MY PASSION - Sophie Hansen - cooking

A food writer, Sophie spent three years in Italy working with the slow food movement’s Slow magazine and has since contributed to many Australian cooking magazines.

Sophie now lives on a venison farm with her husband and daughter (with one more on the way), and is a passionate supporter of local producers and seasonal produce.

“Living in Orange has really fuelled my passion for cooking because we have such lovely seasonal food to cook with,” she says.

Sophie first became attracted to cooking because of her work as a food journalist interviewing chefs and cooks.

“The more I’d be interviewing these people, the more I wanted to try out the recipes that they were talking about,” she said.

Sophie went to live in northern Italy for a few years, and fell in love with the country’s rich food culture.

“I loved the big yet simple way the Italians would cook their food,” she said.

Sophie is now a food columnist for Country Cooking, a BBC Australia food magazine, and says living on the Mandagery Creek Venison Farm has influenced her cooking.

“I really want to encourage people to cook with things they normally wouldn’t, like venison, which is easy to cook with and really good for you,” she said.

Cooking to feed her family is Sophie’s main passion.

“I’m not a professional cook, and I’m not into the whole competitiveness of cooking, that’s not why I love it,” she says.

“For me, it’s about feeding the people that I love with tasty and healthy food.

“Right now, I’m developing my own style of cooking with good, seasonal produce.

“I’m also telling people about my venison recipes, which is strange because I’m used to being the one doing the interviewing.”

Sophie’s plans for the future include a new baby and to continue cooking for her family.

“I want to become more creative in my cooking, and maybe have a collection of recipes on hand for feeding my fussy toddler,” she said.

“I just want to keep cooking to keep my family happy and healthy.”