he wasn’t in it for a very long time – I knew that he had some experience doing stuff in the kitchen. So for me,Will had that excellence when it came to getting his point across in a small amount of words and making you feel the emotion that he felt when he ate the food.”
Big Zuu’s French taco recipe “The French took a Mexican dish, named it incorrectly and basically swapped the rice and beans in a burrito with chips and cheese,” is how Big Zuu describes this dish. “Bare meat combined with hella flavours in a massive tortilla, then pressed in a grill – it’s very mad.When I went to Paris and had this, it made me question the fast-food levels in the UK.”
The hardest thing for Zuu was actually managing to eat 12 whole dishes in 12 hours.
“I was so full. It was so tough – it wasn’t easy,” he admits.“I thought, 12 hours is not a big problem – bruh! I was done [by the end of it]. I was so done to the point of like, I started feeling sorry for myself.” He adds with an explosive laugh: “It’s funny, because a lot of people are like, oh you’ve got the best job in the world. I definitely do, but it’s not easy… I always think of the guy from Man v. Food, and I’m like – how did he do it for all those years? He’s a very mentally strong person.” Zuu keeps things light on camera, but he’s always got the bigger picture in mind – particularly when he thinks about how he’s pushing forward representation in the food TV space.“Sometimes naturally,it can be a little bit overwhelming and it can feel like I’ve got a lot on my shoulders,” he says. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t make a mistake. But that’s part of the game and that’s part of what I signed up for – and I’m very happy to lead the charge when it comes to food television in terms of new things as well… I’m proud to be part of this new wave of creators.” Big Zuu’s 12 Dishes In 12 Hours continues on ITV1/ITVX on Saturdays at 10pm, and Big Zuu’s Big Eats by Big Zuu is published by Ebury Press, priced £22. Photography by Ellis Parrinder.Available now
Fr ench taco ingredients: (Serves 2)
6 chicken breast mini fillets, about 250g 2tbsp olive oil ½tsp garlic powder
½tsp smoked paprika ½tsp ground cumin ½tsp dried oregano 2 merguez sausages
½ red pepper, thinly sliced ½ green pepper, thinly sliced 2 large tortillas 100g grated mozzarella 2tbsp nacho cheese sauciness 2 handfuls of cooked oven chips 2 spring onions, sliced 50g pickled jalapeños Salt and ground black pepper, to taste For the sauce Algérienne: Juice of ½ lemon 1tsp ground cumin 1tsp paprika
½tsp chilli powder 1tbsp tomato paste 1tbsp harissa paste 1 small onion, finely chopped 240g mayonnaise
Handful of coriander, finely chopped Salt and ground black pepper, to taste For the nacho cheese sauciness: 410ml tin evaporated milk 120g Red Leicester, grated 120g Cheddar, grated 1tbsp cornflour 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 1tsp hot chilli powder 1tbsp hot sauce
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