The Salmon Smoker
Realizador Nikolaj Belzer
Países United Kingdom
Duração 5 min
Sinopse
Ole Hansen is a one-off. From his eyrie high above the city, the thirtysomething Norwegian has built a thriving artisanal food business - and an ascetic, artistic lifestyle that belies his urban situation. Coming to London from the wilds of northern Norway, Hansen yearned to taste the authentic smoked salmon of his childhood. He set about creating his own smokery, building it from scratch along with a Scandinavian-style cabin on the roof of his flat. With painstaking attention to detail, he sourced fish, designed his own wood mix, and began to produce small amounts of beatifully crafted smoked salmon. His is a business - and a life philosophy - based on complete focus on his singular craft. Eschewing the clutter and complication of modern life, he concentrates on maintaining a simple existence, and a simple approach to his craft. In an era of generalists, of big data and mass media, Hansen prefers to live as a specialist. The film follows him around his unique living space, into his smokery - where he plays piano to the fish as they hang in the aromatic vapours - and onto his rooftop. As he watches the sun set over London, Ole reflects: “If you try to do too many things, you are not going to have time to focus on making the best thing… that is the basis of the artisanal approach. You should trust the architect - he specialises in that. I am the Salmon Smoker. I should be trusted for that.”
Ole Hansen is a one-off. From his eyrie high above the city, the thirtysomething Norwegian has built a thriving artisanal food business - and an ascetic, artistic lifestyle that belies his urban situation. Coming to London from the wilds of northern Norway, Hansen yearned to taste the authentic smoked salmon of his childhood. He set about creating his own smokery, building it from scratch along with a Scandinavian-style cabin on the roof of his flat. With painstaking attention to detail, he sourced fish, designed his own wood mix, and began to produce small amounts of beatifully crafted smoked salmon. His is a business - and a life philosophy - based on complete focus on his singular craft. Eschewing the clutter and complication of modern life, he concentrates on maintaining a simple existence, and a simple approach to his craft. In an era of generalists, of big data and mass media, Hansen prefers to live as a specialist. The film follows him around his unique living space, into his smokery - where he plays piano to the fish as they hang in the aromatic vapours - and onto his rooftop. As he watches the sun set over London, Ole reflects: “If you try to do too many things, you are not going to have time to focus on making the best thing… that is the basis of the artisanal approach. You should trust the architect - he specialises in that. I am the Salmon Smoker. I should be trusted for that.”