Luke & Samuel Bourke
Chef de partie at Rockpool Bar & Grill (Luke), and junior sous-chef at Rosetta (Samuel), both Sydney
Luke and Samuel Bourke are fascinated by native Australian ingredients. The twin brothers (25), who made their way to Rockpool Bar & Grill via the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, developed their interest after Luke’s 2016 stint at
Noma Australia, in Sydney.
“It was definitely the first experience where I was really taught to understand native ingredients in Australia and it really opened up the conversation for me and Samuel,” says Luke.
Since then, the pair has endeavoured to explore Australia’s vast array of Indigenous ingredients, using them in place of regular produce wherever possible. “We’re always trying to get our hands on new and native produce,” says Samuel. “Indigenous ingredients aren’t really used enough in everyday cooking. They need to be brought into the limelight and understood a bit more.”
The boys, who grew up in Sydney’s western suburbs and have ties to Palawa country (Tasmania), were always encouraged to experiment in the kitchen. “Our sister is a chef and both our grandmas were big home cooks, so we were always helping out, whether it was chopping herbs or plucking a chook,” says Luke.
Each completed their apprenticeship at Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney, with Luke staying on as chef de partie and Samuel taking a full-time position as junior sous-chef at Rosetta, also part of the Rockpool group.
Using techniques developed in the Rockpool kitchen, Luke and Samuel have combined their talents to create two inherently Australian dishes for this issue. “We tried to incorporate skills we learnt at Rockpool,” says Samuel. “For example, using one ingredient to showcase lots of different elements and flavours.”
Luke and Samuel hope to run their own kitchen some day, where Indigenous ingredients are front and centre. “Food talks in different ways,” says Samuel. “I think using native ingredients is great way of breaking down barriers, connecting with people and reconnecting with the past.”