Si King and Dave Myers, aka The Hairy Bikers

Big hearted, down-to-earth cooks with a love of good food, they have been cooking

together for more than twenty years. They have created haute cuisine dishes with

Michelin-starred chefs and travelled the world in the pursuit of great food. They’ve

also explored the length and breadth of the British Isles to discover brand new

recipes and create their own fresh takes on cooking classics. The stars of several

hit television shows, they are the UK’s most popular cookery writing duo.

 

Their first diet book THE HAIRY DIETERS: HOW TO LOVE FOOD AND LOSE

WEIGHT toppled 50 Shades of Grey from the top of the bestsellers charts in summer

2012 and remained in that position for six weeks. It still comfortably tops the list of

the best-selling cookbooks of 2013, outselling its nearest rival by almost two-and-a-half

copies to one. Their second diet book EAT FOR LIFE did equally well whilst their third

GOOD EATING was published last October.

Born and bred in Barrow-in-Furness in North West England, Dave Myers’ versatile skills

have taken him to some unusual places. He worked as a furnace-man in a steelworks whilst

a student, to finance a degree and postgraduate studies in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, where

he studied egg tempera and the work of the Old Masters. On graduating, Dave joined the

BBC as a make-up artist, specialising in prosthetics. He went on to work on numerous

feature films and high-profile television series, notably LIVES AND LOVES OF A SHE

DEVIL, PRIME SUSPECT and the hit BBC1 series SPOOKS. His career has taken him from

Hollywood to the African deserts. He’s also travelled extensively away from work, picking up

recipes and cultures almost as fast as he’s made friends all over the world, not the least of whom

is Simon King, Dave’s boon travelling companion and the other half of the Hairy Biking duo.

Hailing from Newcastle in North East England, Si is a big, blonde-bearded biker with an

infectious laugh, and a charm and sense of humour that’s a skeleton key when it comes

to getting into people’s hearts and homes. This easy congeniality and warmth served him

well for years in his work as a First Assistant Director and Locations Manager for film and

television (including the HARRY POTTER series of films), but his passions lie elsewhere. A

love of food was encouraged early by Si’s family and particularly his father, who would bring

back exotic ingredients from his voyages with the Royal Navy, and Si’s enthusiasm is

matched by his own children’s willingness to try new kinds of food.

Si and Dave are life-long foodies and passionate cooks; they met through work on the set of

a drama (appropriately enough on a Catherine Cookson adaptation) and they take every

opportunity they can to pack their panniers and head off in search of authentic culinary

and cultural experiences in all corners of the world.

 

For BBC2 they have made: two series of THE HAIRY BIKERS’ COOKBOOK; THE HAIRY

BIKERS RIDE AGAIN; THE HAIRY BIKERS COME HOME and the four-part series THE

HAIRY BAKERS which won audiences of over four million viewers. This was rounded off

with THE HAIRY BAKERS’ CHRISTMAS SPECIAL drawing audiences of around 5 million.

Meanwhile Dave shocked himself by winning CELEBRITY MASTERMIND, and he and Si

came a creditable second on The Weakest Link. The last few years have been busy for both,

with a giant 30 part series for BBC2 called THE HAIRY BIKERS’ FOOD TOUR OF

BRITAIN followed by THE HAIRY BIKERS’ TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS and two

major prime time series of MUMS KNOW BEST for BBC2. THE HAIRY BIKERS’ COOK

OFF – mixing cooking and celebrity chat – screened on BBC2 in autumn 2010 and ran every

weekday afternoon for eight weeks.

MEALS ON WHEELS ran on BBC2 in autumn 2011 followed by the major BBC2 series

BEST OF BRITISH which screened on BBC Daytime attracting upwards of 1.7m viewers

per episode and an average of 5,000 hits to the website each day. BEST OF BRITISH

also achieved an Appreciation Index (AI) of 92, an all-time record for a daytime BBC2

show. The series was repeated in ten special hour long reversions from January 2012

and a second series screened in early 2013. Meanwhile THE HAIRY BIKERS’

CHRISTMAS PARTY aired in December 2011.

In spring 2012 Si and Dave were seen baking their way across Europe in THE HAIRY

BIKERS’ BAKEATION, for BBC2 primetime. THE HAIRY BIKERS’ MISSISSIPPI

ADVENTURE followed as they biked the length of the iconic river for Mentorn Media

and Good Food. Their BBC2 series THE HAIRY DIETERS: HOW TO LOVE FOOD AND

LOSE WEIGHT was a critical and ratings success; the boys shed more than six stone

between them and the tie-in paperback book remained at the very top of the charts.

 

EVERYDAY GOURMETS screened in early 2013 on BBC2; THE HAIRY BIKERS’

RESTORATION ROAD TRIP was shown on BBC2 that summer followed by THE

HAIRY BIKERS BACK ON THE ROAD. The boys then filmed THE HAIRY BIKERS’

ASIAN ADVENTURE (BBC2). And of course Dave excelled himself in late 2013 when

he was an enthusiastic and popular contestant on BBC1’s STRICTLY COME DANCING.

Following a break as Si recovered from a brain aneurism, the Hairies got back on their

bikes this year with some brand new and very varied TV series: COOKING THE

NATION’S FAVOURITE FOOD screened in the spring followed by NORTHERN

EXPOSURE. They have two more series in early 2016: THE PUBS THAT BUILT

BRITAIN and OLD SCHOOL, both for BBC2.

In 2010 the Hairy Bikers performed their sell-out BIG NIGHT OUT show in theatres

across the UK. Directed by Bob Mortimer, it was a light-hearted mix of cooking and

chat with some song and dance thrown in. It explored their youth, how they met and

their shared love of food and travel. They completed another ambitious nationwide

theatre tour in April 2013.

In summer 2011 the Hairies brought out a range of chilled prepared meals across

Tesco stores, followed by Booths, using some of their favourite recipes – with a twist.

In November 2013 they brought out a range of low-fat cooking sauces bursting with

flavour, based on recipes from their book followed by a range of low-fat Indian sauces.

In Christmas 2013 they launched a range of cookware which continues to sell in

Boots stores across the UK with a new range hitting the shelves this Christmas.

 

Read more at http://www.hairybikers.com/about#aePhd8186pqSCruO.99