About us

Forman & Field is part of the Forman family of companies spearheaded by H. Forman & Son, the world-renowned smoked salmon business that dates back to 1905. Forman & Field is our gourmet food home delivery service. It’s very simple. We source the finest foods from across the British Isles and whisk them, fresh as can be, to your doorstep. Fish, meat, cheese, charcuterie – the very best we can find. We also make gourmet dishes for top restaurants and hotels so you get to try those, too, in the comfort of your home. By the way, in case you’re wondering, there is no Mr Field but there is a Mr Forman: Lance Forman, the great grandson of Aaron ‘Harry’ Forman who started this deliciously fishy tale.


Why F&F food tastes so good

In a nutshell: Quality, freshness, and a team that cares.

1. All ingredients are fresh as a daisy. A freshly-picked super-fresh daisy.

2. Every dish is made to order. Your order arrives and we start preparing it. That’s it. Nothing sits on shelves. If an item arrives frozen, that’s because we want to lock in the freshness.

3. We only work with family-run, artisan suppliers. Because ethical husbandry, seasonality and flavour are their priority.

4. Everything is made by hand. We pack every order by hand, too, using specialist protective packaging.

5. We use overnight couriers. It means your food arrives in tip-top condition.

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OurHistory

1905. Aaron Forman (aka Harry Forman) starts H.Forman & Son in Redman’s Road, Stepney Green, London E1.

1941 Business relocates to 17a Leyden Street, Aldgate, London E1.

1943. Harry Forman dies, Louis Forman (1903 – 1962), son continues to run the business. This image was taken in 1935 at Billingsgate with the largest wild salmon ever sold there, weighing in at 74lbs. Louis (centre, in the homberg hat) bought it, smoked it and sold it to Selfridges.
1950. Business relocates to Ridley Road, famous market street in Dalston, London E8.
1959. Louis’ Son-in-law, Marcel (known as Marcel Forman) joins the business at Ridley Road and is shown proudly holding a side of smoked salmon.
1971. Marcel Forman expands the business and relocates to Queens Yard in Hackney Wick. He introduces AFOS metal kilns moving away from the old brick smokeholes.
1980. Marcel Forman becomes founder associate member of the Academy (now Royal Academy) of Culinary Arts. This image 2010 shows Lance Forman with Patron HRH Prince Charles and founder member Albert Roux.

1994 Marcel Forman’s son, Lance, is the fourth generation to join the family business.

1996. Forman’s expands operation by doubling its size expanding into neighbouring property.
1998. Fire at Forman’s burning down two-thirds of premises.
1999. Forman’s is rebuilt and officially opened by lead contender for Mayor of London, novelist, Jeffrey Archer.
2000. The local river, the River Lea navigation, overflows and Forman’s new factory is now 3 feet under water and is forced to relocate.
2002. A new factory in neighbouring Marshgate Lane is built and Forman’s relocates.
2002. Forman & Field is born. Our early brochures.
2005. London wins the bid to host the Olympics and Forman’s is forced to relocate.
2007. In one year, Forman’s builds a brand new state-of-the art facility, on Fish Island, and is the closest building in London to the Olympic stadium.
2008. Forman’s Darren Matsen is challenged to pin bone and slice a side of smoked salmon by chef Gordon Ramsay, and wins the Guinness World Record.
2009. Forman’s Smokehouse is officially opened by, then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
2012. The closing night of the London Olympics as seen from Forman’s.
2016. Forman’s Games: The Dark Underside of the London Olympics, at book launch with Ian Dale.
2018. Secretary of State for DEFRA Michael Gove announces that Forman’s London Cure Smoked Salmon is awarded Protected Geographical Indication Status by the EU.
Platinum Jubilee Book
2022. We were beyond honoured to feature in The Platinum Jubillee Cookbook. With a foreword by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, this book celebrates the landmark occasion of the Platinum Jubilee by bringing together recipes – many of them served during Royal Visits – that are proudly British, inspired by local influences from the embassy’s host country, or a fusion of the two. Throughout, the book shows off the spectacular food and drink produce found within our shores that our embassies are proud to showcase around the world, we couldn’t be more proud!

OurHistory

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Quality Passed Down Through Generations

It all started with smoked salmon…Watch this video to learn how our famous London Cure Smoked Salmon is made. We’ve been making it the same way for over 100 years!

Restaurant Quality Dishes at Home-Cooked Prices

Why do all the hard work when we can do it for you? We make entertaining at home easy. Less stress, more fun. Directed by Managing Director Lloyd Hardwick (ex Gavroche) our chefs already prepare dishes for leading culinary establishments so that’s the quality we deliver to you. And it’s so much cheaper than eating out. Our Black Cod in Miso, for example, is less than £12.5 per head. In a famous London restaurant you would pay upwards of £40!

Our team

We’re small but, we like to think, perfectly formed. Being a tight-knit bunch makes a huge difference. Lance and Lloyd are very hands on – not much escapes their attention – and we all take great pride in the service. Not that we’re perfect but if we make a mistake we always make up for it.

Our aim: To be a zero waste business

We abhor waste. We conserve energy in every way possible with LED lights and PIR sensors. We recycle every scrap of paper, cardboard, glass, polystyrene – even the oil from our deep fat fryers becomes biofuel. Fish heads are used by anglers as bait and our highly skilled filleters scrape every last bit of flesh from bones – something a machine could never do. As absolutely everything is made-to-order, we are immensely proud of the fact that we don’t have lots of old stock sitting on shelves, going to waste. We even have plans to turn salmon skins into leather. Look; they’re beautiful!

London’s First Ever Protected Food

We’ve been producing London Cure Smoked Salmon for over a century, so it was a proud day for us when our ‘London’ Cure’ smoked salmon was recognised as a delicacy worthy of PGI Certification. PGI status, enforced by law, is designed to protect and celebrate traditional regional foods similar to Champagne, Parma ham, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Wensleydale Cheese to name just a few. Not only is ‘London Cure Smoked Salmon’ now the only smoked salmon in the world with protected status, but London’s first ever food or drink to achieve this coveted recognition.

The PGI label also protects consumers from buying cheap imitations that are not of equivalent quality or have a different flavour. But with Forman’s you don’t need to worry. We are the only smoked salmon producer in the world to hold this coveted status.

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