Vegetarian feasts for meat eaters
The Hairy Bikers tell KATIE WRIGHT about keeping busy during lockdown and why they’ve written a veggie cookbook
ZIPPING around the globe on two wheels, sampling delicious delicacies along the way, best mates Si King and Dave Myers – the Hairy Bikers – have been a near-constant fixture on our TV screens for nearly 15 years now.
The jovial duo had big plans for 2020 – but the first lockdown forced them to retire to their respective homes and they didn’t see each other again until July.
“I’ve never been away from my mate for that long – it was five months,” says Si, who still lives in his native North East.
Dave, who hails from Lancashire but lives in Kent, recalls the last time they were together, recording a TV series voiceover at the end of February.
“Si and I were sharing a voiceover booth and I jokingly saying, ‘If you start coughing, I’m getting out of here’. It (the virus) was very light, nobody took it seriously then.”
Although separated for months the bearded BFFs, completed one big project together, their first Hairy Bikers’ vegetarian cookbook.
“We did a book a few years ago in the dieters series (The Hairy Dieters Go Veggie), and it was at the back of our minds after that,” says Dave, 63. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to do a vegetarian book which is for meat-eaters really?”’
So the carnivorous cooks aren’t giving up steak and sausages for good. The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts (which also features vegan recipes) is about “putting veggies centre stage”, Si says, explaining that they were partly inspired by their children.
“It’s been a conversation in our families for a very long time. My middle son James is vegan – from a moral point of view, but also an environmental point of view.”
The impact of the meat industry on climate change is also a concern for the pair, something they noticed while biking through the US.
Si says: “Dave and I travelled through the Midwest and – draw your own conclusions – on the plains and outskirts of Oklahoma, there are at any one time upwards of one million head of cattle.”
Cutting down on animal fats was another reason for creating meat-free recipes. A decade ago, the pair overhauled their eating and exercise habits, losing nearly seven stone between them, and have maintained their healthier lifestyles ever since.
“Dave and I are of a certain age where we have to watch our weight for health reasons,” says Si, 54. “I’ve always had a propensity to put weight on.”
As well as lowering fat consumption, eating more veg-packed recipes ups the nutrient element too.
“The Japanese say you need
five colours on the plate, to make sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need,” says Dave. “I eat vegetables for health as well – I’m not getting younger and my body feels better on it.”
He estimates that he eats meat around three times a week now, while Si says his diet is about 85% plant-based. So what kind of veggie delights did the guys cook during lockdown?
“A lot of pasta, actually,” says Dave. He was taught to make pasta from scratch by his Romanian mother-in-law, who had to stay in the UK longer than expected due to travel restrictions.
“I went down the bread baking route like everybody else – I started with sourdough. One thing I did learn – and I should know this because I cook for a living – flour does have a shelf life. I had some that maybe should have been thrown away in 2017,” he says with a chuckle.
Si also got in on the breadmaking action (“My sourdough was epic”) and put his cookery skills to good use in his village: “I cooked for some of the most vulnerable members of the community. I did a bit of that, and grew a lot of vegetables.”
Between gardening, baking, hosting Instagram live chats and finishing the new book, the Bikers have kept themselves busy but they’re more than ready for life to go back to how it was before the pandemic (once it’s safe, of course).
Si will become a grandfather for the first time around Christmas and says the thing he’s most looking forward to doing again is “seeing family and having the get-togethers we used to have, and cooking together and having a chat and giving kisses and cuddles.”
Dave says that even if he can’t have a big family gathering as usual, he’ll be reaching out to friends and relatives at Christmas – “at least digitally keeping in touch, a phone call or email. I’m aware there are a lot of people have lost people this year. Even more so than ever, they might need a bit of comfort.”
The Hairy Bikers’ Veggie Feasts by Si King and Dave Myers, photography by Andrew Hayes-Watkins, is published by Seven Dials, priced £22. Available now (orionbooks.co.uk)