Doju
Doju 〜 a combination of Head Chef/Owner Mika Chae’s hometown Jeollanam-do and Meju, a fermented, Korean soybean block. Meju is the first step for making a number of Korean dishes like doenjang (Korean miso), ganjang (soy sauce) and gochujang (chilli paste). Since Doju is Mika’s first restaurant, Meju is perfectly incorporated into the name and sets the scene for meaningful, passionate food.
Say Hello to Mika
Mika Chae, head chef and owner of Doju was born in Jeollanam-do a province in South Korea. This particular province has a warmer climate, meaning produce from the area has more intense flavours and traditionally there is more salt added to their food, more flavour. This is where Mika’s love affair with food began and when he moved to Melbourne in 2013 decided to become a chef.
He went to Tasmania to connect with Australian producers and explore the culture of working closley with producers and removing the middle man between the food and the plate
Driven by a passion for all things food, Mika spent the last ten years gaining experience, mastering his craft and creating his own flavour. In particular the last two years, as head chef of the renowned Grain of the Silos in Tasmania. Mika worked alongside chef Thomas Pirkir & Massimo Mele and learnt the importance of creating relationships with local farmers.
Our Ethos
Mika himself hand selects all of our ingredients and knows the producers personally. At Doju we believe that food should be simple and the natural flavour of our ingredients should be centre stage.
Basically we source everything from the right place and we make sure that it tastes good, if it’s not the way we think it should be, then it’s not making it to the menu.
Quality underpins everything we do at Doju, all good things take time and attention, that’s why we do what we do.