Meet the Expats : Moving to Mauritius? A Piece of Cake for Shona!

We first met South African Shona at her café, CoCoBeanies, in the North of the island when we were attending an entrepreneurial event taking place there. Naturally, we got talking to the novelty cake-maker and realised what a fantastic lady she would be to interview. A week later, we made our way once again to her cosy, quirky, family-orientated café set in the lush Endemika Gardens, and while devouring her beautiful homemade hummingbird cake and baked vanilla cheesecake, we got to find out more about the woman that made all of that happen. Here’s what happened…

Hi Shona, such a pleasure to meet again! So to begin, can you tell us how long you have been in Mauritius and what brought you here?
Six and a half years now and I was just looking for a change of lifestyle. I’m from Johannesburg, South Africa, so it’s a very big change of lifestyle.

What’s life like in Johannesburg?
It’s a big city and fast faced. It’s much slower here. We were keen to be by the coast. The beach is a big attraction for us.

So you moved over with your family?
Yes. I have two daughters; their two husbands; two grandchildren and two other grandchildren were born here.

Lovely! So, why did they choose Mauritius as a home and what made you want to move over with them?
They needed chiropractors here and both my daughters are chiropractors. I came too because they’re my children and you go where your family goes.

Before moving, did you ever come to visit?
We’d been here on holiday and then we decided that we wanted to live on the coast. We looked at the different options and thought it would be a good idea. The family being here makes a huge difference. I don’t think I would be happy here, or anywhere, if the family wasn’t all together.

So, what were you doing in Johannesburg before moving here?
All kinds of things.  I studied accountancy and then worked in the admin side of the industry. Then taught it also.

Ah, interesting. Very different to baking and decorating cakes then! Can you tell us about CoCoBeanies; how did it start and when did it open?
Baking cakes was always a hobby. When we came here, I saw there was a need for bespoke novelty cakes, that’s how CocoBeanies started.

What made you want to start making novelty cakes?
I love it. I love the artwork and the baking. The baking is a means for the artwork. I’ve always baked; I started with my mom as a kid. I think the things that you’re meant to do in life just come to you. And that’s what happened with this.

And how did the Mauritian market take to your novelty cakes?
I think very well - we’re busy. Initially, it was a lot of expat customers, but it’s more and more locals now as well. We started out with a tiny little shop in Chemain Vignt Pieds but now we have a bigger space and a garden for the children and we can do birthday parties here. We now also have indoor and outdoor seating. It’s grown quite a lot.

Is it popular across the island?
It is. We get cake orders from the west coast and Curepipe, so yes, it’s busy. I’m very grateful for it being busy. Its nice, I enjoy it.

Well, we think it’s great! The place is very child-friendly, with a slide and swings in the garden as well as toys and games. Is that something that you consciously set out to do?
Yes, it was always my plan to have something in a garden. I love gardening and it’s such a nice environment to work in. You get to feed the birds and the kids run amock. And my grandchildren are with me quite a lot so there’s space for them to hang out.

How did you make the transition from the smaller location to here?
When I was looking for a venue, there wasn’t what I was looking for, but it was a good start. It was smaller though. Then I built up my name and expanded. Where we are now was originally a sugar estate – you can see the old boilers and the chimney over there.

So, tell us about your cakes. What’s been your favourite cake order in Mauritius so far?
I can’t really choose a favourite. I did do a really big wedding cake with a whole lot of Swarovski crystals on it – that was really nice. It was a four-tier cake too, which was really cool.

And what about the most challenging cake?
The most challenging was a unicorn pug cake! A pug dog who was also a unicorn… wearing a babygro! I’ve got a customer, a young girl, who always goes on Pinterest and finds the most challenging cakes for me to make.  I also did a 3D elephant – and also a 50cm high Mickey Mouse, sitting down. He was sculptured, that was quite challenging.

Wow, these all sound amazing! So are we right in assuming that you are self-taught?
Aha – I have a PhD from the University of Google!!!

Are there any cake makers in the world that you look up to or who inspire you?
In the beginning, I read a lot of Mich Turner’s books. I also like Cake Central.

Ah! Have you ever watched Cake Boss?
Yeah, but he’s not so good – he’s actually quite slap dash. If you know cakes, there are other people that do much more polished cakes. I guess that’s the word I’m looking for, ‘polished’. He’s a brilliant businessman and he’s great at marketing and everything he’s done with his programme, but I think there are others who do much better stuff.

So, can we rightly say that making cakes is your passion?
Yes, I love it. I love cakes… cakes and family.

Do you ever get fed up of cakes?
No. I don’t like the pressure because sometimes there are too many orders or people don’t give you enough notice – I don’t enjoy working under pressure – but I do love making the cakes. It’s a very good creative outlet for me. And it’s great when you see a little kid’s face light up! I like feeding people and that gives me great pleasure.

