Markets home to some great new-generation foodies

It seems a few switched on folk in the Canberra region are really showing their culinary skills and making a very good go of three new excellent food and beverage businesses. These next generation foodies are proving what they can do by creating handcrafted small batch spirits, delicious biltong and cold brew coffee, which they’re selling at the markets each week.

Tim Reardon, an economist by trade, set up a small batch distillery, The Canberra Distillery, in Kaleen where he began making vodka and gin and now creates a range of seasonal gins using native botanicals, as well as liqueurs and schnapps. You simply must try his ‘Canberra Fog’ – the recipe for which came from a Yugoslav family who came to Australia after the Second World War to build the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Power Scheme. Tim says he takes the base of a Murrumbateman shiraz and blends it with other herbs and botanicals, finishing it off with a burnt toffee flavour. Delish!

The boys from Barbell Biltong are still going strong at the markets with their traditional South African biltong. Biltong is grass fed beef which is marinated in vinegar, spiced, hung to air dry, then cut into strips, and brothers Rory and Luke Rathbone make their biltong from their Canberra-based commercial kitchen in Lyneham. Barbell Biltong is enjoyed as a tasty, low carb, protein-rich food – and is a great inclusion in a paleo/protein/real food diet. There are two very tasty varieties available – the original ‘Benchmark’ and ‘The Burn’ which, as the name suggests, is loaded with chilli.

Innovation is high on Fiona Chong’s list with her cold brew coffee from We Cold Brew Coffee. Bespoke equipment allows Fiona to triple filter each brew, and then it’s infused with premium natural ingredients to create amazing coffee flavour profiles that will have you wanting more.  Fiona sells two brews –  the ‘Daft Cow Original’ with no infusion, and the ‘Daft Cow Signature’ blend which is infused with toasted coconut. To serve you can just add ice or Fiona’s personal recommendation – almond milk. You can also heat it up on a conventional stovetop or microwave for a hot treat. All brews have no preservatives, added sugar or dilutants.

Come in and meet these innovative new generation foodies at the market each Sunday.