Holy smoke!

A move to France led to a new venture running a highly regarded smokery for Austyn and Amanda Hallworth, as Nigel Wild finds out

- Nigel Wild

When Francophiles Austyn and Amanda Hallworth retired six years ago, they set their sights on renowned Tarn-et-Garonne beauty spot St-Antonin-Noble-Val.

The couple spent some time living there while searching for a house, but eventually had to spread their net wider, settling near the atmospheric bastide village of Najac in Aveyron.

“While living in St-Antonin we used to meet other expats in our local,” says Austyn. “The two things they all missed were a pint of bitter and smoked bacon. I couldn’t provide the beer, but I knew how to smoke bacon and had a smoker. So it all started as a hobby supplying a few friends.”

Word spread rapidly about the delicious smoked meats and by the time they moved to Najac in 2015, Austyn realized he had a business on his hands. After a discussion with the chambre des métiers (chamber of trade) he registered as a micro-entrepreneur under the sub-category of charcuterie.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In his earlier career, passionate foodie Austyn had been a publican and restaurateur and had all the necessary qualifications in food hygiene and handling. These were accepted by the chambre des métiers and The Old Smoke House Najac was born.

“It all took quite some time, nearly four months, to complete the registration and make sure the paperwork was 100%.” Austyn says.

He invested in equipment – vacuum packers, scales, a slicer, refrigerators and freezers and a second smoker. As the business has expanded, constant reinvestment has been a must. A new slicer has recently been installed; the old one had given up the ghost.

“More of an art than a science” is how Austyn describes the process of curing and smoking, which is really like reverse osmosis. Meat and fish both require curing prior to smoking, using rubs of salt, spices and other ingredients.