Creekside Smokehouse to Be Featured on the Food Network Tuesday

David Barber, owner of the Creekside Smokehouse in El Granada, says, he’s just doing what he’s always done—the difference is, now, the media is finally starting to take notice.

Creekside Smokehouse, a local favorite for smoked fish like salmon, rainbow trout and albacore tuna, as well as other products like smoked butter and seafood salads, has been Barber’s baby for seven years running.

“We sell lovely smoked fish, that’s all smoked right here on site. People love to come and buy it and either take it home, eat it here, or take with them down to the beach,” Barber explained. “We’re known for our smoked cheeses, salmon jerky, smoked sturgeon, albacore tuna, a couple different salmon spreads, a cold smoked salmon which is great for lox on your bagels—that’s award-winning fish so it’s probably the best you’ll ever taste—and our hot smoked salmon.”

Though he and his dedicated staff have been trying to get media attention for the shop for a while, he says, it’s finally starting to come through.

In December, the shop was featured in Food and Wine Magazine.

“They did a recipe with our smoked butter in a noodle dish,” Barber explained.

And, this week, one of Creekside Smokehouse's products will be featured on the latest episode of “Chopped” on the Food Network.

“Chopped” is a cooking competition in which a group of chefs are each given a mystery basket full of ingredients, and only 30 minutes to turn them into a three-course meal that will dazzle the judges and keep them from being “chopped” off the show.

Barber says, back in April, the Food Network called Creekside Smokehouse one day and said they were interested in featuring one of the store’s signature products in the mystery basket for an upcoming episode. That night, Barber packed up a giant package full of the product and shipped it off to the network.

It’s been nearly six months, but the episode featuring Creekside Smokehouse products will finally air this week, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

However, to find out which of the shop’s products will be featured on the show, you’ll have to tune in—Barber was asked to keep the product a secret until after the episode airs, to add to the fun of the mystery for viewers.

Since being featured in the recent Food and Wine Magazine issue and word spreading of their involvement with the Food Network, Barber says, the local cable show Eye on the Bay finally came calling recently as well.

“We’d tried contacting them about doing a piece on the shop many times, but they never returned our calls before,” he said with a laugh.

Barber says, Eye on the Bay will be coming by sometime soon to film a piece on the shop.

It certainly looks like the word is getting out about this local gem. Barber says, running the shop has been a delight for the past seven years and, he expects, for many more years to come.

“I love all the joy people bring me,” he said, explaining the signatures on the wall from customers that date back years. One of the signatures has become a motto of sorts, and is featured on the store’s website. It reads, “I’d swim the oceans wide and blue, if only I could be a fish smoked by you,” and is attributed only to a “Mary Lou.”

Tune in to “Chopped” on the Food Network this Tuesday night, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m., and visit Creekside Smokehouse on Facebook or online at www.creeksidesmokehouse.com. Creekside Smokehouse is located at 280 Ave. Alhambra in El Granada, just four miles north of Half Moon Bay, across Highway 1 from Princeton Harbor.

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