Today we’d like to introduce you to Guna Thangavelu.
Hi Guna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
From childhood, I have eaten good food. The first time when I realized the world, I tasted the best-mashed potatoes that my mom made since I refused to take milk. I became round like a potato. As a young boy, I wanted to be a police officer. As time went by, I discovered a lot of good food in my hometown of Perak, Malaysia. Malaysia is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country, so I was able to explore many cuisines as I developed my tastes. By the time I was the age of 13, I was able to work during school holidays which led me to fall in love with culinary arts. Since Perak’s economy at the time was partly in tourism, I started working at a small hotel as a dishwasher. I argued with my supervisors to let me cook, even though I didn’t know how to cook, but they stationed me at cutting vegetables for six months. By the age of 20, I began a culinary diploma course supported by the 4-star hotel where I had a prep cook position. As I am a fast learner, I always advocated to my supervisors for my skills and abilities to move up the career ladder. Culinary arts has gifted me the opportunity to challenge myself and to continuously learn and grow in this industry. In 2020, I came to the U.S. for a visit and stayed permanently, beginning my freelance personal chef career in a new country.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The culinary industry is challenging as it’s full of long hours and hard, physical labor. I’ve worked in 5-star hotels, owned my own restaurant as well as worked as a private chef on yachts. Challenges are expected and nothing is easy in life, but when you focus and put your effort, you can achieve anything and challenges lead to creations.
Every dish I create, I see as infusing my happiness in creating this dish into the dish. The food is healthy and full of love because I’m able to share the food I create with the world. My toughest experience was when I was a chef on board a yacht and the client requested to not have any repeat dishes over a month along with many dietary restrictions. Every day, for three meals a day, I succeeded to fulfill the request by preparing a week-long menu and became a skinny chef in the process!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As a personal chef, I create dishes drawing from my various experiences working over 25 years in the hotel/restaurant industry and through my travels. I’ve traveled throughout southeast Asia, India, South Africa, Australia/New Zealand, and the United States. This has led me to bring flavor fusion into the dishes I create such as my signature Seafood Saffron, Garlic Herb Rice, and Cajun Meat Masala. I’m proudest of my skills as I adapt quickly being a fast learner and my curiosity about food motivates me to seek out new tastes to try.
My clients expect flavorful, delicious, and healthy meals as I only use fresh spices, herbs, and other ingredients to bring color to my dishes. Every menu I build uniquely to my client’s requests while encouraging them to try something different and new to create an unforgettable dining experience.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up in the 1980s was awesome. Living near the coast, I was out the door after sunrise and out all day until sundown, enjoying the outdoors: fresh fish, swimming, playing soccer with my friends, and camping. I created a soccer team in my hometown, the first time we had one in 1985. We learned together and we won a lot of games over the 5 years I played, plus were able to be sponsored by our local district to obtain jerseys, cleats and equipment. I had a simple upbringing but was always active and happy-go-lucky.
Contact Info:
- Website: ChefGuna.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/chef.guna
Image Credits
My wife: Lisa Tauferner
