Testimonials

Many years ago, my wife and I each had parents who loved finnan haddie. It was a special dinner that we had once yearly, twice if we were lucky. We received our first shipment of your spectacular brand of finnan haddie last week. We were both transported back 45 years, to another time, a past that we enjoyed as children. The aroma, texture and especially the flavor took us back to the late 60′s when a Sunday finnan haddie dinner was prepared. We have both looked, unsuccessfully may I add, for that finest of fish fillets since we married. Finding your website was a gift, a well appreciated gift. We thank for the culinary trip back to our childhood. - Kurt & Carla K. MI | Jan 2013

I got my order yesterday, had one package for dinner last night…..It was sooooo good…Thank you Richard…again, I didn’t share….- Janet M. NJ | Jan 2013

Richard, My sister, Kathy, told me she had found a source for our Holiday Finnan Haddie that she thought would be as good as we have gotten in the past. Well she was WRONG..!  (As an older sister historically is suppose to be. (just joking)).  Anyway the Finnan Haddie she got from you was far better than anything we have eaten in the past.  A real treat with old English quality..!
My grandfather was born in England and we grew up having the best Haddie that could be found in the inter mountain west around Idaho, generally from a fish market in salt lake city.  The Haddie you sent was absolutely fabulous…. the thick fillets, the large white flakes, the smoked flavor all perfect. The only draw back was we had to ration the 40 lbs for breakfast… since all the grand kids proclaimed it the best they’d ever eaten.  However I did hide a package for new years morning.  Anyway I just wanted to thank you for a great product and outstanding service, from what Kathy tells us…. You will definitely see future orders from us - Ken T. ID | Jan 2013

Richard, The batch you sent this time was even better than last year and that is saying something.  I made that Cullen Skink recipe for Thanksgiving and it was wonderfully delicious.  I wanted you to know though that Christmas dinner was over the top good. The person that like the saltier one was my Dad last year but he raved about it this year (everyone else did too) and wanted to know who produced it. I told him how I found your site and also told him he could add more salt if he wanted and he said no, it was perfect.  He said he’d never had better finnan haddie.  I am convinced that there is nobody in America that can smoke haddock as good as you. In fact not even close. Please keep up the great work!  It is quite a skill that you have and I will always be a customer!- Mark L. OH | Jan 2013

Richard, My wife Wendy just bought another 5 packs of Finnan Haddie. I have to say, it’s the very best! We made dinner for friends last night and they too were lauding your praises. Thanks for making such a delicious product.. - Alan Z. | Dec 2012

Hey Richard, Hope you had a lovely Christmas!  Just wanted to let you know that the Haddock is selling.  I used it to make eggs benedict for Christmas morning breakfast. (Whisking Hollandaise while hungover is not fun).
Anyway, your Finnan Haddie blew my mind… It was a huge hit.  Best I have EVER had.  By a long shot.  Truly remarkable…
Thanks! .- Peter S. NY | Dec 2012

Richard, Had the kedgeree. My compliments. Stunning taste — utterly evocative. I spent my teenage years on the Moray Firth — not too many miles from the village of Findhorn (as in Finnan). Findhorn, I think, no longer has a fishery. But we had a salmon & haddock smokehouse in our local harbour of Hopeman. Your haddie is as good as theirs. Can’t say better than that. - John B. MD | Nov 2012

My sister, Vicki and I used to enjoy finnan haddie as children.  Our English grandmother would make it along with a garlic aioli sauce that she spent hours whipping up with a wooden spoon.
Vicki was diagnosed with lung cancer.  The doctors only gave her a 15% chance of survival.  She underwent months of extremely aggressive, painful and sickening radiation and chemotherapy treatments.  Whenever I would talk to her , she would say that if she recovered and got her taste-buds working again, that she would come to my house and we would celebrate with a big finnan haddie dinner.  Miraculously, Vicki survived and recovered.  She told me she was coming from Las Vegas to southern California to visit.  I wanted to make her a dinner just like our grandmother’s.  I had ordered the fish from three different places before and had been dissatisfied with the quality if what I received. The pieces were skinny, chewy , salty, boney or over-smoked.  After reading the testimonials on your site, I decided to try yours.  You had, BY FAR, the BEST finnan haddie filets.  They were thick, not salty or boney and were smoked just right. I was able to make a perfect finnan haddie dinner for Vicki, just like our grandmother used to make.  We even served the aioli sauce with grandma’s old wooden spoon. Thank you for helping our family to celebrate the lives of my sister and grandmother.
I will be ordering more fish from you real soon.- Michael B. CA | Sept 2012

This wonderful company provides the very best of a product that is very difficult to find.  Their Finnan Haddie is the best of the best. Great care is taken to pack this wonderful smoked fish and it is shipped promptly, arriving in excellent condition.  The one pound packages are perfectly sealed and frozen and are just the right size for most recipes.  I placed my first order (and it certainly will not be my last!) in August. I live in Las Vegas and the temperature was around 112 degrees during the day. Nevertheless, my shipment arrived in perfect condition.  Yes, the Finnan Haddie is expensive but certainly worth the price.  Fine food presented at its peak is always worth the price.  I hope to enjoy sharing your Finnan Haddie with friends for many years to come.- Kent J. NV | Aug 2012

Richard, you are the master…..the finnan haddie was perfect . Thank you thank you thank you.  I had a wonderful dinner just eating this fish took me down memory lane. I will be ordering more in the future, thank you.- Janet M. NJ | July 2012