What have been the pros and cons of working in Mauritius?
Supply of the things you need. Well, it’s getting better. It’s much better now than it was and there’s a lot more available now than there used to be.

Also, the biggest challenge with making cakes in Mauritius is the humidity! It’s very difficult to work with the fondant, you have to work in an air-conditioned area and then when it’s delivered, you just don’t know what condition they’re gonna keep it in. When people want wedding cakes and they want them in butter cream and it’s like March!? Argh! There are flies and mosquitoes and ants and the humidity…

Yes, the insects must be so difficult to deal with! Ants in Mauritius appear out of nowhere, especially when there’s sweet stuff around. How do you deal with that and have you ever had any get to your cakes?
No, everything is put on a moat. You make a moat – take a dish with water and stand another dish in it or a glass, and you put your cake on that. Yes, ants are definitely a challenge. Not much you can do – it’s just the climate.

It must be difficult decorating cakes all the time…
Yes, I have tendonitis and I’m on my feet all day – it is quite tiring.

How was the process of finding staff here for you?
It wasn’t too difficult. It was just a matter of finding people willing to learn my ways and what I do. I’ve definitely passed on baking skills and food preparation skills to my staff.

Finally, in regards to the café, what can people expect from CoCoBeanies if they come to visit?
Light meals, sandwiches, salads, hamburgers and a range of homemade cakes. Also, South African food rather than traditionally Mauritian or French food. Maybe things you wouldn’t get in other coffee shops.

And we offer the best carrot cake on the island! We also produce jaffles – it’s South African, like a bread pie – the filling is encased in bread. We make really good chicken mayonnaise too!

We do a really good all day full English breakfast. We bake all our own cakes and everything is prepared here.

So moving on to your life in Mauritius - how did you find adapting to life here?
It was no problem. Language was an adjustment – if I spoke French, all would be fine.  I haven’t learnt, but that’s my own fault. There are quite a lot of South Africans here and so it wasn’t a problem fitting in. Besides, it’s close to home!

Do you go back to South Africa often?
Not as often as we would like to, but we do go.

What were the reactions of your family and friends back home to you moving here?
Errr, jealousy? When we post pictures everyone’s like “arrrgh better off!” and “oh, another Mauritian sunset”. We go to the beach every Sunday as a family and spend the day at the beach and we always post photographs and everyone’s like “buzz off!”. *laughs*

When you’re not working, what do you like to do?
Sleep, haha! I work really, really hard. We go to the beach and spend time with the family.

Were there any other challenges you had settling in here or moving here?
It’s like moving anywhere – you don’t know what’s in store, you don’t know about the products in the shops. The products are different. In Mauritius, it’s European products, the labels are in French and when you first get here you don’t understand what you’re buying and you don’t know what is good. And also to find things like a good doctor, a good hairdresser…etc. Just that kind of thing, but anywhere you go in the world it’s going to be like that. That’s just part of it all – that’s part of you choosing to move out of your comfort zone, and if you’re looking for a challenge, that’s what you get!

People in Johannesburg are going to London to shop, and people in London are going to Paris to shop… people are always looking for something different.

It’s funny the little things that you can miss though…

In regards to making friends here, do you mingle more with expats or locals?
It’s a mixture – we naturally have more expat friends from South Africa. We don’t live in an expat community. But you meet everyone – that’s a great thing. My grandkids are at school with kids from Russia, the UK, the USA, everywhere! You hear so many accents here, it’s such a mix and it’s great. A real great, mixed community.

Is that different to the community where you’re from in South Africa?
Pretty much, yeah.

What else is different between your life here and your life there?
Well, we live on the coast and we love the beach. We love a Sunday snorkel, it’s the best thing ever! The pace here is slower – Mauritius is just a small town, everybody knows everybody.

Do you think this is your base now?
Well, I never saw this coming so who knows? I never, ever thought I’d live in Mauritius – it was something that was never on the cards.

And what does the future hold for Shona and CocoBeanies?
Who knows?

Have you ever thought about expanding or teaching your skills?
I’ve been told many a time to open one in the west. I don’t know. I’ve been asked a lot about teaching too. I’ve done kiddies workshops but it’s exhausting. And to be honest, I don’t really have the time but maybe in the future…

Would you say that you are happy in Mauritius?
Yes.

And what advice would you give people considering moving here or have recently moved here?
You have to accept how things work here and just relax. It’s not Johannesburg, it’s not London, it’s not New York. There’s a reason you come here – if you want things the same as they were at home, you wouldn’t come here. It is what it is and you have to accept that.

You can visit Shona and the wonderful CoCoBeanies café located in Endemika Gardens, Petit Raffray. You can also contact them via their Facebook page - @CoCoBeanies.

By Sabah Ismail & Khalid Khadaroo