Onezwa Mbola celebrates her mother's culinary legacy in debut cookbook 'A Food Love Story'

Onezwa Mbola, South African culinary storyteller, has released her debut cookbook, “A Food Love Story”.

Published by Jonathan Ball Publishers, the cookbook traces her journey from a rural seaside village in the Eastern Cape to international kitchens and back to her roots.

“I can’t begin to describe the emotions I’m feeling. This isn’t just a cookbook, it’s one of the most important things I’ll ever do to honour my mom’s memory, and I know she’s beaming,” Mbola said.

The book follows Mbola’s culinary development, showing how home-cooked meals create connection, bonding and lasting memories within families.

Her recipes reflect her farm-to-table approach, using ingredients grown, raised or foraged, and demonstrating a respect for sustainable, rural living.

Food is also a bridge between past and present, honouring South African traditions and the people who shaped her.

Mbola is an entrepreneur and prominent figure on "FoodTok”, known for her immersive and calming farm-to-table content.

Raised in the Eastern Cape, she is a former "MasterChef SA" contestant and the founder of eMandulo, a culinary platform launched in 2022 that produces artisanal sauces and celebrates community-rooted food systems. 

In May 2025, she hosted a pop-up dining experience also called “A Food Love Story”, which foreshadowed the book’s themes.

In an interview with “Independent Media Lifestyle”, Mbola reflected on her childhood experiences with foraging and cooking, highlighting the role her late mother played in shaping her culinary journey.

“My mother was a great cook. She made everything from scratch because we lived far from town. She grew her own food and foraged for whatever else she could not grow,” she recalled.

“Food was the centre of our gatherings, and that’s where my love for it blossomed.”