With a café-cum-retail shop based in Laudium,
Centurion, and a production facility at the Riversands
Incubation Hub in Fourways, Johannesburg, Tonka
Bean Bakery is a modern business that reflects the
many novel entrepreneurship models sweeping the
globe right now
BY KAMANEE GOVENDER PHOTOGRAPHS BY DYLAN SWART AND SUPPLIED
A
t Tonka Bean
Bakery, it’s
about creating
on-demand
confections
and delicious
baked goods
customised
to suit personal orders, rather than
keeping a store of product. Owned
and run by husband-and-wife team,
Shakil and Nazeema Khan, this start-
up business – which is now three
years old – is a favoured supplier
to local coffee shops and is gaining
ground at local markets, too. To
Shakil – who is also the chief baker –
Tonka Bean Bakery is “all about the
order”. While the facility in Fourways
is not a walk-in-and-buy space, the
bakery will cater to any demand,
whether it’s one brownie or 400
doughnuts. No order is too big or too
small for the Khans and their staff’s
“live-to-please” business ethos.
Featuring at popular hang-outs like
the Fourways Farmers’ Market, the
Pantry Market at Keyes in Rosebank
and the Field Market in Parkmore,
Johannesburg, Tonka’s signature
custard doughnuts, heavenly brownies,
cruffins (croissant-style muffins),
croissants and other confections will
definitely make their way to the top of
your most-wanted list once you’ve had
a taste. It’s a good thing, then, that the
business has a large following on
social media so customers can join the
conversation to locate Tonka’s next
appearance (and get their next fix).
Shakil, who is adamant he’s not a
pastry chef but a baker, tells me he’s
obsessive about the concept of “fresh”.
So fastidious is he about wanting
people to enjoy his baking on the day
it is made, he will even refuse to supply
outlets that won’t adhere to his wishes.
“It’s not just about eating,” he says.
“You’re having an experience; whether
it’s an indulgence or a reward, every
sense should be heightened by this
simple pleasure. That’s why fresh is so
important. Besides the hard work,
dedication and love that goes into our
baking, it’s this strict quality control
that makes up for 80% of our popularity.”
This love of making something truly
delicious, and being willing to sacrifice
a sale for the experience, is what makes
Tonka Bean Bakery stand out.
Nazeema tells me that Shakil often
loses a night’s sleep in order to ensure
unsurpassed quality. I experience this
fervour for excellence when I taste one
of their famous vanilla custard-filled
doughnuts which, in itself, is a study in
perfection: a fat cushion of puffiness
stuffed with the creamiest yet not-too-
thick custard. Another delicious
offering is their brownies, which are a
chocolate lover’s dream – fresh and
yielding, with perfect counterpoints of
bitterness, a slight sweetness and
little pops of nuts. Housed in dainty
paper cases, they look as good as
they taste; which, on that note, comes
as no surprise as the bakery uses the
best local and imported ingredients:
stone-ground flour, imported French
butter for the croissants and real
Belgian chocolate.
Shakil believes the way he prepares
their number-one seller, the custard-
filled doughnuts, is what sets them
apart. “We prepare the dough in small
batches the night before and leave it
to rest until morning. The doughnuts
are then fried in pots over stoves, not
in fryers the way others are done.ABOVE AND BELOW: TONKA
BEAN BAKERY OWNERS,
NAZEEMA AND SHAKIL KHANBUSINESS WATCH