Sophie Morris has commanded the attention of almost 650,000 people on social media with her conscious food choices.
The nutritionist trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School many moons ago and built a career centred around food. Just two years ago, Sophie took a leap of faith into the realm of social media, and by God, has it paid off.
Innocently, Sophie ventured into a supermarket and made a video about food labels, and it went viral. Now, she’s a No.1 bestselling author, whose second book, Sophie’s Swaps: Homemade Wins, is set to hit shelves.
Sophie Morris. Pic: Provided
Speaking to EVOKE, Sophie said: ‘Fundamentally, where I come from is that I’m a fully trained cook. I had a cookbook like 12 years ago, before anyone knew me.
‘That’s a really huge part of who I am, so I wanted to start making more content showing that side of me. I love making homemade versions of things that people might typically buy, convenient food.
‘They may not even think of making it at home, and I show that you can actually do it for a lot cheaper, a lot healthier, while not sacrificing the taste. It can still taste amazing.
‘The very first one I did was homemade protein bars. I didn’t know how my recipe content would do because everyone obviously loves my supermarket videos, but it did so, so well.’
Sophie Morris. Pic: Sophie Morris/Instagram
‘Even to this day, I’ve shared it a few times, and so many people have tried it, and they absolutely love it. It’s in my new book, and it’s a great one because it takes about ten minutes to make and it’s no-bake,’ Sophie explained.
‘I actually did the calculation on it. My recipe costs 46c per bar, around the same size as a typical ultra-processed protein bar, which is €3.30 in the shop. It’s like 1/7 of the price, but you’re also getting a lot of other nutrients.
I was particularly intrigued by Sophie’s homemade pot noodle recipe. ‘I love that you’ve called that one out,’ she told me. ‘I really tried to think of things that people struggle with, and I think lunches are a big one.
‘Particularly if you’re working from home, you’re busy, and it’s hard to stop at lunchtime to eat something that’s going to fuel and support you for the rest of the afternoon.’
Sophie Morris. Pic: Provided
‘That’s when a lot of people end up grabbing convenience food or spending a lot of money buying sandwiches and stuff. They’re very ultra-processed, and you don’t get much good nutrition in them at all,’ Sophie explained.
‘Cost of food is something I kept in mind when writing this book, because it’s something people say to me, “Oh, it costs more money to eat well”. I really wanted to challenge that and say, if you do things in certain ways, you can eat really well and save money.’
Sophie’s Swaps: Homemade Wins boasts over 70 recipes, which have been tried and tested numerous times. But has she ever tried to recreate something at home that just hasn’t worked out?
‘Oh, definitely,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve tried loads of times with things that just don’t turn out nice enough. They don’t taste as good, or the texture’s wrong.
‘I’ve tried a lot with ice creams, and it’s like, “Oh, it’s just not hit the mark”.’
Sophie Morris. Pic: Sophie Morris/Instagram
Sophie is very much bona fide in the food industry. Speaking about her background, she said: ‘I started at Ballymaloe Cookery School in my early 20s. It was my experience there that just set off my career in food, really.
‘It’s such a special place. It’s such a special experience. You obviously learn cooking skills, but you’re training to become a chef, and it’s so much more than that.
‘It’s pretty much self-sufficient down there. Everything we were cooking with was in season; we’d have to go pick the vegetables in the garden, and we learned how to joint our own chickens and fillet fish. Everything was very sustainable.
‘It gives you a realisation and appreciation of where our food comes from, how ingredients are grown, the quality of ingredients, and I just got it in my bones.’
Sophie Morris. Pic: Provided
‘That’s where my interest in food really kicked off,’ Sophie recalled. ‘From that, I set up my own food business.
‘But I guess what I’ve been doing the last two years with my food label and supermarket content, all that information is really garnered in the food industry because I was so immersed in it.
‘I’ve loved writing this book because it’s brought me back to where I started, which is really my love of cooking and love of food. It’s centred around, “Ok, I’ve been to the supermarket, and I’ve bought my ingredients. Now that I’m home, how can I actually cook in a way that’s not going to take too much time because I’m very busy.”
Social media has been integral in the exponential growth of Sophie’s career. She’s only been doing this for two years, but after her first video went viral, the only way was up. She even recalled that at one point her follower count was growing by 5,000 a day.
Sophie Morris. Pic: Provided
Sophie gushed over her followers and shared that she oftentimes receives messages about how her tips and tricks are time- and life-saving.
But with all of that traction comes being thrust into the spotlight, and I was curious to know whether she’s attracted any negative attention from brands.
‘Funnily enough, people have asked me that a few times before. I’ve never had a big brand whose product I’ve called out. They’ve never contacted me. Isn’t that mad?
‘You’d think they would, but I’m actually very careful with my language, you know. I’m reading ingredients; I’m literally reading what’s on a label.’
Sophie Morris. Pic: Sophie Morris/Instagram
‘I’m very careful with my language, and everything I’m saying is factually correct. I don’t think they have a leg to stand on, really,’ Sophie said.
‘I’d never call out small brands. I’d call out big brands, whose motivation is purely profit-driven. I would call out labels because there are a lot of misleading health claims on packaging, and they’re trying to convince us that their products are healthier than they really are.
‘The food industry has really latched onto the protein fad. They slap “protein” on the packaging, and they are high in protein, but what other nutrients are in there?
‘And the main problem I have is that they use that word “protein” to hike up the price. They take advantage of people who feel like they need more protein by charging a premium on something that shouldn’t be that price.’
Sophie Morris. Pic: Sophie Morris/Instagram
So, Sophie has really established herself as an entrepreneur, chef, author, social media personality, but what else is on her professional bucket list?
‘Oh my God, that’s such a good question. I’ve done books, obviously; I’d love to do more books. I’ve been toying around with the idea of doing a podcast, because I’m obsessed with listening to podcasts.
‘I’m such a nerd for listening to ones that I find really interesting, particularly around food and the food industry. It’s been something I’ve toyed around with, but not anytime soon, because I know it’s such a big time commitment.
‘That’s something I’d love to maybe do in the future.’