For Sydney sisters Sammy and Bella, cooking is a family affair. Their grandmother Ursula was a chef in Poland who cooked for many high-profile politicians including former US president Bill Clinton.

“She worked as a caterer for all the embassies so whenever there was a diplomatic event or a big political function she was part of the catering team,” Sammy says. “She cooked for a lot of influential people, including Bill Clinton, which was the highlight of her career.”

Bella adds: “Cooking is definitely in our blood. It’s been passed on from one generation to the next in our family.”

Not only have the sisters paired up for the competition but they used to work together in fashion; Sammy, 22, as a buyer and Bella, 27, in marketing. But in a strong indicator of their passion they both quit their jobs to take part in My Kitchen Rules.

“We’ve lived together and worked together for nearly five years and we always cook together,” Sammy says. “We do almost everything together.”

Bella adds: “We compliment each other. We give each other feedback and support. We’re not worried about offending each other. That helps us to grow and get better.”

They cook simple and rustic European dishes and think their chicken schnitzel is hard to beat. “We’ve grown up eating it,” Sammy says. “It was the first thing we ate after milk. I like to think I make the best.”

Bella is also well-versed in Asian cooking thanks to her boyfriend Jason’s Chinese- Malaysian mother Kui. “She’s taught me a lot. I have an Asian food fetish. I think I was Asian in a past life. I eat it whenever I can.”

Sammy’s boyfriend Ben meanwhile is a fisherman who’s taught her how to fillet fish.

While cooking may be a breeze for them now – they prepared a sit-down feast for 40 people for their mother Lidia’s 50th birthday last year – this hasn’t always been the case.

They’ve each burnt down their kitchen on separate occasions in their teens. “I left hot oil alone while I was on the phone,” Sammy

remembers. “The fire brigade came. The entire kitchen was black and the range hood was melted to smithereens. I spent two weeks scrubbing the walls with sugar soap. That was my punishment.”

Bella adds, “Mine was a similar situation. It was a pot of oil with chips and the oil caught fire. You have to make mistakes to learn.”

The pair look up to Irish chef Richard Corrigan, whose food philosophy mirrors their own. Sammy says, “He loves good, hearty produce as well as wild food; he loves foraging and hunting.”

Bella adds: ” We’re not squeamish about where food comes from; we eat all cuts of meat and value every part of the animal.”

In the future, the sisters hope to form their own catering company. Sammy says, “We would be happy creating a business for ourselves. Cooking brings us joy. We love cooking for large amounts of people; food brings people together.”