Smoked Salmon Created by Chefs for Chefs...
In 1990, highly acclaimed European-trained chefs Gerard Parrat (proprietor of Gerard’s Relais de Lyon) and Dominique Place (proprietor of Dominique’s Place) could not find a smoked salmon which met their standards, so they created one. With that Gerard & Dominique Seafoods was born, in a 2,000 square foot facility in Kenmore, Washington.
That first year, Gerard and Dominique worked with the their chef counterparts at Morton's of Chicago, the Four Seasons/Fairmont Olympic in Seattle and Northwest Airlines First Class Service to build Gerard & Dominique’s smoked salmon into their menus. These marquee relationships continue on to this day.
Over the years, Gerard & Dominique's signature European Style Smoked Salmon has been served at premier hotels and restaurants across the US, and in countries around the world. Wine Spectator has called Gerard & Dominique’s creation "Simply the best smoked salmon made in the Northwest, and the only one I tasted that rivals the best smoked salmons made in Europe." As the word spread and other fine restaurants, hotels, and high-end retailers began offering Gerard & Dominique smoked salmon, the company moved from its humble Kenmore beginnings to a brand new 10,000 sq foot facility in Woodinville.
Gerard retired in 1998, and since that time Dominique and wife Andrée (Chouchou, to all that know her) have been at the helm, maintaining a chef’s passion for detail and quality, expanding the line of smoked seafood offerings, and giving customers the personalized, hands-on service that can only be found at a company like this.
Made with only the freshest natural ingredients from the Northwest, Gerard & Dominique products are carefully hand-filleted and smoked by chef Dominique Place according to old-world traditions. The process begins with rich, flavorful salmon harvested from the cold, clean waters of the Pacific Northwest. Fillets are specially seasoned, then individually smoked over a select blend of Northwest hardwoods, which imparts a subtle, complex flavor. No preservatives or coloring agents are ever used.
In April of 2008, Gerard & Dominique joined forces with SeaBear Company of Anacortes, Washington. Together, these two premier purveyors of smoked salmon (SeaBear focusing on Northwest style, and Gerard & Dominique focusing on lox or Nova style) make up the dominant force in premier smoked salmon. In October 2012 the plant in Woodinville relocated up to Anacortes, and both brands operate out of the same facility.
Dominique recently received a very special recognition for his lifetime of culinary excellence. He received the Merite Agricole from the French government – a honor created in 1883 to recognize those with exemplary contribution to the preservation and spreading of French culinary culture. As recipient of this esteemed and historic award. Mr. Place is officially recognized as a Knight in the Order of Agriculture Merit.
Dominique and Chouchou remain the forces behind the Gerard & Dominique brand, passionately adhering to the same philosophies upon which it all started: super-premium seafood, hand-crafted in small batches to the exacting standards of a premier chef.
