The nicest temptation of fishFöh Eel Smokehouse in Kappeln
Föh Eel Smokehouse
From Eel to pike-perch: Taste every kind of fish over here!
Not only eel but also all kinds of fish you desire are offered at the Föh fish smokehouse in the centre of Kappeln. For generations, these tasty maritime delicacies have been smoked and refined in traditional smoke ovens. This is not a place of technical high performance – here, the company's boss, Hans-Friedrich Föh, handwrites the smoking times with chalk on small boards himself, hanging in front of the ovens.
You can enjoy more than just smoked fish here. The beautiful patios invite visitors and locals equally to "Matjes" (soused herring) in different flavour varieties – home made of course. Fried fish and fish salads are also quite legendary in Kappeln, not to mention the most delicious "Fischbrötchen" – bread rolls with fish. Here in Kappeln there is a saying:
“Sage Kappeln nie adieu
ohne einen Fisch von Föh”
(Never say adieu, without a fish from Föh)
Let's go to Dehnthof 26-28, in the heart of Kappeln, and enjoy!
A history of fish dishes
100 years of smoke tradition in Kappeln
The tradition of the Föh Eel Smokehouse started in 1629 when five Huguenot brothers with the name "de foeh" (the fire) travelled to the North. For many generations, the Föh Smokehouse was located at the Jungernstieg in Eckernförde.
In 1911, the Föh family and its smoking business expanded to Kappeln where they smoked with only one chimney in the open air. Herrings and sprats were freshly smoked, offered and transported by rail. The main markets were Thuringia, Berlin and Saxony where the herring needed to be smoked until it was dark in order to preserve it better.
These long-life products with the name "Schornsteinheringe" (chimney herrings) were very popular among the Saxons who enjoyed their meal with a cold beer.
In the 1920s and 1930s, two extra chimneys were erected to expand the flourishing smoking business. Beneath those chimneys, 14 so-called "Altonaer Öfen" (smokers) were installed. The smokers got its name from the Altona district in Hamburg where the smoking trade has its roots.
The popular smoked eel, which is known beyond the town borders, dates back to the 1930s. Back then it was a great risk for the smokehouse to add this exquisite fish to their business as the Föh family's special smoking craft complicated the process.
Today, 100 years of company history later, the decision of expanding the smoking business step by step proved to be absolutely right as the Föh Smokehouse with its three-chimney landmark is one of Kappeln’s success stories.
