Collections · The Circle Selection
The Circle Selection
Midnight Elegance
Matte black across the well, warming to bronze where the glaze thins over the rim and the foot. The darkest finish in the Circle Selection, and the one that holds a plate together at low light.
The glaze
Matte black, bronze at the edge
Ink · charcoal · graphite brown · bronze · bare rim
A matte black that reads brown-black rather than blue-black. It sits flat and even across the well, then thins over the curve of the rim and the foot, where the iron in the glaze comes through as bronze. Under warm restaurant light the whole surface leans towards dark chocolate.
A few shapes are finished with the porcelain left bare at the rim, a fine cream line drawing the edge of the plate. Two pieces from the same firing share the depth of colour, never the exact edge.
A few pieces
For inspiration
Click a thumbnail to change the piece · click the large image for the view from above
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A selection, not the full range. Over 300 shapes are made in this glaze, and bespoke shapes to order.
Your dish on Midnight Elegance
Send us a recipe, we'll plate it
Tell us the dish you have in mind and the shape you're after, and we'll send you a simulation of it on the piece.
On the plate
Plating Midnight Elegance
What it flatters
Anything with colour to give: seared meat, tempura, citrus, beetroot, saffron. Bright garnish reads twice as strong against it.
Contrast that works
Cream, gold and green separate cleanly. Dark sauces and charred vegetables sink into the well, so keep them glossy enough to catch the light.
Building a table
Strong enough to carry a tasting menu on its own, and the natural counterweight to the pale finishes — pair it with Serene Waters across courses.
In service
Two dishes on Midnight Elegance
Short enough to hand to a section chef.
On the wave tray
Rock Shrimp Tempura, Spicy Creamy Sauce
400g rock shrimp or small peeled prawns · 100g plain flour · 30g cornflour · 200ml ice-cold sparkling water · 1 egg yolk · neutral oil for frying · 120g Japanese mayonnaise · 1 tbsp sriracha · 1 tsp honey · 1 tsp rice vinegar · shiso or coriander · lime
- Whisk the mayonnaise with the sriracha, honey and vinegar. Keep it cold and loose enough to spoon.
- Dry the shrimp thoroughly. Mix the two flours, then fold in the yolk and sparkling water at the last moment, leaving the batter lumpy.
- Fry in small batches at 180°C for about 90 seconds, until pale gold and crisp. Drain on a rack, not on paper.
- Spoon the sauce along the trough of the tray so it pools rather than spreads.
- Pile the shrimp along the length and tear shiso over the top. Lime on the side.
The tray's wave holds the sauce in a line down the centre, and pale gold batter is the sharpest contrast the matte black gives you.
On the round plate
Duck Breast, Cherry & Port Reduction
2 duck breasts · 200g cherries, halved and stoned · 150ml port · 100ml veal or chicken stock · 2 banana shallots · 1 sprig thyme · 20g cold butter · rocket · red wine vinegar · sea salt
- Score the duck skin, salt it, and start it skin-side down in a cold dry pan. Render over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, pouring off the fat as it comes.
- Turn it for two minutes, then rest the duck on a warm plate for as long as it cooked.
- Halve the shallots and colour them cut-side down in a little of the duck fat with the thyme.
- Deglaze with the port, reduce by two thirds, add the stock and half the cherries, and reduce to a coating sauce. Whisk in the cold butter off the heat.
- Carve the breast in thick slices. Spoon the sauce in an arc, lay the duck across it, and finish with the raw cherries, the shallots and rocket dressed in vinegar.
A glossy sauce is the only way to read dark on dark: it catches the light where the matte glaze doesn't. The cherries and the rendered skin do the colour work.
For Restaurants
See it in your kitchen
Photographs flatten a matte black. Tell us which shapes interest you and we'll send them.