On June 24, beloved udon noodle connoisseurs Koya will launch Koya & Ko., its first ever collaboration series featuring limited-edition blackboard udon creations from chef friends Max Rocha (Cafe Cecilia), Florence Knight (Sessions Arts Club), Benjamin Chapman (Kiln, Smoking Goat) and more.

Available exclusively to its Broadway Market location Koya Ko, the Koya & Ko. series will see each chef – all of whom are friends of the restaurant and its head chef and co-founder Shuko Oda – put their twist on Koya’s signature udon and dashi. Reflecting their own unique culinary style and spanning cuisines from around the world in one humble dish, the chefs’ udon creations will be available as rotating specials at the Hackney restaurant, each for a limited two-week period.

Chefs confirmed for the Koya & Ko. udon series so far include the below, with East London neighbour Max Rocha’s Tea-stained Egg Breakfast Udon kicking off the series in mid-June:

Max Rocha (Cafe Cecilia) – Tea-stained egg breakfast udon
Mitshel Ibrahim (Ombra) – Cuttlefish and sweet pea udon
Benjamin Chapman (Kiln, Smoking Goat) – Geng Gari (yellow chicken curry) udon with pickles and blood orange
Florence Knight (Sessions Arts Club) – Clam and wild garlic udon with roasted tomatoes
Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich (Honey & Co.) – Pickled cucumber, shredded cabbage, tahini, sesame and chilli udon
Laura Jackson (Towpath Cafe) – Crispy pancetta lardons and puntarella Udon with poached egg
Owen Barratt (Monty’s Deli) – Beef rib udon with mustard greens, spring onion and grated ginger

The idea for Koya & Ko. was born from lockdown, when the team sent packages of their Omiyage Udon & Dashi to long-time friends of the restaurant via their delivery service Koya Mail. The team were blown away by their chef friends' unique, at-home takes on their classic udon and dashi, and wanted to allow guests to share in this joy.

Koya fans can also create their own riffs on the dish at home, with omiyage boxes available to order via Koya Mail from £14 (for 2 servings).