Scan Magazine | Special Theme | A Taste of Norway
Left and middle: Only natural ingredients and methods are used in the production of King Mikal Salmon. Photo: King Mikal Salmon. Right: Mikal Viga selects the salmon himself and puts great emphasis on traceability for all his products. Photo: Johannes Worsøe Berg
Award-winning smoked salmon the old-fashioned way Tucked away in the picturesque Ryfylke in southwestern Norway, the family-owned smokehouse King Mikal Salmon produces delicious gourmet-quality smoked and cured salmon – without any shortcuts. By Linn Skjei Bjørnsen
At King Mikal Salmon, honouring traditional recipes and time-proven production methods has been at the heart of the family-run business since its inception. Here, there is no room for shortcuts, and founder and owner Mikal Viga carefully selects the highest-quality salmon and applies century-old production methods, all while using nothing but natural ingredients. “Keeping old traditions alive is extremely important to us and allows for the most natural end product possible. We dry-salt our fish and we don’t use any artificial additives, only sea salt and sugar along with locally sourced juniper and beech shavings for smoking,” Viga explains. “All our products are fully traceable, from fish egg to table.” And it seems like Viga is onto something – King Mikal Salmon has won an 46 | Issue 109 | February 2018
impressive number of awards for its products, including several gold medals in the Norwegian championship for smoked and cured salmon. A number of the products have also received the Speciality Mark for unique taste, an official labelling system for locally produced, high-quality foods in Norway. “We are very proud of our products, and it is an honour to have them evaluated and approved by an independent professional jury with high competency and knowledge of gourmet food,” says Viga. King Mikal Salmon was officially founded in 2000, when Viga bought a commercial building in his home village and turned it into a smokehouse. But Viga is by no means new to the business. His family has been in the fishing and fish processing industry for generations. “I started smoking salmon on a hobby basis back
in the ‘80s, but I quickly realised that there was a market for it,” he says. Today, the whole family is involved in the business, and the product range has grown to include everything from cold and hot smoked salmon, and cognac and pepper marinated salmon, to cured salmon with aquavit and horseradish, and smoked trout. The production has steadily increased over the years, and King Mikal Salmon is now sold at several of the largest grocery chains in southwestern Norway, along with a selection of specialty stores in other parts of the country. “We are also exporting to Germany, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria and are looking to expand abroad,” says Viga. But no matter how big King Mikal Salmon gets, Viga is clear on one thing: “The core of our business will always be about making honest products based on traditional recipes and methods.” Web: www.kingmikal.no and www.matmerk.no