How Sophie Gray put food on the table while getting out of debt

Sophie Gray’s Journey: Cooking on a Budget and Overcoming Debt

When finances were tight, Sophie Gray reinvented herself as a champion for gourmet cooking on a budget. She shares her story with Emma Clifton about overcoming debt and putting food on the table.

The Birth of Destitute Gourmet

The story of Destitute Gourmet fits perfectly into the challenges of 2020, making it fitting that Sophie Gray is releasing a new cookbook this January. “It seems like a grand design that this book is coming out after what will have been one of the toughest Christmases for many households,” she says.

At 54, Sophie is comfortable being a poster child for navigating through tough financial times. “It’s my journey,” she laughs. “I am New Zealand’s example of trying to navigate through tough financial times. I just feel…” she pauses. “Whenever I feel like I’ve got myself into a reasonable position financially, the rug gets pulled out from under my feet and I’m like, ‘Oh. Here I am again.'”

Sophie’s Financial Journey

Sophie’s financial backstory is familiar to many New Zealand households. At 19, she found herself in what she calls “stupid debt.” Working in the financial sector, she maintained a “glittery image” of fancy clothes and socializing. When the stock market crashed, she was left unemployed with significant credit card debt.

“I ended up in a dire financial hole and had an epiphany about debt and what it does to you. It affects your dignity, causes stress, and is isolating,” she says. When she got a job, she made a concerted effort to get out of debt quickly and promised never to get into debt again.

Building a Family and a Business

Sophie met her husband Richard, and they bought a house and had two children, Belle and Jack. When they decided to launch their own business, Sophie stuck to her rule of not borrowing for a start-up loan. “The week we launched the business, we went from having a normal ‘North Shore’ income to being a low-income household in a decile 10 neighbourhood. We dropped overnight to a $20,000 income,” she says. “We had the most embarrassing car in the kindy carpark because we didn’t have the flash company car anymore.”

Cooking on a Budget

The grocery budget was one area Sophie found they could cut back. With her restaurant background, she knew how to make a little go a long way. “There was a spell where I was feeding our family—and entertaining—on a grocery budget of $50 a week,” she recalls. “It was pretty lean, but we were probably eating the healthiest we’ve ever eaten.”

A friend asked how the family was coping, and Sophie shared her cooking strategy, joking about being a “destitute gourmet.” That friend told another, who asked Sophie to share her tips. Suddenly, she was teaching groups of 25, then 50, then 100 adults. A nationwide tour followed.

Success and Setbacks

Destitute Gourmet found its place in the New Zealand food scene as fashionable food that didn’t cost a fortune. Sophie became the editor of Food magazine and food director for Bauer Media. However, in April 2020, Food magazine shut down, and Sophie found herself unemployed.

“I got off the phone, spent nine minutes processing, and then started messaging people and planning,” Sophie says. “I rolled into this other mode of working like a Trojan, and only in the last couple of months, since all the freelance work dried up, have I had the time to process the fact that I’m 54, unqualified, and unemployed. And a woman,” she laughs dryly. “I’m at the bottom of the employment food chain… it took a while for that to sink in.”

Breaking Down Stigmas

Sophie has spent the past few months looking for full-time work in a job market flooded with other women doing the same. She has also worked part-time as a community liaison for a local food bank, where she sees the financial impact of 2020 firsthand.

“Some of the food bank recipients are people for whom this level of struggle is normal,” Sophie says. “And then, the other day, I delivered an emergency food parcel to a very salubrious address with a Mercedes in the driveway. The recipient burst into tears of embarrassment when I called in. She started to tell me her story, and I just said, ‘Look, there is no shame or judgment here.'”

This is the heart of Sophie’s work—breaking down the stigma around lack of money. “When you learn how simple it can be to turn that around by making different choices, it’s like you’ve discovered a cure, and you want everyone to know about it,” she says.

For more information, visit the Woman Magazine.