Fish and many other kinds of seafood have been smoked at Chelsea Smokehouse for over 25 years and up until recently this family run enterprise has been in the caring hands of Jean and Ginette De La Durantaye.  At the beginning of June 2008 the business was taken over by local food lovers Line Boyer and James Hargreaves. Line and James are committed to retaining the existing 'classic' range of products using the original recipes developed by Jean and Ginette - customers old and new can rely on the integrity of the artisan-style smoking techniques - your favourite smoked fish will still be here tasting the same as always, you can count on that, but Line and James also plan to introduce a few new products of their own.

Line has thirty years of experience in the food and beverage industry. She also has unique international culinary experience in the UK and Japan and managed many fine restaurants in Canada before developing a long and very special relationship with Les Fougères,  one of Canada's finest eating establishments. Line’s love and knowledge of good food, wine and hospitality and her meticulous attention to service detail will make the transition from being an employee to owning and running her own business a natural step.  Her knowledge of local, regional and provincial products is exceptional and she is one of the best known, and loved, personalities of the fine food business in the Nation’s capital as well as locally in the Gatineau /Chelsea / Wakefield corridor.

James just loves fish.  He ran his own successful adventure sports retail business in the United Kingdom for ten years prior to arriving in Canada in 1992.  Since then he has developed an adventure travel consultancy based in Ottawa and managed a number of large projects including expeditions to the North Pole, and K2 and his passion for fishing has taken him to many of the world's great rivers.  He has travelled extensively all over the Canadian Arctic and has developed a great love for everything relating to Canada's northern culture - especially Arctic char!  James brings excellent business, organizational and personnel management skills to the table as well as a talent for creativity and innovative ideas.  When he isn't smoking fish he'll be off somewhere casting a fly trying to catch them. 

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