Inspired by the mielie, born in Africa, The African Pie Company’s mission is to make delicious mieliepies at affordable prices for all of South Africa’s people.
The African Pie Co. was founded in 2017 by sisters Paola and Patricia Soto, who draw on their wealth of culinary experience from diverse cultures to create flavours that everybody loves.
In South Africa we plant a lot of mielies and we love eating them:from mielies roasted over an open fire to stywe pap, phuthu, umngqusho and other dishes to accompany shisa nyama or braaivleis shared with friends.
The story of the mieliepie begins when Paola and Patricia, the founders of The African Pie Co., inspired by the richness of mielies’ uses, went back to the roots to learn what else can be done with this versatile plant: to America, the ancestral home of maize.
In America, maize is used as widely as in South Africa: from Mexican tamales and tortillas to grits and corn dogs in the United States, from Central American pupusas to Venezuelan hallacas and cachapas, there are infinite uses for the humble mielie, which sits at the very heart of food culture across the continent.
Combining the best of everything they’d tasted, Patricia and Paola developed a completely new food, unique to Africa: the mieliepie.
Operating from manufacturing facilities in Randburg, Johannesburg, The African Pie Co. currently produces around 2000 mieliepies per month. The mieliepies are frozen immediately after being produced, to ensure they are as fresh as possible when they are cooked.
