Ollie Dabbous and Sachin Mistry are cooking together at Kāio across two weeks this September. The exclusive residency puts an acclaimed Michelin-starred guest chef on the pass of a kitchen that is not his own, and the six-course tasting menu that comes out of it is one neither chef would have written alone.
A guest chef in someone else's kitchen
The residency runs on Kāio's own fire, with Kāio's Head Chef alongside the guest rather than standing back from him. Sachin Mistry said: “I have long admired Chef Dabbous and have found working with him on this residency an inspiration. I am proud to work alongside him in my own kitchen and can't wait to serve this collaborative menu.”
The words worth sitting on there are “in my own kitchen” and “collaborative”. This is not a visiting menu dropped into a room for two weeks. It is a menu built in the room it is served in.
Old favourites, new creations
Dabbous said: “It has been really engaging creating this menu for the Kāio residency and working with Sachin. He is a talented young chef with a bright future ahead of him. The menu showcases the live-fire ethos of the restaurant, but with my organic approach.”
What that produces is a menu holding both “old favourites” and “some new creations”, in his words, alongside a return he framed in the same statement: “I'm also looking forward to reconnecting with a lot of diners I haven't cooked for in quite a while.” His signature Coddled Egg is on the menu.
Two careers meeting on one pass
Dabbous earned a Michelin star within six months of opening his eponymous restaurant, Dabbous, and went on to co-found and lead Hide in Piccadilly. Mistry's career has run through The Grill by Tom Booton at The Dorchester, BiBi, Michelin-starred The Cross at Kenilworth, and Akoko.
The fire they are both cooking on
Kāio cooks over live fire, around a tabun clay oven and a charcoal grill. Dabbous brings his signature minimalist approach to it, and the six-course menu is centred on seasonal ingredients, considered flavours and the restaurant's live-fire ethos rather than on either chef's name.
Kāio takes its name from Ancient Greek. καίω, Kāio, is a primary verb: to burn, to kindle, to set on fire, to consume. A residency that put its guest chef anywhere other than in front of that fire would have missed the point of the room.
When the residency runs
Dabbous cooks at Kāio from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 September, and again from Wednesday 23 to Saturday 26 September 2026. You can see the menu and book the residency on its own page.
