You only had to use your nose to find the eel smokers at the Marker Havenfeesten today. Behind the marquee and the stalls, twelve eel smokers competed for the title ‘Eel Smoker of the Year’. “Participating is important, they say. But there is a struggle, that’s fun. There must be a struggle.”
“It is a matter of checking and continuing to check,” explains experienced eel smoker Mathijs Boes. “That’s the whole idea behind it. The temperatures, the smoke. And the salinity you start with, that’s very important. You can put salt in it once and that’s decisive. It can be either too salty or too bland, then it’s no good.”
Big party
The mood is good on the third day of the 31st Havenfeesten. “Last night we already had a big party in the tent, it was completely full,” says Mathijs, just above the screams that come from the tent. There’s a ‘men’s morning’ going on there. Tomorrow there is also a coffee concert and a performance by Wolter Kroes on the program.
Back to the eel smoking contest. The participants choose the best five eels and send them to the jury, who looks at them with a strict look. Despite good efforts by Mathijs and debutant Natasja van Meerveld (the first woman to participate in eel smoking in Marken), Piet Honingh took the win. Eternal fame and a challenge cup await him.