My name is Vera Ganason. Originally from Malaysia, now in the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand. Malaysians in general love their food and we are no exception. My husband and I started Hire a Chef to share this love of Malaysian food with the rest of New Zealand.

Cooking has been a passion, since I can remember. Right from the early days, I was fortunate enough to learn from the accomplished and dedicated cooks around me - my mother, grandmothers and aunts. Later in life, from my father in law.

I am a descendant of early Chinese settlers to the then Malaya, who have partially adapted Malay customs in an effort to assimilate into the local community. We then came to be known as the Peranakan. Our food is a fusion of contemporary Chinese cooking using Malay cooking methods and spices.

My husband, Shagen, is of Indian origin and from my father in law, I learnt the art of using Indian spices in traditional Chinese cooking and created another fusion of sorts to the melting pot of Malaysian food. I love cooking and I am bored by the idea of cooking dishes the same way all the time. For me, the excitement is in creating new dishes, playing variations on old and familiar ones and blending different recipes.

Malaysian food is a fusion in itself. It is not one particular distinction of food but a culinary diversity originating from its multi ethnic population of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian and Peranakan. Inter-ethnic marriages like ours have helped to spread this rainbow of gastronomic spectrum even wider.

We now want to bring our Malaysian food to you, to your home, to your kitchen. Allow me to cook up mouth watering delicious home recipes and explain the cuisines and techniques involved. Let me take you on a culinary adventure across Malaysia. I assure you, this one won't cost you a bomb neither would it involve a ten hour flight.