The Smokehouse Deli

05/01/2026

4 years to the day of forced closure...

£1.4 million pounds in lost trade, jobs lost, premises vacant incapable of occupancy or habitation for commerce..

All at the hands and negligence of St Albans City and District Council

Not to mention the four hundred thousand pounds of public money spent on rectifying a problem that is again deficient in basic regulatory compliance..

We wish all our clients, residents and clientele a Happy New Year, you're all sorely missed and we can only apologize that we're unable to offer some of the most delicious food this city has known or yet to be eclipsed. Our Eggs Benedict were legendary and our Gourmet Sandwiches were epic and we were rated the #1 breakfast destination in St Albans on trip advisor

Peace, love, fortitude and perseverance to all.

09/05/2024

Dear clients, friends and residents

All afternoon we've been receiving information about a post on St Albans People

For clarity the business has not been closed since 2022 out of choice.

There is, irrefutably, a building regulations compliance issue with the roof directly above our kitchen that has prevailed since early 2014. This before we were CHOSEN by our landlords St Albans City and District Council as their preferred tenants by way of a rigorous tendering process where in a pool of 28 other business applicants we were the winning bid

With a structural defect in perpetuity we have been declined insurance cover for staff and commercial activities since January 2022. Once a policy and underwriting is declined by commercial insurers we have the problematic issue of informing any prospective insurer of a declined and voided policy.

We're unable to obtain employers liability cover which should we trade without is a breach of HSE regulations and we could face 10 years imprisonment

We had an enviable reputation as the number one cafe/deli in St Albans on trip advisor between 2018 and 2022 even in light of extreme personal and professional hardship

Our landlords spent in 2014 £198,000 on a full roof replacement which allegedly had a 20 year warranty. In 2019 we received personal assurances from the chief executive of St Albans City and District Council in regard to the roofs efficacy and worthiness stating that after extensive investigations in to the roof that all was well.

Not 15 months after these assurances from the CEO and in the midst of a pandemic we discovered that clandestine surveys were being carried out in February 2021 and these detailed surveys with core samples indicated a full and urgent replacement of the roof not 7 years in existence and installation at an additional cost of £160,000 totalling £358,000 of public money that, even today, does not hold building regulations compliance. Contravention of building control is a criminal offence a matter that is generally prosecuted by the local authority. Well they're certainly not going to prosecute themselves are they??

We are even today having to combat the most appalling of threats, intimidation and harassment from SACDC, it's appointed legal team and also local councillors who are attempting at all costs not to have the wider issues discussed.

We can only apologize to the residents, clients and regulars that our closure is seemingly indefinite. Why wouldn't we want to trade with such an enviable reputation??

We'd ask you all to consider why haven't we been able to sell our premises, the accrued sweat equity that held us in the highest regard in our prestigious city and further afield.

For clarity the premises cannot be sold or traded from as we're prohibited by law and we are unable to sell a premises that has ambiguous and fraudulent documentation provided to it by a local authority and regulatory enforcement body as we would be committing a variety of criminal offences

Since 2022 the wider fabric of the building has deteriorated further. There are clear anomalies with defects and cracks appearing in the concrete lintel 3 stories up

We trust that this clarifies our awful predicament.

Rest assured we'd dearly love to still be providing the best Eggs Benedict, cooked breakfasts and gourmet sandwiches that St Albans has ever seen

Sincere apologies

Gels and the team

07/12/2023

We're extremely grateful to those of you who have sent words of support!

07/12/2023

Dear clients, friends, residents and neighbours.. Regrettably we're almost in to our second year of forced closure with absolutely no sign of resolution.

We're gearing up for an initial legal battle against SACDC and we've been advised to reach out to our client base for testimonials, reviews and any other kind words of support that we may be able to obtain from our regulars and the effect of our closure on the local area and proximity

If you could spare some time over the coming weeks we'd really appreciate if you could drop some content in to our in box, Please send your thoughts on email to [email protected]

Thanking you all in advance,

Gels and the team

06/01/2023

Dear residents, friends, family, clients and clientele...

