Mbuyi Jongqo grew up in Mount Fletcher, a rural area in the Eastern Cape, where she dreamt of becoming a social worker. Like many young South Africans, she later encountered the difficulty of entering the world of work without connections, experience or opportunities. That made her determined to create pathways for young people.
Jongqo worked as a youth development practitioner and project officer in the non-profit sector. In 2018, she developed a strong desire to start a training institute.
She began market research in 2019 and, in 2020, founded Cooktastic with her co-founder, Brigitte Sachs-Schaffer. Cooktastic is a social enterprise and hospitality school in Cape Town that provides unemployed young people from underserved communities with an accredited culinary qualification and a route into work. Jongqo describes it as her "menu for life", with Cooktastic becoming the main course.
Her days involve meeting students and chefs, working with placement partners, overseeing the bakery, bistro and catering operations, speaking to funders and planning new programmes. Her roles extend from manager and fundraiser to, at times, counsellor. Many graduates call her "Mama Cooktastic".
What matters most to Jongqo is seeing young people who arrived without hope leave with qualifications, jobs and self-belief. Cooktastic has trained more than 400 young people, with 88% of them now employed. It works with more than 80 placement partners, while graduates have found work across South Africa, Europe and on international cruise ships.
Through the Chefpreneurs programme, Cooktastic supports young food entrepreneurs to start and grow hospitality businesses. It is also launching an artisan bakery training programme to address the shortage of skilled bakers.
Keeping Cooktastic growing through Covid-19, baking 500 loaves of bread a day during its 2020 bread project, building an income-generating bakery, bistro and catering business and becoming a finalist in the 2024 Santam Women of the Future Awards, are among the things Jongqo is most proud of.