Vanya Insull
CEOVanya founded VJ Cooks in 2016 after relocating to Taupō with her young family. Having previously worked as a graphic designer and art director for multiple magazines in Auckland, Vanya decided to try her hand at food blogging. What started as a part-time activity during the boys’ nap-time, has now grown into a successful business. With the support of a growing team, Vanya’s recipes are now offered across multiple platforms including the VJcooks.com website, in the private membership Cooking with VJ, on social media, and most recently, in her two cookbooks Everyday Favourites (July 2022) and Summer Favourites (August 2023).
Favourite food-related memory from childhood? Baking and pretending to talk to the camera like Alison Holst!
Ultimate final meal? Entree: Garlic king prawns with marie rose dipping sauce. Main: Fillet steak with creamy mushroom sauce and scallop potatoes. Dessert: Chocolate fondant with raspberry coulis and french vanilla ice cream
Theresa Reddish
Website ManagerWith a background in design and a life-long passion for food, Theresa combines the best of both worlds in her role as website manager for VJcooks.com. When she’s not optimising SEO, Theresa can be found in the test kitchen offering excellent advice like “more salt” or “parsley garnish?”. Theresa confesses that on more than one occasion, she’s had to step away from the computer and make a recipe then and there, because she’s been too hungry to keep writing. Theresa and Vanya met at a “new to Taupō” coffee group in 2018 and shortly after, Theresa became Vanya’s first employee.
How has your cooking changed since working at VJ Cooks? I used to over complicate things! I would buy beautiful cookbooks full of long-winded, complex recipes…then never make anything from them. As a mum of two young children, I'm all about a quick, easy and nutritious meal and VJ Cooks has those in spades.
Go-to cake recipe for birthdays? Chocolate Banana Cake, with gluten free flour! My husband has coeliac disease and I love being able to easily adapt a recipe with a simple swap or two.
Grace Bowen
Recipe ContributorGrace is without a doubt the most qualified foodie on the team. With multiple City & Guilds diplomas in cookery, patisserie and culinary arts, Grace brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team. You can find all of her amazing recipes, under the Gracie’s recipes category. These include tasty dinner ideas influenced by many years spent travelling overseas, in addition to her foolproof yet easy-to-follow patisserie recipes such as Lemon Meringue Pie and crowd favourites Chocolate Mousse Cake and Classic Apple Crumble. And if you hadn’t already guessed it from her photo, Grace is one of Vanya’s beloved younger sisters!
Favourite VJ Cooks meal? One Pot Meatballs and Gnocchi with mozzarella - delish!
Favourite food-related memory from childhood? Every Sunday we would go over for lunch at Nana’s house. She would make a huge delicious roast lamb with roasted veggies, mint jelly and all the trimmings. For dessert, we'd have apple crumble and ice cream, followed by a play in her beautiful garden.
Erin Sinclair
Facebook ManagerErin Sinclair keeps the VJ Cooks Facebook page ticking over with engaging content - all day, every day. Erin studied business management and has used these skills working in a vast range of industries across the world. Erin’s wide skill set means she can turn her hand at pretty much anything in the business. In addition to creating social media content, Erin is also heavily involved in recipe planning, testing and tasting! She is a master of logistics, with a knack for getting thousands of cookbooks ready for delivery in a very short space of time!
Best VJ Cooks recipe for young children? My children love sushi so I often make Teriyaki Chicken Bowls and serve them with the lunchbox size nori sheets - deconstructed sushi they call it! So easy to make, they can serve it with what they like to eat and it always gets demolished. Mince is always very popular with my family - Spaghetti Bolognese and Potato Top Mince Pie are two firm favourites.
Do you meal-plan or wing it? Wing it! I love making a meal out of what needs to be used up in my fridge!
Erin Harrison
Membership ManagerErin Harrison is the newest member of the VJ Cooks team and we are so lucky to have her. Graduating with a Bachelor of Communications from AUT, Erin has spent the majority of her career in marketing, working at Stuff.co.nz and latterly as a freelance writer. Erin is the membership manager at Cooking with VJ which involves corresponding with the ever-growing community within VJ’s Village. Erin ensures all the ebooks reach the members in a timely fashion and triple checks that each new recipe is communicated in the best possible way. “I love using the written word to get interesting and important messages to people”.
Favourite VJ Cooks meal? Sticky Lemon Chicken & Slow Cooker Creamy Shredded Chicken. I love anything with chicken!
How has your cooking changed since working at VJ Cooks? I consider myself a very basic cook, but with two kids it's about trying to make nice food that doesn't take forever to prepare. So I love that I can make delicious meals that everyone will enjoy, without the fuss and without having to buy a whole heap of new ingredients every time.
