HASAN Semay (also known as Big Has) is a bright and talented North-London-based chef and YouTube presenter with thousands of followers and has released his first cook book.
Fans of Hasan’s Instagram page and enormously popular YouTube series ‘Sunday Sessions’ where he has been teaching his viewers how to appreciate ingredients and understand cooking not through dull step-by-step methods but by connecting more intuitively with the process. In this debut cookbook, Has takes those principles to the next level talking you through the stages of lighting a BBQ and how to prepare a variety of dishes from small plates to Turkish Cypriot classics as well as meat and fish straight off the grill.
Having dropped out of school and tried his hand at odd jobs from plumbing to security, Hasan was accepted onto the prestigious Jamie Oliver “15” programme in 2011 which unearthed a true passion and flair for cooking. HOME is his debut cookbook and a celebration of the dishes, the places and the people that have made him who he is today.
With his former employer Jamie Oliver saying ‘Outrageously delicious, addictive food cooked with big love and attitude.’
His food is beautiful and robust with familiar Mediterranean influences from his Cypriot heritage as well as from his time working in professional kitchens across London – think grilled butter-milk chicken thighs with chermoula, flame-licked steak and salsa verde, marinated lamb chops with salsa rossa, all countered by neat folds of glistening home-made pasta and the occasional jaw-dropping dessert. Now don’t think this means flashy, fiddly food – this is real food, treated with respect and cooked right – no tablecloths or fancy china, just your friends, round the BBQ proper Sunday session style, because food is a celebration of coming together.
“This book is just about food. Nothing flashy, no expensive equipment and gizmos. It’s entirely about flavours and understanding. Food in its entirety is more than about filling your stomach; it’s about stories, history, and those shared moments.” Hasan said.
Big Has HOME can be purchased online and in bookstores.
