Bulelwa Mzwali grew up in the sleepy town of Peddie in the Eastern Cape. After matriculating she moved to Cape Town to pursue her chosen career as a police woman. Within a year of training, Bulelwa had decided that she had made the wrong career choice. Every time she went to the shops she would marvel over the beautiful creations that had been baked and sculpted and realized that pastry work was where her heart lay.

She made the decision to apply to the Eziko Cookery School in Langa where her father was the head chef. Her father informed her that she was not to expect any preferential treatment while training and that while she was at the school she was a student and not his daughter, and that she would have to work as hard as any of the other students.

During her training, JMC, importers, distributors and marketers of Lindt in South Africa, was running a corporate social investment program to choose two excellent students from Eziko to be sponsored in pastry work. Bulelwa was chosen as one of the ‘Lindt trainees’ and started her training at the CTICC in the cold kitchen. Knowing that pastry was her passion she asked to be allowed to continue her training in the pastry kitchen, which was granted.

During this time Bulelwa also trained at Chocolate Time in Diep River, learning to make novelty chocolates, and also at the Mount Nelson Hotel as a trainee pastry chef.

Soon after the launch of the Chocolate Studio, the Lindt chef realized that he needed an assistant who, not only shared his passion, but also had great technique and skill. Bulelwa was the person who came to mind and she was offered the post of co-chef at the Chocolate Studio.

Bulelwa says that she loves working at the Chocolate Studio and that she has been taught a great deal in a short space of time. “I love all the different things you can do with chocolate from making desserts, décor items, showpieces, moulded chocolate and much more. I have discovered that you can really make a dish special with a little touch of chocolate” says Bulelwa.