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Chef cooks up win at largest dog lover fest

ONE of the world’s largest festivals dedicated to educating and entertaining dog lovers, the Sydney Dog Lovers Show will this year feature an exciting new concept in dog food, thanks to Marrickville chef Rob Carrabs.

After experiencing his own dog, Staffy Cuba, suffer with allergies, Rob decided to develop his own range of dog food. As a trained and experienced chef using human grade food, Robbie created Healthy Hound Food (HHF), working alongside nutritionists and K9 professionals.
“I seemed to be at the vets with her every month with skin irritations and throwing up; I did everything the vet suggested but it didn’t help so I thought I would start with her food,” he explained.
“I went to a pet abattoirs and discovered that when they get meat, the animal is already dead from old age, disease or it’s been killed and they spray with a product to preserve it but when I bought some and cooked it, it had a blue tinge and a slimy consistency.
“So I decided to create an alternative for her without any kibble or bought products, just beef and potatoes to start with and then I got more and more creative.
“I never planned turning it into a business but so many people wanted it for their dog, that establishing Healthy Hound Food was a natural step.
“The business has been running for nearly two years and Cuba has been on my diet for five years and almost from the outset, there were no more trips to the vet apart from her annual shots.”
Rob uses fresh, preservative-free human grade ingredients along with Michelin star culinary techniques, to produce nutritional meals for dogs; he even offers a delivery service with branded cooler bags, dropping orders to the door of subscribers.
More info at healthyhoundfood.com.au or dogloversshow.com.au which runs from August 3-4 at Sydney Showground.