This is the best Finnan haddie in the land. Richard is a smoke master who understands the intricacies of his fish and believes deeply in the product he makes and distributes. We always have a few packages of his fine Finnan haddie in the freezer for Cullen skink, Omelettes Arnold Bennett, etc. Shipping is fast and efficient and Richard gives great customer service.- Christopher T. CA | March 2012

I received my delivery of finnan haddie right on time last Thursday, exactly as promised, and what a GREAT batch it is. I made my grandmother’s Nova Scotia recipe for finnan haddie for the family last night — it is the first time it her recipe has been made since she died in 1992 because we haven’t been able to get the smoked haddock anywhere. The haddock was perfectly smoked, not discolored, not dried out and not over smoked. Kudos to you, Richard, and your staff for a perfect haddock product. And thank you for helping me give this recipe back to my family. I made a second batch for lunch today at my mother’s house and between my mom (now 82)and my brothers the batch was gobbled down with requests for more. I will be placing another order really soon, and you have earned my business for life. Thanks again.- Jeannine L. MA | December 2011

Hi Richard — Had your Finnan Haddie for dinner tonight — my Scottish husband is in heaven (and me too!) Absolutely delicious. We will definitely be ordering again. Thanks very much! - Wendy C. CA | December 2011

Finnan Haddie is an old Christmas breakfast tradition in our family. I ordered some of yours and my Mom ordered some from one of your competitor smokehouses (also from Maine) to see who would supply us next year. Yours won by 5 to 1 vote (one person liked the too salty one better). Everyone agreed that yours was perfect though Richard and you’ll be getting another order next year. Thank you…it was delicious, tender, packed perfectly, on time and smoked just right.- Marc L. OH | December 2011

I was searching for smoked haddock for a special Christmas breakfast and couldn’t find it anywhere in NYC. I found Richard’s site on December 21st at 1:30 p.m. Even tho it was 1/2 hour past his deadline for shipping for Christmas, he held the UPS truck while he packed my order and it arrived on the 23rd as promised. The haddock was the best I’ve ever had, and his family recipe for finnan haddie was delicious. It’s not cheap, but the quality and service were worth every penny and I like buying from someone who runs a small operation and really cares about his product. I’ll definitely order again, and again, and again.- Toni L. CA | December 2011

I was born and raised in the UK and grew up eating smoked haddock- I’ve never had such high quality, tasty fish as that I’ve tried from Richard Penfold. The fish is juicy and smoked to the perfect degree- it’s worth every penny. I’ve been ordering the fish for a while now and will continue to do so for as long as Richard keeps making it!- Paul C. IN | November 2011

My family has been celebrating Christmas morning with creamed Finnan Haddie on toast (really a béchamel with hard boiled eggs and finnan haddie over buttered sourdough toast) since before I was born. I am now 54 years old, so I have some experience to draw on. Every year, I search for the Scottish product, but it is becoming almost impossible to find, exorbitantly expensive, and when I do find it, it has usually weathered transportation and storage questionably, and I have found that in the last several years the quality seems to have declined. This year, my local fish market was unable to locate any, so I found your website and ordered 3lbs. It arrived in perfect condition, and even included a pretty sprig of greens; a pleasant surprise. I followed the poaching instructions on your website (a new technique to me), and my 3 grown daughters and I made the dish for Christmas breakfast. Without question, yours is the finest, most succulent, perfectly smoked and delicately textured Finnan Haddie we have ever enjoyed. I won’t be searching any further. Even better, it is made in New England (my family is from Vermont, so there is a little pride in that), so you’ve beat the Scots at their own game. I own an artisan bread bakery in northeast Ohio, and we pour our lives into our hand-crafted product, which gives me a perspective on the work you do that others may not have. I cannot recommend your Finnan Haddie more highly. It is superb in every way. Thank you for taking my family’s Christmas tradition to a new level. (A side note: I have 2 degrees from New England Culinary Institute, so there is a chance I know whereof I speak). Thank you for offering such an incredible American product. You do excellent work.- Willard C. Western Reserve Bread company, Chagrin Falls, OH | January 2011

My shipment came through on time and in perfect condition. I could not wait to try it, so I didn’t… It was great! Also, the packaging was perfect. I am sure you do not get many orders from ND, But I have been looking for a vendor with a great product and reasonable shipping charges for a long time. I am glad I finally found someone- Tim G. Bismarck, ND | October 2011

The best Finnan Haddie we have ever had and we have been buying it in Maine for more than 40 years.- Mary B. East Boothbay, ME | March 2011

By the way, Finnan Haddie, my dad was a weir fisherman. He said haddie was Neptune’s Bouquet. Whenever we caught one in the weir, we’d salt it and hang it high in the scow gallows to dry. Then the gulls would come along and steal it. A Merry Christmas to you and family.- Mike B. Northport, ME | December 2010

The Finnan Haddie is simply great!! It was somewhat different than what I had in the past. It is much more moist and fresh tasting. The old stuff had to be soaked before using. I know it is the best I have had and I would recommend it to anyone!!! I hope you had a great Christmas and will have wonderful new year!!! Thanks so much for your great service!- Eric S. Aberdeen, OH | December 2010

Loved your smoked haddock.- Kelly C. South Berwick, ME | September 2011

I’ve bought their Finnan Haddie for years and their product is fantastic and their customer service is wonderful. I’ve never had a complaint and will use them for years to come.- Helen A. Santa Barbara, CA | December 2010