It's a year and one day since our official enforced closure on the 5th of Jan 2022

Upon inspecting the premises today we're further disillusioned by the conduct of our landlords St Albans City and District Council, our local ward councillors Cllr Geoff Harrison (our current Mayor), Cllr Robert Donald, leader of the council Cllr Chris White and our MP Daisy Cooper

See the photos of the area directly above our kitchen

Works commenced in November 2022, ceased in December and now have been apparently U-turned and endeavours have commenced by the contractors to cover the roof in a more defective state than in which they found it in late 2022

These works discovered today do not meet building regulation compliance in any way shape or form

More disappointingly for local residents and tax payers is that these scheduled works are subsequent to works in early 2014. These should still have a remaining 11 year warranty with recourse for the council to have their original costs of £198,000 covered by an effective insurance backed policy. No such warranty or recourse for reimbursement is evident whatsoever and we've received communication to that effect from SACDC

We are of the opinion that the original £198,000 of public money has been knowingly misappropriated by then officers within St Albans City and District Council

The aforementioned locally elected officials and the Chief Executive of the council Amanda Foley have spent the best part of a decade in conspiring to suffocate these discovered facts

We've FOI extracts from within the council that clearly identify problems with the works in 2014 and email communication between SACDC officers, contractors and surveyors in early 2014 several months prior to our occupation of the premises

We are shocked at the current state of play that is in effect a further miss-repair

Our closure is at this stage is indeterminable and will continue in to 2023 with no sight of resolution whatsoever.

The smokehouse house Deli is a family business of long standing provenance with an enviable reputation second to none in St Albans, throughout the county of Hertfordshire and further afield.

Our dismay and heartbreak is immeasurable.

We're sorry to be the bearer of bad news for our local community, residents and clients which we hold so dear, treasure and love...

26/10/2022

Dear clients, friends and local residents...

We've just been informed that our landlords St Albans City and District Council has instructed their contractors Morgan Sindall to commence urgent works on replacing the entire roof at the facility at Cell Barnes Lane of which our former business occupies a small proportion of...

Whilst there are many issues and questions left unanswered by our landlord, its Chief executive Amanda Foley, local councillors Harrison and Donald and our MP our initial thoughts are as follows....

1) Who in their right mind would commence a roofing project valued in excess of a quarter of a million pounds in the middle of the winter months....???... This is just reckless and utterly stupifying.... In the event of prolonged inclement weather over the coming months these proposed roofing works will also be compromised

2) What has happened to a remaining 12 year warranty for the roofing works back in 2014 eradicating and wasting £198,000 of municipal, public purse expense. This money never to be recouperarted by our landlords all compounded with the leader of council Chris White recently making public statements about the difficulty the council faces with its finances..

Clearly the roofing works were defective upon installation back in 2014 and we are clear in our opinion that the expense of £198,000 back in 2014 by SACDC has been misappropriated all in view of officers and executives at SACDC

We thought we should keep you all updated on how our local authority monitors its expenditure and how SACDC treats local independent businesses....

13/10/2022

Whilst we're a commercial tennant it's an endemic problem....... Regardless of that, no one is going to intervene or act upon resolving our problem...

An independent, local, thriving community business being strangled by St Albans City and District Council and its CEO Amanda Foley

There's a flagrant disregard by our local Councillors Geoff Harrison and Robert Donald, seemingly our MP Daisy Cooper whilst knowing all the irrefutable facts stands idle too.......

One can only conclude that complicity is rife across the board of the Liberal Democrats in power in St Albans and surrounding district...

The council has gone so far as to send in Environmental Health officers to overlook the problems within our kitchen and its ceiling that are a direct consequence of missing insulation within the build up of materials in the roof above.... That in addition to a certificate of building control compliance that has been deemed fraudulent by Trading Standards at Herts County Council

We're appalled and having to deal with the upcoming anniversary of forced closure.....

All of this constitutes nothing less than malfeasance, misfeasance, fiduciary abuse, misconduct in public office and an abuse of power... .

People renting dangerous homes are often being let down by councils, a BBC investigation finds.

