When Joyce Kudia took up residency at Boxhall City’s rotating chef concept Kitchen No. 8 earlier this year, it marked a significant moment in her career. Prior to, the private chef had never cooked in a commercial kitchen of her own before.
Born and raised in West London, Kudia has seen her profile skyrocket in recent years thanks to her appearance on Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef, during which she competed to open a restaurant in London’s five-star Langham hotel. Judges included culinary legend Michel Roux Jr, pastry supremo Ravneet Gill, and chef Mike Reid.
While Kudia didn’t win the show, she certainly caught people’s attention, which led her to become the first chef to take over Kitchen No. 8 when Boxhall City back in March. Her residency, Biléyi by MsJoyceK, was an evolution of the concept she developed during her appearance on Five Star Kitchen and featured modern twists on Congolese-inspired dishes.
The residency proved to be a big success with Kudia drawing consistent queues, sold-out days, and viral traction across social media, which has now led her to score a permanent spot for Biléyi at Boxhall City.
Congratulations on taking Biléyi permanent, what is it about the concept that has clicked with diners?
It’s something that you can’t really get anywhere else. A lot of people don’t know a lot about central African cuisine and specifically Congolese food. It’s not something you see often in London, and Biléyi allows diners to discover it in a way that is innovative and accessible.
You appeared on Five Star Kitchen back in 2023, how did that experience shape the development of Biléyi?
The producers approached me and asked me to audition. There were three rounds, and I was fortunate enough to get through. As an experience it really challenged me. At the time I had a much broader idea of the restaurant concept I wanted to create. It was going to have more of a pan-African focus and combine cuisines of different countries. The producers suggested that I try to narrow it down and do something that people are less familiar with. And that’s how I came to focus on Congolese cuisine.
How did the concept evolve following your appearance on the show?
After the competition I went back to private cheffing, but I was definitely thinking about doing something else that centred on Congolese food. When Boxhall contacted me with the opportunity for the Kitchen No. 8 residency it all just clicked. On the show the concept was focused more on fine dining, but this opportunity made me think about developing it as something more accessible, which led me to create Biléyi.
Tell us about the menu for Biléyi
For me it’s all about combining the modern with the classic. For example, one of our signature dishes is a plantain burger. Plantain is used a lot in Congo and across Africa and is an ingredient I wanted to put my stamp on. The dish sees a beef patty sandwiched between two pieces of fried plantain with lettuce, avocado, caramelised onions and a hot honey drizzle. We went through a lot of development on that one. I knew having the plantain as a burger bun would appeal as it’s so unusual, but I spent a lot of time making sure the fillings complemented it.
Are there any dishes on the menu that may be particularly unfamiliar to London diners?
One that few people have heard of is the ntaba, which is slow-smoked and grilled goat meat that we cook in our own blend of spices. It’s a really popular street food in Congo, but not something people know over here. We have lots of customers come who want to try it, though. It’s one of our top sellers and we serve it with a spiced house rice.
What are the big differences between being a private chef and running your own restaurant business?
Being a private chef wasn’t an everyday thing. I would do it three or four days a week, but with Biléyi I have to push myself every day, making sure we have everything we need and that all the food is right. It’s been a lot, but there’s a lot of passion behind it. It feels like something that could last and expand into other sites and opportunities. For me it’s about building something bigger for the future.
How big could Biléyi get?
I want to take it everywhere; to be in every area and really expand the brand. Its success so far has shown me that this is something that could really work. It’s open to so much more than people of one culture, everyone’s interested in it. And as I’ve said, it’s not the sort of thing you see every single day. That’s really the beauty of it for me.