Sunday September 18, 2022
By Michael Hogan
The Bad Chefs host talks about comfort food, comfort dressing, eight-a-side football and reading the Qur’an at bedtime
‘I’m a lethal striker. A clinical goalscorer’: Chunkz. Photograph: Matt Crossick/Alamy
Breakfast or brunch? Brunch. I’m not the greatest cook, so I order in from one of the takeaway apps. Pepe’s piri piri chicken and rice, that’s my comfort food. I’ll wash it down with an ice chai latte with oat milk and a shot of espresso. I’ll eat while watching [Noughties US sitcom] My Wife & Kids on YouTube. It’s a show I’ve been watching since I was 12. That’s a comfort thing, too.
Sunday uniform? A thobe, like a long dress for men. It’s basically a Moroccan onesie. I’ve had a few thobe malfunctions, so I make sure I wear shorts underneath.
Family time? I’ll pop to my mum’s house to see how everyone’s doing. They’re in northwest London, close to where I grew up. My mum always tries to overfeed me. I’ll tell her I’m on a diet, she’ll be like: ‘Yeah, yeah, just eat a little bit,’ and then she’ll pile up a plate of madness. But it’s out of love. I’m Somali. Our cuisine is a meaty, carb-heavy mix of Italian and African.
Sunday exercise? I play eight-a-side football every Sunday evening. I’m a lethal striker. A clinical goalscorer. I’ll sweat out some calories because I’ve been eating rubbish and lounging around all weekend. I’ll regain those calories afterwards, though – we go for a Chinese and some chit-chat.
Sunday bedtime? I’ll get home around 10.30pm and watch some Netflix in bed: legal drama The Lincoln Lawyer or a true-crime doc. I’ll pray my prayers and read a bit of the Qur’an, make sure I’m protected before I go to sleep. And then boom, I’m out like a light. I go to sleep in about seven seconds.
Sundays growing up? My cousin would come over to play Rumble Fighter on PC, plus some cage football with the local kids. Then we’d prep for school and get an early night. My parents took our education seriously. I’ve got everything to thank them for, so now I love to treat them. They get anything they want from me.
Bad Chefs, hosted by Chunkz, airs weekdays from Monday 26 September, 9pm on ITV2