I’m Karen McFarlane and my Food Love has been with me for as long as I can remember. I grew up on a farm in Victoria where my next door neighbour was a ten minute bike ride away. It was a very serene place to grow up, and I know how fortunate I was to have such a childhood where we grew our vegetables, milked our cows, collected fresh eggs and picked fruit to bake in pies on the weekend. My Mum is an amazing baker and I have the fondest memories of helping her to bake our family favourites most Sunday afternoons, just as the sun started dipping below the front veranda. The kitchen was where I loved to be, and it still is.
In 2014, after working for several years in the media industry, I left my job to raise my three young children and open the door to my foodie future. I now work as a full time professional cook, recipe developer, food stylist and photographer. I love helping companies promote their brand by providing them with original recipes to highlight their products and professional images to use across their media platforms. I also regularly host live cooking demonstrations and produce recipe books and videos for my clients.
I have written hundreds of recipes over the years, and I’m an ongoing contributor to several health and fitness programs, including Centr by Chris Hemsworth, Tiff XO by Tiffany Hall and Emily Skye Fit. I have also had recipes and photographs published in food magazines and been featured at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Recently, after being a fan of the show since the beginning, I was asked to join the food team at MasterChef Australia.
In my down time, I love reading cookbooks, eating out at restaurants and travelling to anywhere warm with my little family. I also go on an annual foodie trip with a friend, where we visit a city for a long weekend and just eat at all the restaurants on our list, visit markets and do everything foodie. It’s the best fun ever.