For Stephanie Morris, the kitchen is more than just a place to cook. It is her happy place. A longtime Lake Forest resident for 25 years, Stephanie has always loved creating both new dishes and time-tested favorites for family and friends. “It’s very rare that we’re not breaking bread around our kitchen table on the weekends with guests,” she shares. About ten years ago, she and her family renovated their kitchen, making it the perfect space to gather, create, and connect.

But it was a quieter season of life that unexpectedly led to what neighbors now know and love as Steffi’s Soups. With her four children grown and launched, Stephanie found herself missing the joy of cooking for a full table. “I love to cook and always have, but with only two mouths to feed, I really couldn’t create the family-style dishes and soups that I enjoy making,” she explains.

Then came December 2020. On a whim during the isolation of Covid, Stephanie posted on the Lake Forest Friends Facebook page that she would be making clam chowder and offered to deliver it to anyone interested. Her husband, both supportive and skeptical, laughed and asked who would want to buy food from a stranger. The answer came quickly. Her phone started dinging and did not stop.

Since then, what began as a simple idea has grown into a beloved neighborhood tradition. Stephanie offers her soups on select weekends when inspiration and her calendar allow, keeping it intentionally small and local. “When I started five years ago, it was definitely a hobby and not a job,” she says. “If it ever feels like a job, I will quietly exit and be grateful for all of you.”

Her process is as thoughtful as it is time-intensive. Early in the week, she begins planning what she feels like making, sharing her menu midweek, and taking orders through Messenger until she reaches capacity. From there, it becomes a true labor of love.

Each batch starts from scratch, beginning with her homemade bone broth. Whether it is chicken, beef, pork, or shellfish, Stephanie spends days building flavor. When making chicken broth, she starts with 20 to 30 pounds of chicken leg quarters, slow cooking them for up to 18 hours before refrigerating to remove the fat. By Friday, the soups begin to take shape, simmering and developing depth before passing her husband’s official taste test. After resting overnight to allow the flavors to come together, they are carefully jarred and delivered throughout the neighborhood.

On any given weekend, she may be preparing two different soups in large pots holding up to 25 quarts each. Her menu rotates based on inspiration, with offerings like pozole, Italian wedding soup, beef and barley, gumbo, lobster bisque, ham and bean, chicken and dumplings, and even the occasional giant meatballs when she feels like switching things up. Still, the neighborhood favorite remains the one that started it all, her clam chowder. 

While demand slows in the warmer months, Stephanie continues to take special requests when time allows, often preparing full pots of soup or comfort meals for busy families.

For her, the greatest reward is not recognition, but connection. She loves knowing that her soups are being shared around family tables across Lake Forest. “The true reward is the warm feeling I get after I deliver, thinking about my neighbors gathering to share a clean and preservative-free bowl of goodness with their loved ones,” she says.

That sense of community has come full circle, with many of her customers becoming friends. She is quick to express her gratitude for their continued support and kind words, which make every hour in the kitchen worthwhile.

As for advice to anyone looking to turn a passion into something more, Stephanie keeps it simple: keep it small.

You can find her on Facebook at Steffi’s Soups, with new offerings returning after a short May break. Just be ready when she posts, because once it sells out, it is gone.