Meals on wheels!
MUSICIAN AND CHEF BIG ZUU TELLS INSIDE TV HOW HE’S CHUFFED TO BE BACK FOR MORE CULINARY ADVENTURES WITH THE STARS…
Big Zuu returns with his besties Tubsey and Hyder for a third series of his double BAFTA-winning show, as they traverse the UK to cook for some of our fave celebs. And the eponymous chef tells us he’s thrilled to be back…
“Big Zuu’s Big Eats is made for the road,” he enthuses. “I love being able to learn about different types of food and different cultures. That’s something very beautiful.”
First up, Big Zuu is in Stockport with comedian
Johnny Vegas, who’s on a mission to reinvent the humble can of Spam. And Zuu was blown away by Johnny’s halal-friendly culinary triumph…
“I couldn’t believe his level of cheffery!” he cheers. “He made us Spam Fritter Burgers using turkey Spam, which doesn’t sound nice on paper but came out really well. I was like, ‘Okay, Johnny, you’re giving me cooking vibes!’”
Across the eight-parter, Zuu will also be delivering life-affirming dishes to comedians Katherine Ryan, Lucy Beaumont, Alex Brooker and Fatiha El-Ghorri, musician Big Narstie, The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air star Joseph Marcell (butler Geoffrey), and singer Mel B. And for the latter, it was a traditional choice of fare…
“We made her a combination of scraps and Yorkshire pudding,” reveals Zuu. “Because she’s from Leeds, she loves scraps: the little leftover bits you get at the chippie. And what’s so interesting about this season is that we also get to see them cook. Melanie B is not the greatest chef in the world – but she tried! That was funny.”
Another new twist this series is the boys’ brand-new food truck – and Big Zuu’s initial reaction to the pimped-up meal mobile is priceless.
“It was crazy, seeing it for the first time!” he grins. “Compared to our first one, the space is mad. We have a hob. We have an actual working grill. We have air vents. It’s such an upgrade! But it can be cold in England, and cooking in the cold is not easy.”
On which note, Zuu is clearly not averse to taking the truck to sunnier climes…
“Yeah, someone needs to pay for that!” he chuckles. “What we have, this format, there’s nothing else like it: there’s no programme where three random dudes pull up in a food truck and cook you all the meals that you want to eat, based on your life. If we can transcend that into different countries, that’d be really cool. I’d love to go to Africa to show its food culture. Big Eats Africa – that’s the dream!”