MYOGA RESTAURANT, GINJA RESTAURANT & SHOGA RESTAURANT

After completing his studies at the Technikon Witwatersrand Hotel School, Mike Basset started working as an assistant catering manager at Fedics Food Services, at a private hospital catering for 500 patients with specialised dietary requirements from January 1990 to February 1991. He then became co-owner and head chef of Burgundy’s Restaurant, a 120-seat Brasserie-style restaurant catering to office workers until March 1992. Between 1992 and 1997, Mike filled senior, head and executive chef positions in upmarket establishments such as Jackson’s at the Peninsula Hotel, Ellerman House, Montage Restaurant, Victoria Junction Hotel and the now Radisson Hotel on the waterfront. During his time at the Raddison, Mike opened YUM Restaurant which operated from October 1998 to July 2000 before deciding to sell the business. Mike then decided to take some time out to further and broaden his studies, travel and work internationally, and try working at different environments in the culinary industries such as working at a four-star business hotel, Lake Nike Protea Hotel in Nigeria as a consultant and executive head chef, working at Lion Sands Private Game Reserve also as a consultant and executive head chef, as well as establishing the African Queen Zambezi River Boat, a luxurious riverboat offering cruises to international clientele.

In late 2001 to date, Mike Basset went back into business and opened Ginja, an award-winning fine dining fusion restaurant in a trendy warehouse setting; Shoga, a trendy, more informal dining and award-winning sister restaurant to Ginja; and Myoga, a formal dining, award-winning restaurant similar to Ginja but with a more formal food ethos. Mike has also appeared on upmarket magazine and lifestyle television programmes such as Top Billing, representing his profession as a chef as well as his restaurants, and his restaurants have won Eat Out Johnnie Walker Restaurant Awards every year from 2003 to 2008.  Mike has also won the South African Defence Force Chef of the Year, the Tony Jackman’s ‘Cape on a Plate – Dish of the Year’, the Tony Jackman’s ‘Cape on a Plate – Top Ten Restaurant’ and the Chaine Des Rotisseurs Blazon, awarded to Ginja Restaurant.