State: 45

Age: NSW

Occupation: HR Specialist

For mother of four Steph De Sousa, there is nothing like cooking beautiful, wholesome and flavoursome food for those she loves. And it’s this passion she hopes to turn into her food dream, creating a place just like “going to Mum’s for dinner” while also hosting cooking classes and demonstrations.

Born in Wynyard in north-west Tasmania as the baby of four girls, it wasn’t long before Steph’s family were on the road to Queensland for her father’s work as a racing horse trainer.

Following high school, a place where Steph admits she went to “eat lunch”, she worked as a hairdresser while pregnant with her children Darby and Tannah, before the young family were on the move to Vanuatu.

They lived on an island resort while Steph worked as a hair and make-up artist for weddings, but it was the French speaking island which proved inspiration in the kitchen, teaching her about buying and using fresh ingredients from the local markets. She developed a true love for ‘scratch cooking’ there, as they ate organic before it was trendy.

When she returned to Queensland she welcomed her third child Malli, and later welcomed son Noah, now 10, with husband Neville. Steph hopes her ability with both sweet and savoury cooking will give her the edge in the competition, preferring to cook with fresh herbs and admitting she goes by her gut when cooking and hates measuring out ingredients.

Inspired by Maggie Beer, Rick Stein and Sri Lankan Peter Kuruvita, Steph also holds a special place for Stephanie Alexander, her own maiden name. When she’s not cooking she practices daily yoga and lives by the mantra she once heard from swimming great Kieran Perkins - find what you love, and do it eight hours a day.