Big Zuu on the new series on Dave of Big Zuu's Big Eats

London-born Zuhair Hassan, known professionally as Big Zuu, has taken the worlds of music and television by storm.

Not satisfied with being the human equivalent of a swiss-army knife, Zuu's latest television project for Dave, Big Zuu's Big Eats, sees the grime artist add yet another enviable skill to his already extensive repertoire, cooking up a feast for a host of big-name comedians and celebs.

Joined by friends Tubsey and Hyder, the trio set out to impress their celebrity guests with culinary delights from the back of their food truck.

With his career currently on an apparently unstoppable upward trajectory, the 25-year-old can also now call himself a Bafta nominee, with the cooking show gaining a notable nod as part of the Best Features category at this year's awards.

Ahead of the second series of Big Zuu's Big Eats arriving on Dave, we sit down with the culinary maestro to discover more about the show, its guests and the need for diversity on British TV.

Where were you when you found out about your Bafta nomination?

"My manager called me at 7.45 in the morning, which means it's definitely important. Luckily, my phone was on loud next to my bed, so I woke up like, 'Who's calling me at this time?' If it was anyone else, I would have just put my phone onto the floor and told them, 'Leave me alone!' But when I'm picking up the phone, I'm seeing like all these notifs [notifications] come through. He said, 'Zuu - you're nominated for a Bafta!' I was like, 'nah, nah, nah'. I just kept saying, 'nah'. And he was like, 'yes Zuu, it's happened'."

Do you feel as though you're offering something different to other TV chefs?

"One million percent. I grew up watching food programmes and the more I watch food programmes, the more I understand why what we're doing is so important for representation, for young people. This is what we want to see on telly - more representation. Because most of your chefs are predominantly older white men, it makes you think, when you see this young mixed race guy with his two Arab friends cooking on Dave."

What guests can we expect from the second series of Big Zuu's Big Eats?

"We've got Mr Harry Redknapp, we've got Maya Jama, we've got Mo [Gilligan] the comedian. We've got sick comedians, people like Natasia Demetriou, Rose Matafeo, James Acaster. We've got a really good mix of people, and the fact that they're not just comedians now, we've been able to squeeze in some celebs here and there, it's broadened the horizons of the show."

Do you visit any weird and wonderful locations?

"It's changed the main core of [the show], which was just going to comedy shows. Now, we don't just go to comedy shows, we can rock up anywhere. You might be going to play golf, which Harry Redknapp was doing. He was just gonna play some golf and then we pull up in the big food truck like, 'hey Mr Harry. We're going to park our food truck in your beautiful expensive Golf Club and we're going to cook you some dinner!'"

What did you end up cooking for Harry?

"I won't give away too much with the food. He's a proper traditional British man, loves his classic English meals. So we just gave all of them a little spin - and we definitely surprised him. He kept telling us about his wife called Sandra, a very famous lady, and how he is going to try to teach her some of the things that we taught him. We also found out that he's a really bad chef; he's not good at cooking at all."

Were there any big surprises when it came to your guests?

"James Acaster. He is so hilarious. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met. He says anything and it sounds funny. On the show, he kept on asking for Tubsey and Hyder, because obviously the guests don't really get to meet Tubsey and Hyder. So when he came on the show, he was like, 'Where's Tubsey and Hyder?' All he cared about was Tubsey and Hyder, which was beautiful to see."

Do you think lockdown has helped people improve the nation's cooking?

"What was so amazing to see was more and more people started cooking on their social media. A couple friends made separate accounts just to do cooking, because they got really passionate about it."

What was your favourite dish to cook during lockdown?

"Probably wedges. Potato wedges. As simple as it sounds, they're so good. You don't have to boil them, don't have to fry them, don't have to prepare them. You literally chop them into wedgey formations, cover them in salt and pepper, add a bunch of butter, garlic and thyme, in the oven. Come back an hour and a half later and you have pure happiness just there, bubbling away."

What would be your idea of food hell?

"It would probably be mushrooms and cucumber. A mushroom and cucumber salad. I'd be like, 'Eurgh, please get that away from me'. Like a Portobello mushroom, a big one - how do you eat that? How? That's my nightmare."

Big Zuu's Big Eats returns to Dave on Monday, June 7.