13/10/2022

Take a visit to big brothers store... A fresh haul of wonderful ingredients from a very early visit to Covent Garden Market...

24/08/2022

Lunch time Cooking with Gels today..

Spaghetti Amataricana... Pancetta, or guanciale for the traditionalists, onions slowly fried and Browned, cherry tomatoes with a little puree, a dash of chicken stock cube and pasta water, flat leaf parsley, black pepper... All topped with a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano... Cooking time all of 25 mins

If I was to pair this deliciousness with a red wine for communal afternoon drinking it would be a totally off the wall choice of a Chilled Dry sparkling Lambrussco Grasparossa Di Castelvetro...

All these ingredients and the wine are available at my brothers Deli, Buongiorno Italia in Lattimore Road, which is Probably the longest running independent family owned food business in St Albans...

Buon Appetito...

19/08/2022

Cooking with Gels today...

Steak & suet pudding with a Thyme laced crust... Results sometime later today... Peace, love and fortitude to you all.. ✌️❤️💪

18/08/2022

For those of you who requested a step by step guide to a beef ragu/bolognese on the St Albans People group yesterday..... Please see this basic visual aid process...

We've cooked the sauce and beef mince separately so as to make a totally smooth tomato sauce base (aidded with a stick emmersion blender and 200ml of water to rinse out any tomato left in the tins) as this is preferable for children with no chunky veg visable...

Whole process took 45 mins with another 45min cooking time.... Or reduced to preference

To cool the sauce down quickly place the entire saucepan in the sink surround with cold water and ice.. Stir till cold.. Place in freezer bags or take away containers we'd recommend at least 80 - 100gm of sauce per person.. But don't let us stop you adding more...

Keeps perfectly for 6 months...

Happy eating... Gels

17/05/2022

So whilst we're busy gearing up for a legal battle we thought another restaurant review was in order to take our mind off things..

This time Tavah restaurant in Hatfield road..

So with an impromptu invitation by another local community asset and friend Monir we lunched at Tavah..

The restaurant is modern, contemporary and informal. The layout is accommodating, benches for larger groups and booths for those wanting some privacy.

The open kitchen where you can witness the culinary experience is a plus in my book..

Monir and I ordered the Mango Lassi to begin with.. Utterly delicious.. With perfect salt seasoning to cut through the sweetness and creaminess..

We haggled and bickered like an old married couple over what to order.. This making us even more hungry.. So after some deliberation and assistance from Nabeel the manager, we decided on the Tavah platter for two

Well, it was lucky that the bickering couple stirred up an appetite.. The portions are huge, needless to say our svelte frames did the food justice and not a morsal was left..

The chicken and lamb Tikka was perfectly moist and succulent pipping hot and spices were on point.. Lamb cutlets , these were so good that Monir and I played the game of "you have it, no you have it" on the spare cutlet for a milli second until I ruthlessly forked in...

Chicken Karahi was delicious and the mutton Karahi was fork tender, succulent and really really tasty, beautiful rice and Naan, daal was up there with the best I've tasted.. We litterally polished it all off... too polite to fight for the caramelized onions at the base of the cast iron skillet .. So Monir had them anyway, Payback for the solitary Lamb cutlet kidnapping I'm sure...

The food is really, really good.. Service was impeccable, not rushed and attentive without being intrusive

I really liked Nabeels humour as the platter was anglicized with a portion of French fries curtosey of "McKhans"... I pointed out the homage to the Mystery machine from Scooby-Doo adorning the walls too.. Great piece of art work..

We finished off with Desi Chai, a loose tea infusion with a touch of rose water and cardomon.... Perfectly sweetened, refreshing it felt almost therapeutic ..

You can find Tavah on Hatfield Road, a few doors down from the recreational park, free one hour parking right outside..

Tavah ticks all the boxes for Informal, Pakistani delicious street food.... . Light years away from bow ties, late night pints and poppadoms... Perfect for a family visit with children and adults of all ages.. There's something for everyone..

If you haven't tried it.. Give it a go..