From her earliest years, when she would bake cakes and biscuits with her grandma, Steph de Sousa loved to cook.
At first, it was old-school meals for her young family: Stews, braises and shepherd’s pie. Two years in Vanuatu working as a hair stylist while raising two young kids taught her to cook seasonally. In 2019, MasterChef Australia offered a pathway to a career in food, and she didn’t turn back.
Today, Steph is known as the ‘Air Fryer Queen’ and boasts more Instagram followers than the Danish royal family — fun fact, Steph’s sister knew Queen Mary back when she was Mary Donaldson. Her first cookbook, Air Fryer Queen, was a bestseller. As she prepares for the release of her follow-up, Steph reflects on the rewards that come from risking it all for a dream.
The Weekly: You’ve said MasterChef was “the first time I completely revealed who I am to someone outside my very close-knit family and friends.” What did you mean by that?
I was 21 when I got married and 22 when I had my first baby. I hadn’t really grown up yet, when I was already a mum. I worked, but I was always in charge of somebody else and had this other hat on: The mum, the homemaker. When I went on MasterChef and I took those layers off, I was able to be just Steph … It was just amazing to be able to discover who I was without all those other labels, and it was fun.
What changed after MasterChef?
I was an HR manager before that, and when I left that job to go into MasterChef, I said to myself, “That’s it! I’m never going back to that.” All I wanted to do was cook all day, every day for the rest of my life. MasterChef helps you open doors. You have to knock on them, and once you’re inside that door, it’s up to you, but it helped me get moving with getting my face out there.
How did you manage leaving a nine-to-five job to pursue your food dreams?
I auditioned for MasterChef three years before I got on, and honestly, I didn’t even expect to get an audition. I made the shortlist and thought, “This could actually happen”. At that stage, I was 44. I was too old to go and do an apprenticeship. I had a mortgage, I had kids … When I got this taste that I might be able to do MasterChef, I treated it like a university degree. I practiced every spare moment I had.
About once a month, my old boss would send me a message and say, “Do you want your old job back?” When I signed my book [for her], I said, “Thank you so much for asking me that because it really confirmed for me what I wanted to do, and it made me stick to that.”
You lost your sister, Therese, to motor neurone disease in 2022. How did saying goodbye to her change your outlook on life?
When I was caring for my sister, we created content together and I spent that time honing my craft … It wasn’t really until after she passed that I really went, “Right, I’m just going to go full throttle into this now.” I just felt I couldn’t afford to waste my time. She’s not here to do what she needs to do. How dare I waste my life and my dreams? I felt like I owed it to her to pursue what it is that I loved. Ever since she has passed, I have felt like I have got a guardian angel on my shoulder because everything I touch seems to just work. Everything seems to have her blessing.
You’ve built a food empire with podcasts, recipe books, your TV show, The Frugal Foodie, and legions of loyal fans. What’s your food philosophy today?
Quick, easy and delicious. I don’t want people just to look at the recipes I make, I want them to actually be able to cook them. I call myself the gateway drug to cooking because I want people to look at what I do and go, “I could actually do that”. Then when they’re successful or they get some positive feedback they’re likely to do it again.
Have your kids inherited your love of food?
All my kids are really good cooks. Noah, who’s 16 – my youngest – he’s an amazing cook. He’s been working in an Italian restaurant since he was 13. My other three kids are also great cooks, and they’re really budget-conscious. They meal plan. They meal prep. It makes me proud that they’re actually going to the supermarket and buying things and cooking from scratch.
How do you feel about having more Instagram followers than Queen Mary?
I did not know that! I have a connection with Queen Mary. I’m a Tasmanian, so Queen Mary went to the same school as my kids. Also, my sister and her husband were friends with Queen Mary and [whispers] one of her boyfriends before she met the King. It’s pretty wild.
You edge her out by about 100,000.
That’s crazy. I am the air fryer queen. Maybe that’s better than being Queen of Denmark.
What has been your most memorable pinch-me moment so far?
When my first book sold out in three weeks. I had always dreamed of writing a cookbook … I was so emotional and so blown away when I saw it for the first time. When it reached number one, it floored me. Now it’s been sent for a reprint four times. It’s just unbelievable.
Your air-fryer steak recipe stirred up a little controversy. Have any other recipes provoked strong reactions?
My orange blender cake. That gets people crazy because apparently, it’s going to be really bitter and awful and what about the seeds? It’s one of my best recipes. I just love it. There are a couple of secrets, though: You have to get a seedless orange, and you have to get a thin-skinned orange.
What’s your best kitchen hack?
You have to have a really good, sharp knife. If you don’t have a really sharp knife, then you’re not going to enjoy cooking because it’s going to be a really big chore.
What do you cook when you want to impress someone?
I love blowing people’s minds with a really authentic curry because they’re not easy. Especially not the curries I cook. My husband [Neville de Sousa] is from Goa, in India, and they have very different curries to what you get here.
What’s your easiest go-to meal?
Pasta. I always have spaghetti bolognaise in the freezer. I make a big batch of sauce and put it in zip-lock bags and lay them flat in the freezer. It’s always enough for one packet of pasta. You just put it together and you’ve got a beautiful meal that everybody likes.
Do you have any unfulfilled food dreams that you want to achieve?
The last thing on my bucket list as far as food was concerned was to have my own TV show, and I’ve just achieved that. I have to now dream bigger. I never imagined I would ever have to dream bigger … How lucky am I to be able to say that?
Easy Dinner Queen by Steph de Sousa is on sale now. Buy it here!
Discover more of Steph’s recipes on Women’s Weekly Food and on her website, Easy Recipe Gang.
This interview originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
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