Hairy Bikers' Best of British: Series two
BBC Two, Air date: April 2013
Si and Dave are back on BBC Two with their brand new series of Hairy Bikers’ Best of British, travelling the length and breadth of the country to explore our extraordinary culinary heritage.
What we cook and how we eat it tells us so much about our nation’s past. The Bikers will be getting hands on with our food history, trying the foods enjoyed by our ancestors as well as meeting today’s producers who are keeping our foodie traditions alive.
From our woodlands to our islands, our pork to our potatoes, every flavour of Britain has a story to tell. Through mouth-watering recipes and incredible archive footage, the Hairies bring these stories to life.
“Britain has some of the most prized produce, respected producers and pioneering chefs on the planet," Dave explains, "So, from field to fork, we really are world beaters. This comes down to our centuries of gastronomic excellence, perfecting our home grown ingredients and recipes as well as making the most of dishes we’ve imported from all over the world.”
Si adds: “We really are culinary magpies. There are few other food cultures which are such a melting pot of tastes, traditions and flavours, and the history of how our cooking has changed is fascinating.”
Whilst exploring this history the Bikers will meet with the country’s leading food historians who are able to bring centuries’ old recipes to life with skills and techniques which would otherwise be lost to history. They also meet the food heroes who are preserving our heritage dishes and ingredients as well as introducing modern British classics to our tables.
The boys will take us through some wonderful and very varied archive footage, clearly showing how our changing tastes are at the heart of social history. And they’ll be cooking up their own twists on some national classics in the Best of British kitchen – not least the ploughdue, a cross between a ploughman’s and a fondue!
Along the way the Bikers can't resist dipping in to TV history to watch some of the chefs and programmes that inspired them as cooks.
Each programme is themed, with subjects including Beef, Apples and Pears, Food and the Empire, Dairy and Shellfish. With more than 60 food heroes, over three hours of archive footage and 60 studio recipes, over four weeks, the series builds a lively, nostalgic and comprehensive picture of British social history through food, from our Iron Age ancestors right up to the present day.
The series captures all the warmth and fun of the Hairies - friends for more than two decades - with a fresh, down-to earth approach to cooking and a contagious enthusiasm for what they do...
Get more clips and recipes from this series on the official BBC website.
