Super setting: Nobu Matsuhisa and Arita Plus create new tableware collection

In order to celebrate 400 years of Japanese porcelain, master chef Nobu Matsuhisa has teamed up with up with Arita Plus, a cooperative of young potters from the Arita region to create a new collection of tableware.

Consisting of white plates, bowls, sushi roll holders and a sake set, decorated in Arita’s trademark blue and red glazes, the collection was born as the result of Arita Plus approaching Nobu ten months ago. There’s nothing the chef likes more than creating crockery that complements his ever-evolving menu; in the past he’s designed teapots and bento boxes, soba sets and sushi tools. ‘I’m always devising new dishes and I quite often can’t fine the crockery I need, so I like to design my own,’ he explains.

Included in the nine-piece collection is an edamame plate; a ‘design’ plate, for signature dishes such as black cod miso; and a red sushi plate. (Traditionally, sushi chefs dish up on red plates but in many places outside Japan, Nobu has had to use standard white versions.) Motifs are inspired by the Japanese flag and the red of the rising sun.

The collection is on sale in all 39 of Nobu’s restaurants, which so far span 34 cities. In April, the lounge bar at Nobu Berkeley Street is reopening with an update from David Collins Studio (expect capiz shell, silk lanterns, rock crystal and hand-dyed Japanese indigo cloth); while 2017 brings a Nobu Hotel to Shoreditch. ‘It will be a different offering,’ Nobu explains. ‘The signature dishes won’t change but there will be new additions and a different concept. I hope it will have a big impact on the brand.'