The Hairy Bikers’ Britain

With their big hearts and down-to-earth style, Si King and Dave Myers, aka The Hairy Bikers, have become national treasures. Yasmin Godfrey chats to the duo about beer, Britain and the art of writing a cookbook

What do you love about the British food scene?

Si: The multicultural nature of the food we have in the UK is absolutely fantastic. There’s not one other country in Europe where you can eat your way around the world in most provincial cities outside the capital. Pre-war we had an inherent knowledge of food, mine and Dave’s mums and grandmothers knew what cut of meat to buy and when it was at its best. It seems that we lost our way a bit after the war, but now people care about where their food comes from.

Dave: Young people are really enthusiastic about craft products such as bread and beer, which is great or the future of food in Britain. We also want our food to be more authentic now; when I had Indian food in Berlin it was so watered down. The staff told me that they had to adapt it for the German palate. Whereas in the UK, whether you want a subtle korma or a fiery vindaloo there is something for everyone.

What are your guilty pleasures?

Dave: I love pizza. When I was in France during the summer I would bike 20 miles from my house to this amazing pizza place in a town. I worked out that if I cycled 20 miles I could have a pizza, so that’s the only way I kept a lid on my pizza habit.

Si: For me it has to be a thick slice of sourdough bread covered in Normandy butter, I’d just live on that if I could.

What’s on the cards for this year?

Dave: We start filming our next big series just after Easter which is all about the Mediterranean and we can’t wait!

Si: We loved filming our new show, Hairy Biker’s Comfort Food. We were in the studio solidly for a month cooking and chattering, so we’d love to do more. If Comfort Food goes down well, then maybe there’ll be another series on the cards.

What do you like to drink?

Si: It really depends on what I’m eating, but there’s nothing like a couple of beers. Me and Dave love the hipster-type beer bars that you find in South London, but one of my favourite bars is Beermoth in Manchester; it’s really honest but maybe a bit trendy for us! My favourite beer is made by one of our mates, Workie Ticket, it’s such a good pint.

Dave: Being a grain growing nation, beer is now something we really excel at. Where I live me and a couple of other locals have actually chipped in and opened our own brew house. We’ve got a brewer on board, but we’re having some problems with consistency. So far it’s going to be the most expensive beer that northerners have ever consumed, but it’s doing alright. My favourite beers are Camden Pale Ale, Camden Hell and Shoreditch Blonde.

What’s the hardest part about writing a book?

Si: Getting the balance of recipes is one of the hardest things for us as we’re savoury men and puddings are always a bit of a farce. The psyche for Dave and I for every single book is making sure that when you read it you’re already halfway there to cooking it. The reader has invested their time and money to produce something delicious to feed the people they love, so we absolutely want it to be right. With the diet books we wanted to take great food and make it less calorific, without compromising on flavour.

Dave: The calories have to work because somebody will be fully committed and emotionally invested in the book working for them. We received a letter from one lady whose husband’s weight kept dropping off him even though he thought he was eating his normal food. He went to the doctors convinced he was ill, but it turned out for the past month his wife had been cooking from our book! She never told him because he wouldn’t go on a diet, and now he’s healthier than he’s ever been.