This November, Caia, the intimate modern bistro on Golborne Road, will launch Chefmaxxing, a new monthly series from Executive Chef John Javier. Valentin Raffali, Executive Chef of Paris’ newly reopened Bus Palladium, will be first up, followed by Hector Henderson in December and Halaigh Whelan-McManus in January. Each guest will create their own six-dish à la carte menu for Caia, joining Javier in the open kitchen for its launch night, before the menu continues across the remaining Mondays of the month.
On 16th November, Valentin Raffali will kick off the series with dishes such as Drunken Pigeon. A semi-finalist on Top Chef France in 2024, Raffali is now Executive Chef at Bus Palladium in Paris, having previously co-founded and led the kitchen at Marseille neo-bistro Livingston, bringing food, natural wine, art and music together under one roof. His menu will also be available on 23rd and 30th November.
The series will continue on 7th December with Hector Henderson, Head Chef of Shoreditch institution Rochelle Canteen since 2022, before moving into the new year with Oslo-based Halaigh Whelan-McManus, formerly of three-Michelin-starred Maaemo. Further guests will include Karla Knowles, behind Pam in Farringdon and soon-to-open Aree in Notting Hill, Jesse Jenkins of @adip_food; Ed McIlroy of Four Legs; Josh Dallaway of Tasca; Nick Bramham of Quality Wines; Sertaç Dirik of KID; Seb Myers of Planque; Magnus Reid, who founded Hackney restaurant Legs; Joke Bakare of Chishuru, and the trio behind Nudo: Edoardo Fiaschi, José Conde and Jessica Natali. Dates and menus will be announced soon via @caia.london.
John Javier joined Caia as Executive Chef in 2025, following a career spanning Sydney, Copenhagen, Hong Kong and London. His experience includes Quay, Momofuku Seiobo and Noma, as well as MASTER in Sydney, Happy Paradise in Hong Kong and The Tent (at the end of the universe) in London. That international career now informs his cooking at Caia, with Chefmaxxing bringing some of the chefs he most admires to Golborne Road.
