There was a time when people relied on smoke-cured meat and fish to keep them fed during the winter months when food was scare. Now people reach for such products because they enjoy their mild, smoky flavour.

Although the design of the kilns used to smoke food has changed, the remarkable thing about this process is that the technique remains much as it has been for centuries. There are two ways to smoke food - hot smoking and cold smoking. Hot smoking is the shorter process and cooks the food right through, whereas the cold smoking method, which can sometimes take as long as a week with a large joint of meat, means the food generally remains uncooked as the smoke slowly penetrates the meat without heat. Cold-smoked foods are usually salted or soaked in brine before being smoked to ensure that the meat stays bacteria free.

Five years ago, Chris Mills ran the shoots at the 2,000-acre Little Barrington estate, near Burford, and became dismayed at how much game was wasted during the shooting season. Now this enterprising gentleman has generated an expanding market for the game by converting an empty farm building into a smokery that trades under the name Upton Smokery.

Initially, he set up in a small way by selling plucked game birds to local butchers and a few pubs - now his smoked game has become a highly sought-after product and is served in several of Oxford's top restaurants, including Quod, Gee's and The Old Parsonage.

He admits he knew nothing about the smoking process when he began. Indeed, those early days were difficult. He learned by trial and error, using a small shed in the garden and an outdoor smoking facility.

"Every book I read told me something different, but in the end you discover your own way of doing it. Even instructions for making brine differed greatly, so I tried them all, eventually finding one that suited my process perfectly," said Chris.

What began as a way of using the game shot on the estate has now expanded to include chicken, quail, pigeon, mallard, Barbary duck, beef and even venison.

"Including venison became an obvious way to go as I also managed the deer on the estate. Thanks to Dean Harry, who is not just a highly skilled gamekeeper but someone who is qualified to process the meat completely, I now smoke haunches of deer on the bone, also muntjac. I do smoked venison sausages, too, which are delicous hot or cold."

In fact, Chris's smoked venison has proved so good, he now smokes deer from other estates in the area.

As he gained confidence and mastered the two smoking techniques, Chris was surprised at the number of different food products could be smoked successfully.

Things don't always go according to plan, however, Chris recalls the time a hotelier requested some smoked potatoes. "That proved an interesting challenge, but I managed it. They came out very well actually. The only problem was that the master chef who cooked them for the hotel peeled them all first and so removed that essentail smoky fragrance that had built up on the skins. The hotelier and I laughed about that."

Chris also discovered that large orders can prove difficult if they come packed wrongly. He was once asked if he could smoke 1,000 quail breasts which were delivered to him in small packs surounded by plastic.

"It was fine at first. But there came a moment when opening packs of those tiny breasts, which are so small they fit into the palm of your hand, was no joke. I still handle that order now and again, but it's been agreed that they come packed in much larger containers."

Things are now going so well that Chris finally had to accept that there weren't enough hours in the day to do eveything himself. He hasn't even managed to put a sign over the door of his smokery. There was so much more that could be done to market his products, if time permitted, which is where Dan Howard comes into the story. Dan, who has a well-proven track record in the catering industry and knows the Cotswolds well, has recently become a director. He's now tackling the tasks that Chris has no time do, such as establishing a website (www.uptonsmokery.co.uk) and acting as general contact for sales.

Dan is particularly excited about their products and believes they are launching the Upton Smokery at just the right time, because people are aware of the need to eat locally produced food. "They ask for traceability too. As we can actually trace our venison right back to the very field in which it was shot, I don't think you can ask for more than that.

"Then there's the growing awareness that game is a healthy option. Venison and game birds provide us all with a chance of enjoying low cholesterol, free-range meat that's not pumped full of chemicals. Besides which smoked meat tastes wonderful," he added confidently.

Quite deliberately, Upton Smokery products are not wrapped in fancy packaging, as Chris and Dan want their product be as environmentally friendly as possible. Besides, they believe their products speak for themselves. That said, all products are vacuum-sealed and delivered in a sealed box containing ice strips to preserve freshness.

On Saturday, December 8, Upton Smokery will be open to the public from 10am to 3pm so that those who have never visited a smokery can see for themselves what a fascinating process it is. Dan is confident he will not only have fixed a sign over the smokery door by then, but will probably have placed one near the gate leading to the smokery, too. As the smokery is just off the busy A40, close to the Oxfordshire-Gloucestershire border, it's not easy to spot at the moment. If you travel this road, look out for the Upton Smokery sign which should be up any day now.