Former Montreal bartender finds his passion in cold smoked salmon
CBC
Not long after the pandemic closed down bars, restaurants and many other businesses last year, former Montreal bartender Sam Turp found himself working part-time construction shifts to make ends meet for his family.
He had recently moved with his pregnant partner and daughter to the countryside of Saint-Césaire, about 50 kilometres east of Montreal.
For the first time, the perpetually busy Turp had extra time on his hands, as well as an abundance of outdoor space around his new home.
He decided to build a barbecue pit in his backyard, using cement blocks and grills he bought at a hardware store. And he attempted to cook meat over a fire — just for the challenge of mastering a new skill.
Initial results were underwhelming, including a disappointing first attempt at pulled pork.
But something clicked once Turp tried his hand at cold smoking salmon, where cured pieces of fish sit for hours in a box next to a fire but away from direct heat.
Soon, he was devoting time before and after work to his passion project, getting up at dawn and staying outside past midnight to tend to his grills.
And to his surprise, this began to yield results beyond a surfeit of supper food for his family.
Early on, Turp brought some smoked salmon to share with the guys on the construction site. They liked it, and asked him to make more.
Turp soon expanded the outdoor grill space from six to 24 feet. Later, he moved to an indoor facility where he can smoke up to 25 pounds of salmon at a time.
"In the beginning, I thought I'd be making 10 portions of smoked salmon at most.
Now, I'm making hundreds," he said.
Those portions of smoked salmon are the main product of his new business: Lox Box Mtl.
Turp admits it's odd that he's launching his business with a food product he never liked very much before he tried to make it himself.
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