Joy is Talking to Strangers, with Hasan Semay

Honey & Co: The Food Sessions is back for season 11 with a brand new theme: JOY.

In times like these, when the world can feel a little overwhelming, it’s more important than ever to seek out and savour the joy wherever we can find it. Working in restaurants, we have three moments in a day to bring joy: breakfast, lunch and dinner, but what about the moments in between? This question is at the heart of the latest season of The Food Sessions which sees us sit down with brilliant people from all walks of life: chefs, broadcasters, comedians and fashion designers to not only talk about what they do day-to-day, but also to explore the passions that enrich their lives.

In this episode we talk to chef, author and TV presenter, Turkish Cypriot Hasan Semay (or Big Has, as he is affectionately known). Hasan is a half Turkish Cypriot half British chef, YouTube and Instagram sensation, as well as a self-confessed “proper North Londoner”. Has was accepted onto the prestigious Jamie Oliver 15 programme in 2011 and his relaxed and informative approach to cooking without pretentiousness has won him legions of fans over on his YouTube platform, Sunday Sessions. His debut cookbook, Big Has: HOME is a Sunday Times Bestseller and his latest book, Smoke and Seasoned Bread: Recipes from Türkiye is out now. We talked about the joy of a pets unconditional love, of getting cab drivers to take you to their favourite spot, and of talking to strangers. Has is such an incredibly warm and engaging guest and it was such a pleasure to have him join us for an afternoon of conversation.

This season is sponsored by Square, the point of sale system that we use in all our restaurants. You can use their software and hardware for payments, sales, inventory, bookings, orders, reports and more. Square are currently offering £4,000 worth of free hardware to eligible businesses, so if you're ready to get your business in better shape, head to square.com to learn more and book a demo with the team.

Hosts: Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich

Producer: Miranda Hinkley

Sound Engineer: Melis Uslu

Sound Mixer: Paul Brogden

Theme Song: Daniel Winshall

Honey & Co Team: Louisa Cornford & Winnie Thomas

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