Nuts yet?
