Father son team Lewis and Samson Hartland became the first Yukoners to enter CBC television's Dragons' Den and walk away with a deal, thanks to Brett Wilson's offer of four instalments of $5,000 to help them buy new smokers for their Yukon Smoked Salmon business.

The deal was reached months ago when the show was taped in Toronto.

Exactly what happened was only revealed last night, when the episode aired and the duo could finally break the silence they had been sworn to since the taping.

To celebrate, more than 20 friends and family members turned up for a screening party at the MacPherson subdivision home of Samson, fiancée Lindsay Heynen and their two kids, Cadence, three, and Sabrina, one.

"That was the hardest part,” Lewis said of keeping things secret.

He pointed out that in such a small city, it was easy to constantly be running into acquaintances, family and friends who always wanted to know if they walked away with anything from the Dragons.

Lewis' sign language was translated by Samson.

Samson and Lewis were one of two Yukon business ventures to be selected to take their pitch to the Dragons in Toronto earlier this year when producers from the show visited Whitehorse for tryouts.

Elvis Presley of Ross River was featured in last week's episode, but he didn't get a deal.

In the Hartlands' case, the two men went into the initial audition held at the Gold Rush Inn unsure that they'd even get a callback.

And when they did, "We said, ‘let's take this all the way,'” Lewis commented.

With just four weeks to prepare to meet the Dragons, they did their best to come up with a pitch that would not only get them a deal, but also promote the salmon and the Yukon.

As prepared as they were, the pitch was not without its challenges, not the least of which was Lewis waking up ill with the flu that morning.

Still, after much questioning by Samson about whether Lewis could remember the pitch or was OK to venture in, the pair went into the den and made their presentation.

"You can't afford to lose the opportunity,” Lewis said as he recalled just waiting to get outside the building so he could cough.

It was certainly not an opportunity to be missed, in the end.

As the Dragons nibbled on samples of the smoked salmon, Samson and Lewis filled them in on the history of the product.

Now operating out of his property in Tagish, Lewis has been smoking salmon for 30 years, the last four spent perfecting his recipe. It's become so popular, he began selling it,

though on a small basis.

"Really, we're a start-up company,” Samson, who focuses on the business side of Yukon Smoked Salmon, told the Dragons. "The volume has been less than 2,000 lbs. in the last year.”

The money they were seeking – $20,000 for 15 per cent of the company – would go to industrial-size smokers that would give them the ability to produce 600 lbs. of smoked salmon in a 24-hour period. The smokers cost about $50,000 each.

A potential agreement is in the works to distribute the salmon – which retails for $29.95 per lbs. compared to the $11.80 cost to produce – in Europe.

While the Hartlands told the Dragons they have the beginnings of a business plan, what they said they needed is one or more of the Dragons to help them get to the next stage of business.

Each of the Dragons was quick to praise the taste of the salmon. At one point, Arlene Dickinson asked how to say "excellent” in sign language to show what she thought. Still, Wilson was the lone Dragon to offer cash.

After the others turned it down, some stating that while they like the product they don't have anything to offer in the start-up, Wilson offered the money in stages.

"I'm one of the largest shareholders of land and several restaurants and hotels in Whitehorse. I love the village. I love the area,” he told Lewis and Samson.

"What I'll do, I'll give you the $20,000 in $5,000 increments as you finish the business plan first and develop a process and program for getting this turned into a business.

"The loan will be convertible; instead of 15 per cent, I want 20 per cent; if it turns into a business, I'll convert the loan. If it doesn't convert into a business, I'll take the loss.”

As he spoke and Samson translated into sign language, Lewis could be seen nodding, a slow grin emerging on his face.

"Right on, Brett,” Samson said as the two men approached Brett and shook hands.

As the pair left the building, Dickinson commented to her co-Dragons: "You know what, that's some of the best smoked salmon I've ever eaten in my life.”

Inside Samson's home though, the more audible sound was the cheers erupting from family and friends who had gathered in the living room after wading through seven other pitches made on the show.

They ranged from a filtered water project that Dragon Jim Treliving bought into (the only other product on last night's show to get a deal) to a Panty By Post service, among others.

The local viewers gathered in the living and dining rooms got some entertainment value out of the pitches like an automatic, hands-free fishing rod. However, it was clear just who they were waiting for as guests mingled in quiet conversation or tasted the spread of appetizers laid out on the dining room table featuring, of course, Yukon Smoked

Salmon.

Those at the Hartland/Heynen household last night would no doubt quickly argue that Dragons' Den saved the best for last, with the Hartlands being the final appearance on the show.

And though the secret on the deal is now out, Samson and Lewis continue to be bound by confidentiality agreements on the editing of the show and such, though Lewis said what viewers saw last night was a fair representation of what happened in the Den.

Along with the equipment, Samson said Yukon Smoked Salmon will also be looking for a new site for processing that meets all the Canadian Food Inspection Agency criteria to sell outside the Yukon and is in talks with a development corporation on that.

Just where that facility might be is still unknown. While the Hartlands want to keep it in the territory in the interest of the local economy, they haven't ruled out possibilities in northern British Columbia or Alaska.

This morning, an obviously pleased Samson said as soon as the credits rolled on Dragons' Den, more orders for the smoked salmon were coming in, some in e-mail form.

Though Samson will be kept busy with the business side of Yukon Smoked Salmon, he said he has no plans to leave his job as executive assistant at the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.

"I like (president) Rick Karp too much,” he said with a laugh as his boss stood nearby.

For Lewis though, what he referred to on Dragons' Den as his "passion” is more of a full-time gig, after going into what he calls "semi-retirement”.

Information about the company is available at www.yukonsmokedsalmon.ca.