Passion for food runs in the family for Rockpool chef Luke Bourke.
His older sister and twin brother are also both chefs and his grandmother always got him involved in the cooking at home.
Mr Bourke and his twin brother Sam first put their love of food to work when they were teens, jumping into the kitchen with their big sister at a local bistro.
"We've been in the kitchen ever since, bouncing off each other and working together as a team just comes natural," he told AAP.
The twins are graduates of the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, whose programs recognise the specific challenges young Indigenous chefs may face coming into an industry that's tough for many.
"We've had students that have come straight out of alcohol or drug rehab, people who've been living in halfway houses, or not have living situations at all," the institute's chief executive and Yuin man Nathan Lovett said.
"A lot of effort goes into some of our students to change their lives and staying with them."
Mr Bourke said it would have been a lot more difficult to make it through his own apprenticeship without its support. He has worked his way up to senior sous chef after starting at the upmarket Sydney bar and grill 11 years ago.
"To be able to pass any knowledge onto the next generation, it's very humbling and you want to try to lead them in the right direction," the Palawa man said.
The number of Indigenous apprentice chefs in Australia has reached a record 250 and the institute has 40 apprentices on its books. Mr Lovett says it's valuable for them to see a road to success.
"It's phenomenal to be able to have a senior leader (Mr Bourke) in a kitchen that they can look up to and know this is an Aboriginal person who has a similar background to me and understands me and where I come from," he said.
The non-profit institute has helped more than 200 people complete their apprenticeships, with a lot of support from benefactors such as Mt Yengo Wines which donates a portion of every bottle sold.
