Annam to Annamis: The Story Behind the Name

Names matter in hospitality. A restaurant name sets an expectation before a guest has eaten a single dish. The name of a wine tells you something about where it came from before you uncork it. The name of the tableware on your table — if it has one worth knowing — adds a layer of meaning to the meal.

Annamis is not a name invented by a branding agency. It is a word rooted in a place, a history, and a decision made by two people who understood that where something comes from is inseparable from what it is.

The Ancient Name of Vietnam

For much of its recorded history, the territory we now call Vietnam was known in Chinese diplomatic and cartographic records as Annam — a term meaning 'the pacified south.' The name had political origins in the relationship between Vietnamese kingdoms and the Chinese imperial court, but over time it became the shorthand through which Vietnamese culture, goods, and particularly ceramics were known across Asia and beyond.

Vietnamese ceramics exported under the Annam name were traded to Japan, throughout Southeast Asia, and along the maritime routes to the Middle East. They were prized not as exotic curiosities but as quality goods: the clay body, the glaze sophistication, the balance of form and function that Vietnamese craft villages had refined over centuries. The name Annam, in the context of ceramics, was a mark of origin with genuine quality connotations.

A Chef's Search for the Right Piece

Chef Matt spent his formative years in some of Europe's most demanding restaurant kitchens. In those environments, tableware is a professional preoccupation: the right plate is not decoration but a tool that determines how a dish is presented, perceived, and experienced. The wrong plate — too generic, too clinical, too uniform — diminishes food that deserves better.

His search for tableware that matched the intentionality of his cooking took him through European artisan producers, Scandinavian minimalists, and Japanese studio ceramicists. The quality was there, in many cases. The price — and the inaccessibility for restaurants operating at volume — was prohibitive.

It was his wife Phuong who provided the missing piece. Her connection to Vietnamese ceramic culture — a culture she had grown up alongside without necessarily recognising its international significance — opened a conversation about what Vietnamese craft production could offer a professional kitchen that European alternatives could not: the same quality of artisanal intention, at a price point that made sense for real restaurant operation.

Why the Name Annamis

The decision to name the brand Annamis — a contemporary form of the ancient name Annam — was deliberate on several levels. It anchors the brand to a specific geographic and cultural heritage rather than a generic Asian aesthetic. It honours the trading history through which Vietnamese ceramics first became known internationally. And it creates a name that is easy to say, distinctive enough to remember, and connected to a story worth telling.

For restaurants using Annamis tableware, the name itself becomes a conversation piece. A guest who asks — as guests increasingly do — where the plate came from, receives not a corporate answer but a genuine one: a brand built by a chef and his wife, drawing on a ceramic tradition older than most European fine dining culture, making pieces that perform as well as they look.

2.5% to Saigon Children

The final element of the Annamis story is one that Chef Matt and Phuong consider non-negotiable rather than optional. Two and a half percent of every Annamis profit goes to Saigon Children — a charity funding scholarships, school building, and vocational training for disadvantaged young people in Vietnam.

This commitment predates any commercial success. It was built into the business model at founding because it reflects a straightforward conviction: a brand that draws on Vietnamese culture and craft skill has an obligation to contribute to the communities that make it possible. Not as a marketing exercise, but as a founding principle.

When you specify Annamis for your restaurant, that 2.5% flows regardless of order size. It is not a premium add-on. It is part of what Annamis is.

FAQ

Q: Is Annamis a Vietnamese-owned company?

A: Annamis was founded by Chef Matt (European) and Phuong (Vietnamese), and operates through Annamis Ltd in the UK and DAC Global in Poland. Our craft production is entirely based in Vietnam with local artisan partners.

Q: Can we reference the Annamis story in our restaurant materials?

A: Yes. We provide brand documentation and origin story materials for restaurants who want to incorporate the Annamis narrative into their guest experience. Contact us at info@annamis.com.

Q: How long has Annamis been supplying restaurants?

A: Annamis has been supplying UK and European restaurants since our launch, with clients including Umu (Michelin star), Mana Mayfair, and others across London and internationally.

Q: Does Annamis have plans to expand beyond ceramics?

A: Our focus remains on ceramic tableware — doing one thing exceptionally well rather than expanding prematurely. We do develop new collections regularly within that focus.

→ Request your sample set at annamis.com/for-restaurants