Onezwa Mbola (26), Unemployed, Willowvale, Eastern Cape
Signature dishes: Asian steamed pork dumplings, pan-fried chicken gyoza
Favourite heritage food: Umvubo, imfino
Having worked as a marine navigational officer in China, the shy and reserved Onezwa is well-travelled, knowledgeable, and wholesome. She moved back to Willowvale in 2020 to follow her dream of growing her own food, a passion that shines through on MasterChef South Africa and on her Instagram page, The Green Thumbed Fairy.
While working in China, she became quite the dumpling connoisseur, and she now excels at her own homemade Asian dumplings. A dedicated mother, Onezwa was inspired by her own late mother to fall in love with cooking, and she uses that skill and gift to reconnect with her mother’s memory and pass down the heritage to her young son.