Final culinary adventure of Big Zuu’s 12 Dishes in 12 Hours

If you’re currently planning a holiday and want to really to immerse yourself in the culture, then Big Zuu suggests you ditch the guidebooks and instead concentrate on eating.

The presenter and rapper says: “Sometimes you learn about a place by going to tourist attractions but my thing is, if you really want to learn about a place and delve into its history you can do it through the lens of food.”

It’s a theory he’s been testing out in his series Big Zuu’s 12 Dishes in 12 Hours, which unfortunately concludes tonight.

Outlining what makes the programme so great, Zuu explains: “We went to six different places and learnt about each place by understanding and learning about the culture through eating dishes that best represent that place.

"It’s not just about tasting dishes that each country is commonly associated with, it’s about learning from different angles about what’s fresh and new.

"What might be going viral in that city or an underrepresented part of the city where the food doesn’t get spoken about on television.”

He adds: “The Big Zuu spin I guess is the fact that I love authentic, incredible flavours and yes we go to the Michelin starred restaurants but nine times out of 10 you will see me in the local places eating the local food.”

For his final, but hopefully not last, culinary adventure of the series, Big Zuu is taking comedian and actress Sindhu Vee to Spain’s third largest city, Valencia.

The city hasn’t always been a destination for holiday-makers – in fact, it was once dubbed ‘the world capital of anti-tourism’ – but in recent years, its contemporary architecture and growing gastronomic scene has transformed it.

Zuu and Sindhu will find out just why Valencia is now a foodie favourite as they munch their way through dishes ranging from pumpkin doughnuts and a slice of Michelin approved onion cheesecake, to oysters.

But as Valencia has always been known as the home of the paella, the pair begin their odyssey in the paddy fields around the city before trying the traditional dish with a squid-ink twist.

In the process, he’s learned about more than just Valencia. Zuu says: “Sindhu Vee is also one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.

"Talking to her off camera and picking her brains was amazing because she’s such an incredibly smart woman that’s travelled the world.”

But now the series is over, what’s next for the presenter?

Well it seems, there’s definitely more cookery but perhaps there will also be more travel.

He says: “I’m very blessed to have a cookery show coming out on primetime TV so for me it’s about building on that.

"I want to create more shows with ITV moving forward or do this one all over again if there was a second series.

“My other dream in terms of TV is to shoot something in Africa and show people how beautiful the food and culture is there.”