Five Minutes with Luke Rathbone, Barbell Foods

Who are you?

I’m Luke Rathbone, one of the four founders of Barbell Foods. I have South African heritage but I consider myself Australian.

Tell me about Barbell Foods.

We make healthy meat snacks for busy and active people.

Imagine a steak that’s been seasoned, air-dried and then cut into bite-sized pieces: that’s biltong. We make it as simply as possible without any bullshit. And we source our meat from regenerative farms: it’s all grass-fed with no grain finishing and no feedlots. Just the good stuff.

How did you get involved in the industry?

My younger brother Rory and I were going on these month-long camping trips with our mates Matt Laing and Tom Hutchison. We started making biltong for ourselves because we were sick of eating canned tuna! We started making it in our garage, and then some other mates wanted it too. We never intended to start a business, but as the demand grew, we had to expand organically, so we founded Barbell Foods.

We actually have about 25 staff these days and I really love working with them. And I couldn’t have done it without the other founders.

What is your food philosophy?

I’m not a very good cook but I really care about nutrition and quality ingredients. Less is more: I’ve tried a lot of different diets over the years, but I’ve settled on just eating in moderation. Most of what I eat is just healthy, simple food, but I think it’s okay to eat a piece of cake every now and again!

What cafe do you love in Canberra?

The Cupping Room: I really like their breakfast and coffee. But I like anything that’s not too formal. I like to say you pay for the company, not the meal, so as long as I’m with people I love, then I’m happy!

What’s an underrated venue you like to go to in Canberra?

Look, I’ll be honest, I’m not that much of a foodie, so we don’t go out to eat very often. But we love going for picnics, just getting out in nature.

I think the underrated gems in Canberra are places like Cotter Bend, which is an awesome spot for a picnic. We like to go in the morning, and I’ll try to jump in the cold water before breakfast. I hate being cold but I love that feeling of euphoria afterwards; getting warm and cosy, with both hands wrapped around that cup of coffee. We usually make some fried eggs and toast with butter on the barbecue.

Where do you shop for food?

I like to buy from the local farmers market. That’s how we started selling our biltong – at the markets every week. For eggs, we like Farmer Brown. They farm their eggs in Hall, and I’ve got to know the owner over the years, and I really like what he’s doing. He clearly cares about his animals.

Who do you admire in the Canberra food scene?

I hate wasting food. It stresses me out when I see something going off in the fridge, so I’m a big fan of GoTerra because they’re solving those problems. They’re basically using mealworms to break down food scraps from local businesses like Capital Brewing. Those bugs are then dried and sold as food for animals.

At one point, we actually considered using mealworms to make a product! It never eventuated but I just love what they’re doing.

Where’s the best place for a coffee in Canberra?

I love what Barrio is doing. That little cafe is almost a hole in the wall, but they’ve led with a great product and great service. We try to emulate that in our business.

Who is your dream dinner party guest, and what would you make them?

That’s a tough question, but I’d love to chat with the Buddha. I’m fascinated by exploring consciousness and inner experiences and I think we could smoke a joint and have some pretty great conversations! I couldn’t serve him meat, obviously, so it would probably be tofu and rice with some good veggies.

What’s a food that reminds you of your childhood?

I have to say biltong! I grew up eating biltong. It’s in every corner store in South Africa. Mothers will wean their babies on biltong, it’s so culturally ingrained. It’s almost the national food of South Africa! I have a lot of fond childhood memories of eating biltong and watching rugby.

Where are you travelling next?

I love New Zealand. This is controversial, but it might even be more beautiful than Australia! Because it’s so small you drive for just an hour and arrive somewhere with completely different scenery. This will be my third visit, and there are some epic hikes I’d really like to do there.

Tell me something you love about living in Canberra

Access to the bush is what makes Canberra special. We lived in Melbourne for a year and if I wanted to get outside and in nature, the closest thing was a sports oval. In Canberra, you can go for a trail run and not see anyone, or you can head out to the snow or the beach.

What TV show or movie are you watching right now?

We just had a kid about eight weeks ago, so we’re not watching much of anything right now! But I do try and keep up with global affairs, usually on YouTube.

What’s your local watering hole?

I’m not a big drinker, but Capital Brewing is close to our factory in Hume. It’s a nice laid-back atmosphere, and they have Brodburger right there, too. It’s a nice spot.

Follow Barbell Foods on Instagram.