Steph de Sousa

About

Australian food creator, cookbook author, and television personality known for competing on MasterChef Australia in 2019, for appearing on MasterChef Australia: Back To Win in 2025, and for building a massive online following for her quick and budget-friendly recipes which she shares on Instagram and TikTok with over 1.3 million Instagram followers and over 700,000 TikTok followers.

Before fame

She initially worked as an HR specialist while raising her four children, and cooking was always part of her daily life. She spent two years living in Vanuatu where she worked as a hair stylist and developed a deeper appreciation for simple island-style cooking. She returned to Australia and continued cooking at home while trying to figure out how to turn her cooking passion into a career. Her big break came in 2019 when she joined MasterChef Australia. She didn't win but it gave her visibility and boosted her career so she could pursue being a chef and cook fulltime. She began posting recipes and cooking videos online and quickly amassed a very large following on both Instagram and TikTok. 

Trivia

Her first cookbook Air Fryer Queen was released in April 2024. Her second book Easy Dinner Queen was released in April 2025. She has run a community-based food platform called Easy Recipe Gang. She is also known as "The Air Fryer Queen."

Family life

She was born in Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia, and raised in Queensland, Australia. She is married to Neville de Sousa and is a mother of four children.

Associated with

She appeared on MasterChef Australia: Back To Win in 2025 which featured Andy Allen, Jean-Christophe Novelli, and Poh Ling Yeow as judges.