The term ‘having a finger in many pies’ could well have been coined for Mike Egan.
 
An iconic figure in Wellington’s restaurant scene, Mike is co-owner of the popular Monsoon Poon restaurants in the Capital and Auckland, the award-winning Arbitraguer Wine Room, and one of Wellington’s newest and most exciting restaurants, the Mediterranean-style Osteria del Toro.

And as if that’s not enough to be going on with, Mike is also the Restaurant Association of NZ’s National President, a trustee of Westpac Stadium, has interests in The Terrace Villas accommodation in Wellington, and is a board member of the Pinot Noir 2010 conference being held in the Capital.
Not bad for someone who got their start in the hospitality industry as an 18-year-old part time waiter!

“I started as a government cadet at Treasury and got a night job waiting tables at Cobb & Co in Lower Hutt,” he says.

There he met his two business partners – Chris Green and John Lawrence – and a friendship was forged that has since given birth to some of the Capital’s finest eateries.

At age 20, Mike gave up the day job and started running bars for his then employer Lion Breweries.

During his OE in Britain, Mike expanded his hospitality skills, and on returning home, his first foray into ownership was the Van Gogh Café in Eastbourne.

It was in the 90s, however, that his star was really in the ascendant, when he opened Dockside (1991), One Red Dog (95), ran the Martinborough Hotel for then owners Mike and Sally Lavern (96-98) and got the call from Te Papa to open the well-known restaurant Icon, as well as the museum’s cafes and catering facilities.

Since then, Mike has also added Wellington’s Monsoon Poon (2001) and its Auckland sister (2006) to his stable, as well as Arbitrageur (2003) and late in 2008, Osteria del Toro.

Which means that on one any one night, he’s responsible for feeding around 400-500 hungry diners – and for the livelihood of 160 staff.

And despite the fact the each eatery has a managing partner on at all times, all three partners walk the floor of their many eateries as often as they can.

“It helps us to ensure that our service, our food and our quality remains consistent, because consistency is key for us. Plus, you get to meet the customers and ensure that they’re getting the best.”