“If you go from Vilnius to Utena on Friday, the intermediate stop is, of course, Molėtai. You run to “Maxima” for a drink or something else, the flow of people is a second Palanga. I myself saw what was happening here,” said Vaidas.
The man realized that this place is perfect for creating another point of attraction. It didn’t take long for the man from Ute to come up with the idea that it could be a fish smokehouse – what would a lake country do without this accent?
“Maybe there was a kiosk in the center, but here – a rich audience comes, but there is no fish,” the interviewer added.
That’s how the first smoke of “Molėtai fish smoker” appeared here eight years ago. Today, the eyes of those who enter a smokehouse can be dazzled by the variety.
“For a few years we only smoked carp, and now we’ve grown to 28 different types. Trout, carp and bream should be available daily in Molėtai, as in “Our Father”. For the weekend, we will smoke catfish and bream roe, shrimp, and squid tentacles. We may not have them on Mondays, it’s a question of who will buy them, and on weekends it’s another matter,” Vaidas named his favorite flavors.
Here he also met his future wife
Vilma, the wife of the man from Ute, has been working in the smokehouse for four years. This is a family business. As the couple jokes, they “found each other in the fish”.
The woman says that she met Vaid by chance – a woman who owned a cleaning service company came to see the premises where her future love sold fish.
“We’re together 24 hours a day, it should get boring, shouldn’t it?” Hell, we complement each other perfectly. We have enough time apart when we go home in separate cars,” Vaidas shared behind the scenes of the family business.
“But we also talk on the phone while driving,” Vilma added with a smile.
Vaidas is happy that his wife will join the activity close to his heart – she is very talented and a quick learner. This is especially useful when there are events – the man went to Utena to sell smoked fish on the weekend, and Vilma was dropped off in Ignalina.
“I went deeper into how to make mobile smokehouses, we have a ship that goes to all the events. We go with a team and prepare the fish on site. A person sees that we are smoking with firewood, he can scan with his eyes what he will eat,” said the fish smoker.
You want to stop eating on the hood
Vaidas was not wrong in thinking that there is a lack of smoked fish in Molėtai. Vilma says that some visitors already have a tradition of visiting the smokehouse on Fridays.
“And we know who eats what. We try to ensure that people get the fish they like at least on those days,” said the woman.
The business-developing family has no shortage of ambitions – they opened a smoked fish shop in Utena, and a restaurant with grilled and fire-fried fish dishes will open its doors in June in Molėtai. As Vaidas jokes, he wants visitors to no longer have to eat fish on the hood of a car.
“We were offered not to cook fish on the fire, just to keep the grills, and I was very stubborn. They said that it’s hard to play with firewood, but I’m used to it,” said Vilma confidently.
The couple does not hide that finding a chef to work in a new restaurant is a mission impossible. However, he promises to look into the schools that prepare these specialists and to “grow” the chef. And they are not afraid of work themselves – the family is determined to learn all the intricacies of the kitchen so that they do not have to experience stress when employees get sick or leave.
Haven’t swum in the lake for a long time
When asked when was the last time they went fishing, the Morkūnais laugh – although they live on the shore of the lake, they didn’t swim once last year.
“We work with carp farmers from Ignalina, Molėtai district. As much as possible, we are looking for it in Lithuania, but you won’t get sea fish here, it is suppliers who transport from abroad. I don’t really like fishing myself,” Vaidas said.
And there would be a lack of time for that – the family can count the days they don’t work on the fingers of their hands.
“After coming back from the fair last Saturday, we planned to turn off our phones and rest for a day on Sunday. On Saturday evening, the store calls to say that they no longer have any fish. We are already in the car at 6 am on Sunday,” laughed Vilma.
The bee-buzzing fish smokers do not hide that it is a job they love. That is why he does not count the hours assigned to him.
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