Graduate Jordan unveils Cardiff’s first cheese cafe

A MONTH after graduation, most students are still trying to figure out what they want to do, whether it’s applying for jobs or maybe a spot of travelling.

But this ambitious graduate has had no such problem, after opening Cardiff’s first cheese cafe within six weeks of finishing his degree.

22-year-old Jordan Wentzel opened Munchies on Cryws Road on Friday, after running a successful delivery business from his student house in Cathays.

With the help of his girlfriend, the pair delivered freshly-baked desserts to addresses across Cardiff.

Jordan said: “We delivered from 7pm to 2am and it really took off, we would sell out.

“I would make 150 or 200 cookies or brownies on a weekend.

“I would finish uni on Friday and then bake solidly from noon to 7pm. And it wasn’t just for students, we delivered to as far as Tremorfa.”

Along with his grandmother as his accountant and his mum as his advisor, Jordan now has his girlfriend Ellen working with him in the kitchen.

After teaching himself to bake, he has now expanded his repertoire to cooking everything cheese-based.

Jordan said: “I taught myself, before this I had never made any of it, I just winged it.

“I always wanted to have a business and it was the same price to get a shop as to get a mobile food unit.”

Opening night comes less than a month after finishing uni, as Jordan graduated from the University of South Wales with a degree in finance and investment on July 12.

The entrepreneur said he was inspired to open a cheese-themed restaurant after visiting Northern Soul Grilled Cheese in Manchester.

He said: “I lived off cheese toasties in my first year.

“Northern Soul is great but I wanted to do it as a proper meal, not just a toastie.”

To give Muchies a Cardiff twist, items on the menu include the Chippy Lane grilled cheese with chips and beans and Sex Down the Bay cocktails.

Parts of the menu also pay tribute to Jordan’s South African heritage, with South African beers and soft drinks and koekister doughnuts.

Other mouth-watering dishes include macaroni cheese with chorizo or mushrooms, macaroni burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon and Brie or spicy pulled chicken.

And for groups, what is more perfect than a whole loaf of bread with five layers of toasted cheese?

With only six weeks between getting the keys and Muchies’ opening night, Jordan said the project has been a bit of a whirlwind.

He said: “It’s been six weeks of solid work.

“I was an absolute state when we got the place.”

Despite the rush, the inside has a chic feel with homemade touches, with lamps made fittingly from cheese graters and Nutella pots.

Highlights of the menu also include a monstrous kilo-heavy cookie, with customers challenged to finish the mammoth dessert in the quickest time possible.

Inspired by a love of Man vs Food, Jordan has designed a leader board where those lucky enough to make the cut will receive a free cookie for every week they stay on the wall.

He said: “I think I’ve seen every episode and I thought I would have my own challenge.”

For the entrepreneur other exciting schemes also lie in the pipeline, including the ability to buy food for a discount to be delivered to the homeless.