Three women, one recipe for reinvention and resilience

Andriette Georgiou, Ivy Mjojeni and Nazreen Gamet prove that food isn't just sustenance - it's survival, joy and power. By Kara le Roux and Lisakanya Venna

- By Kara le Roux and Lisakanya Venna

When retrenchment ended her music career, Andriette 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 learned 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