An accomplished chef and entrepreneur from southern Africa has swapped the spotlight of cooking competitions and television appearances for the kitchen of a Cromwell winery restaurant.

Speaking to The Central App, Justina Bain said she is determined to prove newcomers can keep their professional dreams alive in a new country.

Justina moved to Cromwell from Eswatini - formerly Swaziland - a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa and Mozambique.

She arrived in town in the last week of December with her Kiwi husband Roger and their two daughters, Amelia and Zoey.

Back home, Justina was a household name after becoming a finalist on a MasterChef-style competition and running a successful catering and events business. 

She hosted “cook and sip” events where guests learned to prepare dishes while enjoying drinks, ran festival stalls, and employed staff from communities where jobs were scarce.

Raised in a bicultural household - the daughter of a Swazi mother and Mozambican father - Justina said her love of food began with her father’s cooking. 

“He used to cook quite a lot for us, and I grew up surrounded by food and cooking.”

She described southern African cuisine as bursting with bold, fresh flavours - think garlic, ginger, lemon and chilies - often cooked over open flames. 

Root vegetables like yams, sweet potatoes and cassava feature strongly, alongside nuts and leafy greens, she said, while many of the dishes she grew up with were influenced by Mozambique’s Portuguese colonial heritage too.

When her father returned to Mozambique, Justina was raised by her mother and began selling snacks and sweets as a child.

“That experience definitely made me love the concept of being like an entrepreneur, of setting up a business,” she said.

Justina Bain with her husband, Roger, and daughters Amelia and Zoey. Image: Supplied

Arriving in Cromwell during the holiday season brought its own challenges. Her suburban street was quieter and, within days, she received news that her mother had taken a fall in Eswatini. 

“So that first week, I can't even remember, it feels almost non existent,” she said. 

Justina said moving to a new country can often mean taking whatever work is available to make ends meet, putting career ambitions aside. But she is determined to follow her own path.

She is now chef de partie at Wooing Tree Cellar Door and Kitchen and has been selected for a newcomers business mentoring programme run by Central Otago District Council’s Welcoming Communities, Business South Inc, and Business Mentors NZ. 

When she was told her application for mentorship had been successful, she cried.

“It felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. It’s giving me guidance, industry knowledge, and connections I didn’t have before.”

Justina is also introducing Central Otago to southern African flavours, with her husband having long been her taste tester - he enjoys her peanut curry and coconut rice but is not a fan of the maize-based porridge she grew up with.

Looking ahead, she plans to launch a business that blends her African culinary heritage with local ingredients. 

“I have high hopes…I want to be that person that shows people (other newcomers) you don’t have to forget about what you love doing (to build a better life for your family). You definitely can have both.”

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