With a CV that includes a number of top international restaurants, the Japanese-born Fujimoto (pictured left) has completed two residencies at Oranj’s previous location on Shoreditch’s Bacon Street.
Earlier this year it was announced that Oranj would move to a larger venue on nearby Dray Walk.
“By the end of each Oranj residency – whether it was a week or a month long – I’d be in this incredible groove with the chefs, on a high from our customers’ feedback, so saying goodbye was never easy and many of those chefs have become great friends,” Delamothe says.
“Working with Yuto – who also catered my wedding this year – has felt so natural and something that I simply couldn’t allow to end. Luckily for me, he felt the same way.”
Originally from Hokkaido, Fujimoto has worked at globally-recognised restaurants including Maz in Tokyo and Aux Deux Amis in Paris.
Inspired by his time cooking and eating in Europe, his new permanent menu will feature small plates, large plates and desserts that will change with the seasons but “remain constant in their essence and identity”.
Highlights include homemade gnocchi with sage and cep sauce; monkfish with chard and lemon butter sauce; and oyster mushroom with cured egg yolk sauce and beef tartare.
Much like its former Bacon Street home, Oranj on Dray Walk will have an industrial edge.
Design details will include custom-built orange tables framed in walnut, vintage orange lighting, eclectic artworks and dripping candles.
A striking nine-metre bar wrapped in antique zinc will lend “a raw yet refined character”.
The restaurant will seat 72 guests, including outdoor seating, plus a private dining room for 10-34 guests.
In addition to private bookings, this separate dining space will be used for occasional residencies.
Delamothe (pictured right) launched Oranj during lockdown as a natural wine delivery service, with the Bacon Street site following a few years later.
The new Oranj is set to open its doors on 14 October.