GRIME ARTIST Big Zuu has a hidden talent – he’s also a great cook.

His only professional experience may have been six months working the grill at Nando’s, but now, this self-taught chef is hitting the road with his old school mates Tubsey and Hyder, looking to cook up amazing dishes in the back of his very own food truck for a selection of the UK’s favourite comedians. 

As a musician, Zuu knows all about the difficulties of finding good food on tour – but how does the comedy circuit compare?

In this series he’s meeting top comics such as  Jimmy Carr, Rosie Jones, Josh Widdicombe, Jamali Maddix and London Hughes to  cook them the perfect post gig rider – ready for when they come off stage.    

And for each meal he’ll add his own signature twist – from using Doritos as a topping on fried chicken, to cramming an entire roast dinner into a Yorkshire pudding sandwich,  this is cooking like you’ve never seen before, but will it be enough for some of the biggest names in British comedy? 

The Voice Online had some questions for the big man ahead of the series airing on Dave weekly from May 15.

What is it like to have your own TV show commissioned for Dave? 

BIG ZUU: Honestly, it’s still surreal for me. Not only having my own series but to be doing this with  my two best friends that I grew up with is crazy to me. We’ve all worked really hard on  this show and I can’t wait for people to see it.     You’re known for being a grime MC, less so for your links to cooking and comedy, this  show combines all three.

Tell us how it came about? 

BIG ZUU: I’ve always been the fat kid growing up who loved music and food. So when I got into  the music game and started building a following for my tracks, I’d always put funny  videos of myself cooking on my socials. It just became a thing I was known for. I then did some cooking segments for radio shows and blogs in the grime world and it  became my thing.     What was it like spending time with the comedians in the series?  It was an amazing experience. There’s quite a lot of similarities between comedians  and music artists. We both spend a lot of our time on the road touring so we had a lot in common in that sense. Every comedian I met during this process had their own unique  style of how they worked, which was great because it always made each episode  different and fresh.    

What is your favourite meal to eat? 

BIG ZUU: A lamb Jollof rice. My mum is from Sierra Leone so I have grown up eating the best jollof  and it’s definitely my favourite meal. 

Have there been any dramatic moments? 

BIG ZUU: When Tubsey ate one of the spiciest chillies in the world and there was no milk for him to  wash it down! It may not seem like that much of a dramatic moment but until you’ve  tried this chili you seriously cannot understand!    

How do you enjoy working with your best mates? 

BIG ZUU: It’s a dream come true. There’s no other way to put it. The way we’ve approached this  series is by acting like we’re just hanging out as normal. I think that’s why the show  comes across as genuine. Before the lockdown, we would spend most days together in  London so it’s been a really easy process. I can’t remember a time where I haven’t  known Tubsey and Hyder so to now have a tv series with them is unreal.    

How do the three of you work: is it mainly scripted or off-the-cuff? 

BIG ZUU: It’s definitely off the cuff. We’re rarely going off any script during the show. I don’t like  working with scripts anyway but it would be even weirder working with one on this show  because I’m with my two best mates. I think any script would have made it feel  uncomfortable. We’ve known each other for so long that all the banter and exchanges  are natural.    

What set’s ‘Big Zuu’s Big Eats’ apart from other cooking shows? 

BIG ZUU: ‘Big Zuu’s Big Eats’ is the show for people who don’t live near a Waitrose or who can’t  afford to go to one. I’m a massive fan of all cooking programmes but I think this show  stands out as we’re sourcing the food from local shops rather than big chains. I’m  hoping it proves to people, especially in my generation, that cooking can be a fun and  affordable experience. A lot of people I know can’t be bothered to cook and think it  costs too much so they’d rather just get fast food. Hopefully, BZBE’s can change that for some people. I also don’t think there are many shows where there is a grime MC with his two best mates, cooking for world famous comedians in a food truck! Haha!