About the Spicy Grasshopper…
Sophia Lin Kanno is a home chef and food enthusiast, focusing upon food waste reduction and budget maximization in home cooked meals. She is known as The Spicy Grasshopper.
As a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Sophia was taught the basic foundation of not wasting food in her mother’s kitchen, planting the seed that would lead to a lifetime of food efficiency and waste awareness. With a degree in hospitality management and a concentration in hospitality design from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Sophia has over 19 years of hospitality experience in restaurants, catering, and planning and executing special events.
Sophia and her Taiwanese family.
Sophia’s zero-waste mindset has driven her to create a guide to help people realize the full potential of the average household’s refrigerator and pantry of ingredients. The Spicy Grasshopper showcases grocery budgeting, how to maximize leftovers, food reincarnation — how to judiciously use ingredients to minimize food waste while also building culinary confidence.
In 2022, Sophia won a home chef cooking competition on the Food Network with Ree Drummond, also known as the Pioneer Woman, on her new show, Big Bad Budget Battle. She has competed in Culinary Fight Club competitions, benefitting Fight2Feed and scored a tie for first place in the Mac and Cheese competition with NACE Atlanta in 2016.
Sophia cooking and chatting with Ree during the Big Bad Budget Battle competition on The Food Network. Click on the Image to watch the “Party Planning on a Budget” competition episode!