FINDS : Super Salmon

Michel Blanchet has been smoking salmon for years, and he just keeps getting better at it. The chef who ran the kitchen at the revered L’Ermitage restaurant until it closed four years ago and then moved to the Beverly Hilton’s L’Escoffier until it also folded, now smokes his fish at a commercial kitchen in East Los Angeles. Citrus, Drai’s, the Ritz-Carlton, the Regent Hotel, Le Chardonnay and Moustache Cafe are all regular customers.

The fresh, farm-raised Norwegian fish is marinated in herbs and sea salt and then cold-smoked in a custom-designed smoker over a special blend of fragrant woods. The result ($16.50 a pound) is soft, buttery and not too salty.

Blanchet also makes salmon mousse ($9 a pound)--a blend of the smoked fish, cream and cream cheese. Added to the repertoire more recently is the mousse rolled in brioche crust ($12 a pound), ready to slice and serve. He also makes smoked rainbow trout ($8.50 a pound) and Alaskan sturgeon ($20 a pound).

The products are sold at Surface, 8825 National Blvd., Culver City, (310) 559-4770, and at Made in France, 2748 Clearwater St., Los Angeles, (213) 663-6027. Or just give Blanchet a call at (213) 766-0801 and he’ll send them to you C.O.D. by next-day UPS.