Peta Mathias MNZM is a respected and prolific New Zealand chef, author, entertainer and broadcaster, who writes about food and travel and hosts gastronomic tours in the South of France, Spain and Italy.

Having started off her culinary love affair in 1980 in Paris with her restaurant 'Rose Blues' in the 5th arrondissement, Peta returned to New Zealand ten years later to teach, cook and write Fête Accomplie, a book about life in Paris including recipes, was the first of Peta's award winning gastronomic travel books written about Morocco, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Vietnam and India.

Can We Help It If We're Fabulous? a book about women, came out in August 2008. It was an instant bestseller, is still being reprinted and has now been published in Great Britain, the USA, Canada and Germany. Then came A Matter of Taste – a book of photographs of women's accessories made of food taken by Italian photographer Fulvio Bonavia, with text by Peta. This was followed by Just In Time To Be Too Late – why men are like buses in 2009 and Beat Till Stiff – stories of transformation, was published in November 2011.

In 2014 Hot Pink Spice Saga - an Indian Culinary Travelogue With Recipes won Best Culinary Travel Book from NZ in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Peta’s memoir of sorts, Never Put All Your Eggs in One Bastard, was released in October 2016 then in 2019 came Eat Your Heart Out, unusual love stories from around the world. Shed Couture is about fashion and clothing, released by Penguin Random House September 2021. It's Been Six Weeks Since My Last Confession - life stories - is released October 2025.