Madona ‘Dona’ Giorgadze
Roasted vegetables with pesto, seafood stew in white wine, lyula kebab, pork tenderloin with apricot mustard glaze, mozzarella balls with mint. These are just a few of the meals produced by entrepreneur, private chef and cooking instructor Madona “Dona” Giorgadze. Born in the city of Rustavi in the country of Georgia, Dona describes cooking as an important part of her culture and her own life. “Everyone in Georgia cooks,” she said.
Ms. Giorgadze said that just like cooking is a constant in her native country, busyness is the norm here, and there’s a need for her service — going to Ridgefield homes early in the week, armed with groceries and ready to prepare meals the family can enjoy the rest of the week.
Tough times
Ms. Giorgadze is known around town for her previous job as manager of a local Ridgefield bakery, the leader of the Ridgefield Newcomers’ cooking club, but few know the story of her tumultuous journey from Rustavi to Ridgefield, the journey that she says shaped her tenacious spirit.
In her childhood city of Rustavi — a small industrial town inhabited by factory workers — Ms. Giorgadze had two hard-working parents who struggled financially to renovate their home and improve their living conditions.
As her family scrimped and saved, and she was about to graduate from high school, the 1989 war for independence from the USSR had broken out and there was no food, water and power for days, she said. Living standards plummeted and inflation rose.
Ms. Giorgadze’s father built a wood stove for the apartment.
“It was the greatest thing to have as we could cook on it and heat the home as well,” she said. “A lot of our neighbors couldn’t even afford this, and they all gathered around it in the cold winter evenings; we helped each other to overcome this period.”
She remembered completing schoolwork as a student in the Institute of Foreign Languages & Literature by candlelight.
“The darkness was very depressing,” she said.
Many people, mostly mothers, found it difficult to find local jobs and were forced to work abroad, sending money home to support their families, she said.
“They had to leave their children, go far away, wet their pillows at night with tears, missing the touch, the smell, the voice of their kids,” Ms. Giorgadze said. The mothers sent “money and presents to them, who were brought up without their love and care, and who could find the only happiness in those toys and clothes.” Years later, Ms. Giorgadze found herself having to do the same for her own children. She left her two young girls to work in the United States, a difficult situation that turned out to have a happy twist. It led to the meeting of her current husband, David Augustine.
The two met at a barbecue at a friend of Mr. Augustine’s where Ms. Giorgadze was working as a nanny.
They began dating but two months after meeting she had to return to Georgia because her visa was expiring. They spent five years in a long-distance relationship and eventually married in September 2010.
Settling in Ridgefield
The couple settled in Ridgefield, and Ms. Giorgadze, feeling isolated, joined the Newcomers Club, met new people and volunteered at the library, at Keeler Tavern and began working at Ross’ Bread.
She spent a lot of time cooking and started a cooking website georgiancook.com to answer questions to familiarize Americans with food from her native country.
Though Ms. Giorgadze enjoyed working at the bakery, she had her sights set on a higher and more personal culinary goal. In April, she left the bakery and started her private chef career, cooking food for families and teaching classes on how to cook easy, yet flavorful meals, using simple and organic ingredients.
“The secret ingredient in my dishes is love, love that I share with my family and friends through my food,” she said.
Ms. Giorgadze, may be reached at (203) 917-7178, donamia75@hotmail.com, www.georgiancook.com.
Writer Angela Forsyth may be reached at ancofo@gmail.com