Orange's Sophie Hansen reaches out online to share her love of food

After a warm welcome, I sit down to a cuppa at the kitchen counter while she continues to effortlessly move from bench to stove, like a dancer who knows a routine off by heart, comfortably poaching quinces as we talk.

Sophie’s passion for cooking and produce is obvious right from the start, but her ease and friendliness is just as good a tonic as her delicious food.

The Orange farmer and mum is dedicated to sharing her love of the country and cooking with others, and it is this passion that saw her chosen as the winner of the 2016 NSW-ACT RIRDC Rural Women’s Award.

Sophie was announced as the winner in March from a group of four finalists, including Fiona Mead from Narrabri, Aimee Snowden from Tocumwal and Hannah Wandel from Kingston, ACT.

“They are all such impressive women. They are so different and so worthy,” Sophie said.

Sophie said she first entered the awards to help hone her skills.

“I wanted to learn to get better at public speaking,” she said. “It was a great chance to meet other women, to gain new skills and to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone a little bit.”

Sophie was the winner of a $10,000 bursary, which will contribute towards her special project, My Open Kitchen, an online e-course aimed at helping primary producers to share their stories online and improve promotion.

“It is also about helping people to network with peers and finding support,” she said.

“It is about growing their business, but also growing their support network.”

Sophie said the course, which will run for about six weeks, helps primary producers to share photos and stories online through social media and using apps.

“If you have a smart phone in your pocket, you have all the tools you need,” she said.

“It’s about supporting each other and collaborating.

“I want people to have fun with  it. I want it to be a positive experience.

“I think farmers need to get on board more. It is about finding a network of people who have the same ideas and beliefs.”

My Open Kitchen’s website will launch this week, where people can visit www.my-open-kitchen.com to hear news and keep up-to-date on the course.

But Sophie hopes that the course will be up and running by October this year.

Sophie already has plenty of experience reaching out to producers and food lovers online.

Sophie began her blog Local is Lovely about four years ago, which is brimming with glorious images of grazing deer and mouthwatering cooking.

The aim of her blog was to promote regional food and farming, sharing experiences and news, recipes, photos and stories of local producers.

“The blog has been fantastic. I have really got a lot out it,” she said.

It is through her blog where Sophie’s passion for cooking shines through, enticing the most hesitant chef to take up their mixing bowl.

“I have always loved cooking,” she said.

“My mum is a great cook. We grew up eating really good food.”

Sophie said she likes her food to be really simple.

“I just want it to be seasonal and tasty,” she said.

Sophie said she wants to inspire people to enjoy cooking.

“I think people have stopped entertaining,” she said. “I want people to realise on a weeknight, they can just have their mates over for a bowl of pasta.

“Food can be simple, it doesn’t have to be fancy.

“You are best not to get stressed about cooking. Just enjoy it. Cooking should be a pleasurable experience.”

Sophie said she is inspired by cooks like Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander.

“They put love into their food,” she said.

Sophie even published a book two years ago called Local is Lovely to share her recipes and stories.

“It is a celebration of fresh seasonal produce and the people behind it,” she said.

But sharing this love of food has gone way beyond this.

Sophie now hosts events at the farm kitchen, including dinners, farm tours and workshops, which are held at Rydal.

During Orange’s F.O.O.D Week, Sophie and Tim hosted a Pop Up In The Paddock lunch on their farm, with Sydney chef Daniel Backhouse preparing the delicious food.

Sophie said she loves serving their own produce at these events.

‘We take such great pride in serving our own meat,” she said.

Sophie and her husband Tim, and their children Alice, 8, and Tom, 6, grow deer on their 445-hectare farm near Orange, as well as leasing another 161ha nearby.

They began growing red deer about 14 years ago, buying the deer from a number of places in Victoria and NSW.

Sophie said Tim studied ag-commerce at university and has always had a great eye for business.

“And Tim always wanted to be on the property,” she said.

Now their paddocks are dotted with about 1200 happily grazing deer, which are sold under the family’s Mandagery Creek Venison brand.

Their deer are exported to the Middle East, the US and Asia, as well as restaurants in Australia.

Sophie said not only do they focus on producing a high quality venison product, they also like to ensure that the animal is treated with respect.

She said the other products from the deer, including the antlers and the leather, are turned into beautiful products by 1803.

“Nothing gets wasted,” Sophie said. “We honour the animal by using every part of it.”

Sophie will now go up against the winners from other states at the National RIRDC Rural Women’s Award on August 24 at Parliament House, Canberra.

She said she is looking forward to meeting rural women from across Australia and hearing their stories.

“It has been a great journey,” she said.