''Big Zuu's Big Eats'' is a British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series that premiered on 15 May 2020, on

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

. It stars rapper and grime artist

Big Zuu Zuhair Hassan (born 19 August 1995), known professionally as Big Zuu, is a British rapper, grime MC, songwriter, DJ and television personality from West London. He is best known for presenting ''Big Zuu's Big Eats'' for Dave. Early and personal ...

, along with friends Tubsey and Hyder. In each episode they meet a celebrity and discuss memorable and favourite foods, following which the trio cook a meal for the celebrity. In May 2023, it was confirmed that the ''Big Zuu's Big Eats'' would return with a forth series later in 2023.

Format

The first series was filmed in autumn 2019, and saw Zuu, Tubsey and Hyder cook for comedians on tour, travelling the country in a branded

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...

. In each episode, Zuu met with the comedian at a performing venue, and the two discussed food likes and dislikes. From this, Zuu would create a four-course menu - an

amuse-bouche An ''amuse-bouche'' (; ) or ''amuse-gueule'' (, ; ) is a single, bite-sized'' hors d'œuvre''. Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons but are served free and according to the chef's selec ...

, followed by a three-course meal consisting of a starter,

main course A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée ("entry") course. Typically, the main course is the meal that is the heaviest, heartiest, and most intricate or substantial o ...

, and

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

. Footage of Zuu, Tubsey and Hyder shopping for ingredients - frequently favouring local businesses over national chains - would follow, interspersed with clips from the comedian's live performance. In the food truck, Zuu would demonstrate how to make the dishes discussed, with assistance from Tubsey and Hyder. The amuse-bouche would be served to the comedian shortly before they performed on stage that evening, or during a break in the show. After their show, the comedian and Zuu would sit down together at the venue for the three-course meal. The final two episodes of the first series consisted of Christmas specials featuring multiple guests, from the worlds of music and comedy, with Christmas-themed menus. Due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on performing arts, series two and three saw the trio meeting up with a wider range of celebrities in a variety of locations. The format of a conversation about food, followed by shopping for ingredients, the cooking and the eating of the meal remained, though the 'filler' activities would vary - for example, Harry Redknapp is seen teaching Zuu how to play golf.

Episodes

Critical response

The show received favourable reviews, and in the 2021 BAFTAs received a nomination for Best Feature. At the 2022 BAFTAs the show won the award for Best Feature and Big Zuu won the award for Best Entertainment Performance. At the

Broadcast Awards ''Broadcast'' is a monthly magazine for the United Kingdom television and radio industry, owned by Media Business Insight. History ''Broadcast'' was started in 1973 by Rod Allen, who went on to work at LWT, HTV and HarperCollinsInteractive. ...

, ''Big Zuu's Big Eats'' received the Gamechanger Programme of the Year in 2021 and the Best Popular Factual Programme award in 2023. The widening of the format for series two, necessitated by the

Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, was regarded as a positive move for the show. The publicity which followed the show's two BAFTA wins highlighted the refugee backgrounds of the three hosts, and was welcomed by the

Refugee Council The Refugee Council is a UK based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations. The R ...

as a positive portrayal of refugees and their families. The show was compared positively to other well-established cookery shows and formats. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''s Anita Singh and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''s Barbara Ellen both reviewed the third series four out of five stars.

References

External links

* * * {{Dave original programming Episode list using the default LineColor 2020 British television series debuts 2020s British comedy television series 2020s British cooking television series British cooking television shows English-language television shows Dave (TV channel) original programming