Luke Mangan calls on young Australians to embrace hospitality's diverse career paths
Celebrated Australian chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan is championing the hospitality industry as a viable and rewarding career destination for young people, after visiting Murray High School on Tuesday, March 17 to speak with hospitality students from across the Border region.
Mangan, who left school at 15 before forging one of Australia's most distinguished culinary careers, said he was deeply concerned by a growing disengagement from formal hospitality training. "I believe for the first time in 30 years there's been no uptake in hospitality classes at some TAFEs this year, which is really scary," he told The Border Mail. "For kids interested and wanting to learn about food, we just need to steer them down that path and show them the many avenues to take in hospitality."
The Melbourne-raised chef began his career with a cooking apprenticeship, acknowledging that the early years were far from glamorous. "Because you're peeling potatoes, washing pots and pans, cleaning the floor, taking the garbage out, all that sort of thing," Mangan said. "So, I learned to love it and grow with it; and no matter what you do, you've got to learn to work with the ingredients you've got."
From those humble beginnings, Mangan went on to secure a position under Michel Roux at the three-Michelin-star Waterside Inn in London, before relocating to Sydney in the mid-1990s to open John Hemmes' CBD restaurant at just 24 years of age.
The visit formed part of Mangan's Inspired program, a nationwide initiative he launched in 2015 to educate and motivate the next generation of food and hospitality professionals.
Running approximately four times per year, the program brings high school students face-to-face with leading chefs, restaurateurs, and front-of-house operators through question and answer-style sessions. The Murray High School event marked the program's first regional outing.
Among those interviewed by Mangan was acclaimed chef Mark Best — himself a relative latecomer to the kitchen, having entered the industry at 25 after working as an electrician in Western Australian goldmines and aboard a Sydney-based submarine. A chance share-house arrangement with a head chef led to a single shift that changed everything. "I worked a shift and I found that I actually had a talent for cooking," Best recalled. "It struck me as an epiphany that I actually loved it, and I knew in only one shift!" Mangan also interviewed pastry chef Lauren Eldridge, restaurant manager Kate Tomasella, and chef and master butcher Darren O'Rourke.
Murray High School hospitality students Ciena Taylor, 17, Luca Milone-Woodley, 16, Alyse Collins, 16, and Susila Monger, 17, participated across both days of the Inspired forum. The program included a hands-on food preparation and service component at Albury restaurant Din Dins on Monday, March 16. Year 11 student Luca said the experience had put hospitality firmly on his radar. "I like being able to cook and seeing the reaction of people enjoying your food," he said. "It's pretty rewarding."
The two-day program also shone a light on the region's produce, with participants working alongside local makers including Murray River Smokehouse and Corowa Distillery Co. The forum was recorded by Murray High School students and will be made available on YouTube.
Jonathan Jackson, 19th March 2026
