Big Zuu’s big food hacks: 7 top cooking tips from the celebrity chef

There’s not much Big Zuu doesn’t do - he’s a rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, TV presenter, documentary maker, and chef. And whether he lists it on his CV or not, quite the comedian too, serving as many laughs as he does sumptuous snacks. Known for his Big Eats programme on U&Dave, Zuu cooked up a storm for Shortlist at a recent Ninja showcase, and left me wishing I hadn’t worn tight jeans.

Aside from teaching me how to use Ninja’s new Crispi airfryer and Creami machine — its smoothie bowl setting alone is enough to make food influencers communally weep for joy and aesthetic value — we managed to tear Zuu away from the stove long enough to mine him for some of his top culinary tips. We asked Big Zuu some of his kitchen hacks, favourite foodie spots in London, and the most underrated herb and spice so that you can up your cheffing game with minimum effort.

Aside from chatting with us, he whipped up Jerk chicken, burgers, a mezze plate, and pineapple ice cream - all during a casual Friday lunchtime, putting my work-from-home beans on toast to shame. Here’s what we learnt.

1. The best foodie hack? Don’t ditch the leftovers

"If you have an airfryer - recrisping left overs like last night’s fries in it or just the warm setting to keep food warm - gamechanger," says Zuu.

2. Don’t underestimate your garlic crusher

"Aside from the Ninja Crispi, my favourite kitchen tool is the garlic crusher," Zuu reveals.

"You know why? The effect it gives you is so hard to achieve. My mum is from Sierra Leone but is a quarter Lebanese, and she loves making salad. Crushed garlic gives salads that perfect bitty-ness that you need. You can wash, blend, and microplane garlic, but when you crush it, that’s what gives it the best texture."

3. Don’t leave pepper as a final-touch seasoning

"Black pepper is so underrated. It’s well known but it’s not used in the right way," Zuu explains.

"People always add it at the end on top of food, but you should use it during cooking, too. You know people usually season their onion at the beginning with salt to get the moisture out? I always use black pepper - especially in macaroni cheese.

"Black pepper always brings out the flavour in things more than we know. Always use cracked black pepper, too - I mean, you can use the ground stuff, I’ll forgive you if you do but cracked - unbelievable. White pepper is amazing, too."

4. Black beans work with everything

"I love Heinz beans - really like them," says the chef. "But black beans are so good - especially where I’m from they are used in basically every dish. But then butter beans and fava beans - they’re all so good. In the Arab world, beans are our whole life."

5. There’s only room for one king of rice

"Basmati — only basmati." Nuff said, eh Zuu?

6. Head to Perth if you want Lebanese food

"The best mixed grill I ever had was in Australia, when I was in Perth. They do prawns in their mixed grill which you don’t get here. The best Lebanese bakery in London is definitely Kamil bakery in Park Royale."

7. If you’re eating out in London, go to…

"My favourite restaurants aren’t based on the foodie, they’re based on the vibe that they’re giving me; I feel like it’s hard to say this place has the best food in the world, cause then you are looking at all the Michelin food."

Keep it basic, keep it real, says Zuu. "Restaurants I go to are Le bab, Roti King, The Dark Horse in Camden Market - they have a deck in the kitchen and at a recent party there one of the chefs was DJing. I love Camden Market - although I hate that they charge £8.50 for strawberries — the chocolate strawberries? That’s mad."

Basically, Big Zuu is more Guu-ruu than chef / DJ / musician, as he brings the vibes and the love to everything he does. If you’re looking for an easy way to cook more from scratch and rely less on Deliveroo (which is currently my main long standing relationship) then it’s definitely worth catching some episodes of Big Eats, or - as Zuu suggests - having a scroll online to get some foodie inspiration. And when in doubt, air fry.

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