BBC Radio 4 Kitchen Cabinet hosted a culinary panel show at the Cypriot Community Centre in Wood Green on Thursday 20th November 2025, with UK Cypriot Chefs Georgina Hayden and Big Has.
The panel included Tim Anderson, Georgia Hayden, Melek Erdal, Big Has. The programme is to be aired on December the 6th at 10.30am on Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 Kitchen Cabinet hosts a culinary panel show packed full of tasty titbits that might change the way we think about food, cooking and eating. An expert panel answers audience questions.hosts a culinary panel show packed full of tasty titbits that might change the way we think about food, cooking and eating. An expert panel answers audience questions.
Georgina Hayden is a cook, food writer and stylist from north London. She writes for publications such as The Telegraph, Delicious Magazine and Observer Food Monthly, and in 2021 she won the Fortnum & Mason Best Cookery Writer Award for her work in Waitrose Food magazine. She has appeared on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, and regularly appears on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen.
Growing up above her grandparents’ Greek Cypriot taverna, Georgina developed a love of cooking and storytelling through the recipes passed down to her. She started her career as food assistant, working at various food magazines, and then went on to join Jamie Oliver’s food team where she worked for 12 years. There she did everything from styling, developing and writing recipes for books and TV, magazines and campaigns. Her first book, Stirring Slowly, was published in 2016, followed by the book about the food of her Cypriot family, Taverna, in 2019. Her third book, Nistisima: The secret to delicious Mediterranean vegan food was a Sunday Times bestseller and was voted Best Cookbook at the OFM and Fortnum & Mason Awards.
Turkish Cypriot Hasan Semay (or Big Has, as he is affectionately known) is a chef, author and TV presenter.
Born and raised in North London, he completed Jamie Oliver’s 15 programme in 2011 and spent the next decade working in high-end restaurant kitchens across the capital. He’s since gathered a significant following on social media where he shares food videos and tutorials and has published a recipe book, with a second on the way. In 2021, he was named as a rising star by the Observer Food Monthly.
No stranger to our screens, he co-presented the 2024 series of Young MasterChef and has also appeared on Saturday Kitchen, sharing his take on classic Cypriot dishes.
