Martin Benn is back in Melbourne after a three-year absence. And back, it should be noted, to his artful best.

The internationally revered chef, who made his name in Sydney with his three-hat Japanese-Australian fine diner Sepia, has taken up an eight-week residency at the National Gallery of Victoria International’s Garden Restaurant, until February 16.

His term helming the restaurant kitchen coincides with the launch of the NGV’s latest blockbuster exhibition of legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, of dancing pumpkin and polka-dot fame.

“A lot of my food is inspired by Kusama’s work,” says Benn, who has a long-standing affinity for all things Japanese, art and design. “While complex, it’s also simple and very clean with its curves, circles and dots.”

In this instance, though, Benn is ramping his love affair with Kusama to a new level with dishes that, when admired from above, reflect her playful art forms.

On the menu, which features five entrees, five mains and three desserts, you’ll see it in an heirloom tomato topped with yuzu stracciatella, tosazu (bonito-flavoured vinegar dressing) and kombu seaweed, a dish that featured on Benn’s menu for the recent NGV Gala, a foretaste of his gallery residency.

The Kusama influence is there again in his dish of pumpkin in miso dotted with salmon roe and marigolds. “You see all these orange and red dots Kusama is known for,” says Benn, who draws parallels between the artist’s obsessive-compulsive nature and his own.

But it is on the dessert list where the visual pull to Kusama is strongest. Using the names of some of her pieces, Benn evokes Infinity Room in strawberry, almond and white chocolate, Dots Obsession in passionfruit in vanilla cream, and Obliteration Room in chocolate ganache with cherry, coconut and licorice.

“I remember once telling a pastry chef (at Sepia) to use Kusama as an influence and make a dessert based on that,” recalls Benn, who’s thinking of adding a QR code to the menu so you can be digitally whisked to the work while you’re eating.

“That’s what I’m doing here. It’s me having fun with an artist who has fun in her work and bringing that to the menu.”

Benn’s a la carte menu will be available for lunch daily, with two- and three-course options ($84 and $96 respectively) from December 20, with a $165 five-course set menu on Friday evenings, from December 27.

Benn plans to keep the menu dynamic, changing it regularly to capture Kusama’s creative spirit. “I’m treating the residency like I would my own restaurant,” he says. “You get me 100 per cent.”

The NGV residency marks a return to Melbourne for Benn and partner Vicki Wild, who famously quit Society, the Collins Street restaurant they helped to develop, soon after its launch in mid-2021.

Benn will oversee a new premium fine-dining experience, Club 1905, at the Australian Open tennis tournament, which runs from January 12-26.

He will also host an intimate dinner party with Brigitte Hafner at her Red Hill restaurant, Tedesca Osteria, for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival on March 28.

As for further down the track? “I’m back, baby,” says Benn. “Melbourne is our home now. I’m here to make an impact.”

For Martin Benn at the NGV Garden Restaurant bookings, visit ngv.vic.gov.au