Olivia "Olive" Viglatzis, a popular South African content creator, has turned budget cooking into a mission against hunger. With over 100,000 followers on TikTok and 150,000 on Facebook, Viglatzis shares affordable recipes online, showcasing how to cook balanced meals on a tight budget. Her following is largely attributed to her budget meal series, which she started four years ago from her own kitchen. Viglatzis's mission is simple: "No one should go hungry."
Viglatzis's budget meals typically consist of vegetables, carbohydrates, and protein sources, all at an affordable price. She originally cooked meals at R40 per portion but has recently challenged herself to do it for as little as R20. Her recipes are designed to be easy to follow, using ingredients like cabbage, rice, and eggs. Viglatzis's goal is to show people that even with a tight budget, they can still eat a good meal. She often ends her videos with the message, "be kind, be nice, because this might be someone's only meal for the day."
The content creator's audience is surprisingly diverse, with a large number of students following her. Viglatzis believes this is because her recipes are simple and require minimal equipment, making them accessible to students who often have limited resources. She has received gratitude from students who have benefited from her recipes, and it has been rewarding for her to know that she has made a positive impact on their lives.
Viglatzis's content creation process is a team effort, with her wife, Veronica Bezuidenhout, helping with filming and editing. She usually posts her budget meal videos three times a week and occasionally livestreams her cooking process. The content creation process can take up to five hours, and Viglatzis balances it with her full-time job. She prioritizes spending quality time with her wife and takes breaks from content creation to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to sharing recipes online, Viglatzis is also involved in feeding initiatives in her community. During the Covid pandemic, she and her wife started cooking and distributing food parcels in Richwood, Cape Town. She now puts together and distributes food parcels, or "charity meals," for the less fortunate, such as pensioners and job seekers, at least once a month. Viglatzis aims to teach people how to cook large volumes of food cost-effectively.
Viglatzis's feeding initiatives have inspired others to start their own. She advises those who want to start feeding initiatives to begin by helping those in need in their immediate community and to follow her financial philosophy: "Take your 10th and do good for others." Viglatzis hopes to expand her feeding initiatives and one day open her own soup kitchen, employ workers, and put food on more tables.
Viglatzis's ultimate goal is to spread her message far and wide, potentially through her own television series or miniseries on budget meals. While fame is not her aim, she wants to show people that it is possible to eat well on a tight budget. For now, she is satisfied with raising awareness about affordable meals and making a positive impact on her community.
Key points
- Olivia Viglatzis shares affordable recipes online to fight hunger and food insecurity in South Africa.
- Viglatzis has gained a large following on TikTok and Facebook for her budget meal series.
- She aims to expand her feeding initiatives and potentially open her own soup kitchen.
