Maddie O’Brien & Pete Thompson
Bolton Food & Drink Festival –interview with Hairy Biker Si King:
Maddie: Si King from The Hairy Bikers was so friendly and nice. I didn’t feel nervous talking to him. I asked him if he’d always wanted to be a chef and he explained that he never set out to be a chef, but he and Dave Myers met on the set of a TV drama in 1995 and a programme they worked on together started as a travel show but became a food one. They have been cooking and riding together ever since and they have a real passion for food.
Si said, “Food is always joyous, it’s a celebration”. I also asked him if he has a favourite dessert. He told me he loves chocolate fondant served with butterscotch rum and raisin sauce.
Pete: When asked about an especially memorable road-trip as a Hairy Biker, Si mentioned southern India. The meals were all vegetarian and were so good, he said – made with fabulous ingredients and ancient traditional recipes – that he didn’t miss eating meat at all during the visit.
Si also mentioned that one of the things he feels most strongly about is food waste.
Later, in his first cookery demonstration, Si prepared salmon and prawn burgers and also a steak, panini and bean salad, made with thin slices of rare sirloin steak.