Food for life — Three women, one recipe for reinvention and resilience

Daily Maverick

3 days ago

Andriëtte Georgiou, Ivy Mjojeni and Nazreen Gamet prove that cooking and baking is about more than providing sustenance – it's survival, joy and power
When retrenchment ended her music career, Andriëtte Georgiou turned to baking and built South Africa's most heartfelt cookie business.
Inside a teal and white warehouse, the smell of butter and vanilla hangs in the air. Georgiou arrives a little late, apologising with a smile. The businesswoman and self-taught cook was on the phone – someone always needs something. That's what happens when you've built a cookie empire from the ground up.
She tears up easily, tells stories effortlessly and talks about her business like it's a living, breathing thing. Because to her, it is.
Music and mouthfuls
'People don't even know I was a musician,' Georgiou laughs from behind her desk at Mondvol HQ. These days she's known for cookies – the gooey, gourmet kind that go viral on Instagram – or as a season four MasterChef South Africa finalist.
Food has always been a love language for her. 'I enjoy the hosting aspect. Spoiling people is something I really, really love. There's a creative element to making food,' she says.
During lockdown, this love turned into a baking obsession. With the help of Instagram reels, Georgiou taught herself to bake. 'The cakes were a mess most of the time,' she says, 'but it was a lot of fun and I learnt a lot.'
After one too many rants about work, a friend nudged her to start sharing her creations online. She even gave Georgiou an idea for a name – Mondvol (Afrikaans for 'mouthful') – and so the brand was born.
Flour, fire and finding her feet
In 2021, retrenchment forced Georgiou to turn her baking hobby into a lifeline. She turned to her estate WhatsApp group and with an old oven, a bar fridge and her grandmother's ancient Kenwood mixer, she started to churn out cupcakes to pay her rent.
Then came MasterChef – a cooking show another friend encouraged her to sign up for. 'I was like, you guys are crazy! MasterChef is just way too big for me; I don't have that level of skills,' she remembers. But she filled out the form anyway and from 300 hopefuls she made the top 20.
Georgiou struggled with imposter syndrome during the six weeks of filming, constantly doubting herself. Though she didn't win, she stood at the final, hearing the words 'And the winner is…' – and realised for the first time that she could do this.
Read more: MasterChef SA's go-getting winner leads a Mother City hat trick
Back home, with a newfound confidence, she turned her parents' garage and spare bedroom into a bakery. Even though the power tripped almost four times a day, she made it work.
Her now husband, Andrew, who has a business background, pointed out the obvious: her business wasn't scalable. Apparently, the home-baked goods market is competitive among the tannies of Durbanville.
It was Andrew who suggested she look into cookies – the giant, gooey kind that are popular in America. After researching brands like Crumbl and Brooki, she saw a gap in the South African market. If she could ship cookies, she'd have the whole country at her disposal.
There was just one problem. To get started, she needed to buy a minimum of 2,000 shipping boxes. And not just any boxes – she wanted to get the branding right. The upfront cost was R40,000.
At that time, her grandmother passed away, leaving her the R40,000 she needed, and it felt like a sign. 'No one had tasted a cookie from me,' she says. 'I had just spent R40,000 on these boxes and nobody even knew about this product.'
By December 2023, after four months of running the business, she had to order more boxes.
Sweet supply, limited edition
Mondvol is run mostly online, but there are nationwide pop-ups and a new storefront at its Durbanville warehouse. It also has a big online community, in part thanks to its Cookie Club, a quarterly subscription box of cookies that is delivered to your door.
The club is capped at 500 members and has a waiting list of 2,000 people. The subscription model plays nicely into Mondvol's branding and marketing strategy of scarcity, intimacy and FOMO.
After outgrowing her parents' house, Georgiou opened the Mondvol warehouse on 19 July, complete with a production kitchen, office space and a cookie counter for walk-ins.
'Remember Mieke'
Two weeks ago, Georgiou received an email that reminded her exactly why Mondvol exists. A man explained how he and his wife, both Mondvol fans, each secretly ordered the Father's Day cookie box to surprise each other. His wife was pregnant.
After prematurely giving birth to their daughter, Mieke, his wife passed away at the age of 30. Her last letter to her husband was from that cookie box, saying, 'You're going to be the best daddy in the world.'
Mondvol had been their thing, he told Georgiou. Now he's raising Mieke alone and promises she'll always know the joy they shared over cookies.
'We meant something to that man and his wife and his little girl. And that's all I can ask for. That's enough. The heart of Mondvol is to spread joy and create connection. It's more than just a cookie,' Georgiou says. Now, when things get hard, the Mondvol team say to each other, 'Remember Mieke.' In this heartwarming Instagram video, the women behind the delicious Mondvol cookies introduce themselves.
Where tradition meets tenacity
Cape Town's bustling informal sector is a vibrant tapestry of colourful textiles and aromatic foods, often dominated by male owners. In this environment, women entrepreneurs play an important role, not only in carving out successful ventures for themselves, but also in creating jobs and opportunities for other women in their communities.
One trailblazer in Cape Town's dynamic informal food scene is Ivy Mjojeni, owner of Nobantu's Restaurant on the Grand Parade. For 17 years, Mjojeni has served traditional dishes while raising four children and working tirelessly alongside her five employees to meet the demands of a bustling kitchen.
She says her clientele is loyal thanks to the care she puts into her cooking, explaining: 'I cook as if I am cooking for my own family, and I make sure every dish is properly spiced so people want to come back.'
Originally selling only traditional foods, Mjojeni expanded her menu by adding vetkoek stuffed with liver, Russian sausage and other fillings – a bold move that helped her business flourish. To manage her fluctuating income, she participates in a stokvel with friends, rotating funds to maintain a steady cash flow.
For Mjojeni, Nobantu's Restaurant is not just a business, but a lifeline that supports her family, especially her two youngest children, who still depend on her. Grounded in faith, she draws strength from a gospel song about believing in God, which motivates her during long days that start at 4am and end well into the evening.
Where customers feel like family
Nazreen Gamet, owner of Cape Town's Café District Six, located at the entrance to Golden Acre mall, has run her business for 20 years and employs four women full-time.
Gamet describes each day as a struggle filled with uncertainty, yet she perseveres without focusing solely on costs.
She says she treats her customers like family, creating a warm, welcoming environment that keeps them coming back. Her biggest challenge is economic uncertainty and financial instability, and she often wonders if she will make it through the next month. Despite these fears, she meets each obstacle head-on.
Gamet's motivation comes from supporting her family of seven members on her own. 'I keep going mostly for my family,' she says, revealing that she endures long hours to ensure they don't struggle. DM