Lilly Wright, a Malaysian by birth now calls Ballarat home. She is just one of many people who forms part of Ballarat's booming migrant community. Earlier this year she was appointed as one of the City of Ballarat's intercultural ambassadors.

Ms Wright said she aimed to use her culinary expertise, drawing upon her rich southeast Asian culture in her new role to cultivate positive conversations around migrants, their stories and their history.

"The main reason why I wanted to become a City of Ballarat intercultural ambassador is to share the vibrancy of migrant culture particularly the history behind my homeland, Malaysia, because lot's of people don't know a lot about Malaysia's history," she said.

"I also want to use this role to learn from other cultures especially from the other intercultural ambassadors so we can really become more culturally inclusive as a city.

"We (migrants) want to make noise and we want to be recognised as migrant people in Ballarat."

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Ms Wright said her confidence to apply for this position stemmed from her "love affair" for quality food which saw her first becoming an employee at one popular Ballarat East eatery a year after moving to the region.

"I came to Ballarat from Melbourne in 2019 because my husband got a job here and having worked in the banking industry previously I was keen to work in the hospitality scene because growing up food was all around me," she said.

"In 2020 I began working at Pot of Courage cafe working as a cook, baker and barista. I loved the atmosphere and it's helped me so much in developing my cooking skills as well as my interpersonal skills."

As Ms Wright continued to develop her cooking prowess she said she was struck with an idea during the 2021 lockdown to do more with her skills which eventually led her to start her own business.

"Last year during the lockdowns I wanted to do something with my cooking and possibly start my own business," she said.

"Initially, I thought of making dumplings and chilli oil but then I thought it best to focus on making sambal, which is a Malaysian and Indonesian condiment.

"I started first by selling a jar of sambal at Pot of Courage cafe and since a lot of people said they liked it I began making more."

Sambal, an integral part of Indonesian and Malay cuisine, can be likened to a chilli sauce or paste and is made using chillis with a variety of other ingredients including garlic, onion, ginger and lemongrass.

Ms Wright said her sambal, which she makes using her mother's recipe and now sells under her business name 'Flying Chillies' has also helped her remain connected to her family and birthplace.

"The sambal I create is really close to my heart and the business itself is dedicated to my family and my mother especially since all the items I make use my family's recipes," she said.

Ms Wright said it was only this year she decided to dedicate more time to growing her business after having success including her homemade sambal in corporate hampers.

"During Christmas time last year I included the sambal as part of the corporate hampers for non-profit organisation 'Made by Many Hands' which supports migrant and refugee women business owners and it was my mentor Luz Restrepo from 'Made by Many Hands' who encouraged me and gave me ideas on how I could pursue my own business," she said.

Ms Wright currently sells her sambal online as well as at the Ballarat Farmers Market.

Next month she plans to take her cooking dexterity one step further by offering intimate cooking classes which will cover an array of different cuisines including Malaysian, Balinese and Indian.

"I want to use these classes to introduce the community to a new flavour, a new cuisine and a new culture they've never heard of," Ms Wright said.

"The first class will focus specifically on Peranakan cuisine, which was born from the migration of different cultures in Malaysia especially the mixing between ethnic Malay people and Chinese migrants."

Ms Wright said her classes would not only focus on helping participants develop their cooking techniques but will also provide them a space to "mingle" and "interact with strangers."

"People will be able to ask questions about Malaysia without fear or hesitation through cooking and I feel as well, after being in isolation, this will be the perfect place for people to talk and make new friends," she said.

As for her role as one of the council's intercultural ambassadors, she has big plans including creating a multicultural event which showcases Ballarat's diverse migrant community.

"In the future, myself and other ambassadors want to learn more about other cultures through food and we hope to learn how to cook different cultures food and create an event which shares all of the cultures of food in Ballarat," Ms Wright said.

"We'd also like to work with other social enterprises and non profit organisations."

Ms Wright said she will also implement her recently acquired study in a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management from the Ballarat Group Training into both her council and business positions.

To find out more about the City of Ballarat's intercultural ambassadors click here. To learn more about Ms Wright's food business and cooking classes click here.

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