Young cook, Geraldton teenager Luke Harris, loves creating in the kitchen and teaching others his tips, tricks

While most parents struggle to get their children to make their own lunch, cook a few noodles and tidy up after themselves in the kitchen, Luke Harris’ folks have the opposite problem — keeping him away from the stove and chef knives.

Luke, or ChefSquid as he is known in Instagram foody circles, is obsessed with cooking and it shows in his results.

Whether it’s a perfectly cooked steak, mince pies or a pav, Luke cooks it superbly and he makes a point of showing others how to do it too.

His Instagram channel, ChefSquid, has been pulling in viewers for nearly a year and its popularity is growing, both in WA and futher afield.

The 16-year-old has been cooking since he could walk, first starting by helping his mum bake scones and other sweet treats and later when he got his first pasta maker venturing into more complicated dishes and meals.

He has recently taken on the croquembouche, the classic French desert made up of dozens of handmade profiteroles filled with custard and “glued” together with spun sugar.

Luke does not shy away from fancy dishes and loves impressing his friends and family.

“I love dishes with the wow factor, macarons have been my favourites so far, it took me ages to get them right but when I did, I just loved the look on people’s faces when they ate them,” he said.

Luke enjoys passing on his culinary knowledge and was happy to share some tips and tricks he finds make the Christmas dinner that much more special.

“Always have one dish with a wow factor, people will forget bad dishes if you have that one stunning one in the middle,” he said.

“Get ready as far in advance as you can, even a few days ahead for some prep. Duck fat — use it to make your roast potatoes, the true star of the lunch. If you can’t find any, go for sweet potatoes, they make a great sweeter alternative to the classics.”

Luke, who is also head boy at Geraldton Christian College, views cooking as deeply spiritual and uses it as an opportunity to honour God and his creation.

“Food and eating should be a special experience and I want to honour the ingredients and the skills I have been given by God. We have taste buds for a reason, and I love making people’s come alive,” he said.

Luke has ambitions for a law career and cooks purely for the love of the craft. He is also branching out into ChefSquid merchandise.

After having a logo designed by his friend and Geraldton Christian College head girl Chanelle Wennekes, which has been embroidered onto classic aprons, Luke plans to extend the range to hats and other clothing in the future.