The Hairy Bikers reveal their recipe for success

Reporter John Balson talks to globe-trotting chefs Si King and Dave Meyers.

From teenagers to pensioners, barristers to bartenders, everyone seems to love the Hairy Bikers.

Since bursting on to our screens with the 2004 Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook, Si King and Dave Myers have captured the nation’s attention with their culinary adventures across the globe.

The pair met on the set of a TV drama, where they discovered a mutual love of food and travelling.

Ever since that day they have been burning rubber across the world learning the food and culture of places as diverse as India, Patagonia and Transylvania.

Their wealth of experiences will be unleashed on the Reading stage this month in a night of cookery, stories and laughs.

Just after checking into a hotel room ahead of another gig, Si, the Geordie half of the duo, said: “I want to keep a few bits secret, man, but basically it’s a celebration of food and a celebration of the Bikers’ shows – from birth to biker.
“We let the audience in on some family secrets and then we cook and get people out from the audience to try it. It’s a proper night out and a proper show – they can expect a lot of laughs. We are just normal fellers like, we’re not actors and we can’t pretend to be something that we’re not, – it's all just good fun.”

The food fanatics are currently about one third of the way through the 40-date tour and tickets have sold out for virtually every show.

It comes on the back a particularly busy year for the hairy pair. First they blazed 15,000 miles around the UK learning about Britain’s best local dishes in the Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain. And more recently they have invited mothers to divulge their home cooking secrets in Mums Know Best.

Reflecting on the tours, Si added: “We have as good a regional produce as anywhere else in Europe except no one shouts about it.”

The father-of-three is also full of praise of multiculturalism and what he called the ‘experimental British palate’. “If you fancy a curry you can go for a curry, or whatever, that’s the beauty of British food and it’s great to be able to celebrate that.”

The Hairy Bikers come to Reading Concert Hall on Thursday, March 11 at 8pm.