TV's Hairy Biker samples Australian appetiser served up by BMW
One half of TV’s famous motorcycling chefs, the Hairy Bikers, made a lightning fact-finding visit to New South Wales in Australia – and the first course on Simon King’s menu was a visit to BMW Motorrad dealer Procycles in St Peters, to collect a ‘freshly prepared’ BMW R 1200 GS.
Si King and his life-long riding partner and fellow-chef Dave Myers have spent the last three-and-a-half years indulging their two shared passions – good food and motorcycles – on a weekly TV show which is seen around the world.
The show, which was first broadcast on BBC television, featured mouth-watering recipes from around the world, stunning locations and a pair of refreshingly unpretentious motorcycle-riding presenters. Long time friends Si and Dave aren’t the most obvious choice for television chefs but the pair of northern English bikers – who class themselves as “foodies” not cooks – captured the imagination of food lovers everywhere with ‘The Hairy Bikers Cookbook’ television show.
King, who calls their joint efforts a “celebration of the differences in cooking cultures,” came out to Australia from a chilly UK, only to find New South Wales lashed by wind and rain – and the die-hard biker brought his helmet, but not his wet-weather gear.
Hairy Biker Simon King collects an R 1200 GS from BMW Motorrad dealer Procycles in St Peters, New South Wales, Australia
“I wasn’t expecting to see any rain, let alone non-stop rain,” he said ruefully. But the Hairy Bikers are made of stern stuff and a bit of warm Aussie precipitation didn’t stop the burly Geordie getting out and about on his borrowed R 1200 GS. He visited many areas around Sydney, the Royal National Park and the Northern Beaches in his solitary week in Australia – and freely admits he’s fallen in love with the country.
“The people are so friendly, the variety of good food that’s available to everyone is fantastic – and a visit to the fish market blew my mind,” sea-food lover Si enthused, “and to be able to swim in crystal-clear seawater within sight of a capital city – well, that’s fantastic too.”
Si is equally passionate about riding and cooking – he encourages people to “give it a go and get involved around a table,” and noted that Australian bikers don’t wave to one another as they do in Europe – it took him a while to adopt the “Aussie nod.”
Riding the BMW around Sydney was something the experienced rider won’t forget either; he doesn’t rate Sydney drivers very highly, especially their lack of lane discipline, and he was nonplussed by the extensive use of traffic lights in the city. “I was on and off the brakes all the time,” he said.
Before embarking on his dream of sharing his passions of motorcycling and food with a wide TV audience, Si worked as a Locations Manager for many TV series and films, including the Harry Potter movies.
Describing his visit to Australia as part fact-finding trip and part holiday, Si was surprised that the show – seen in Australia on SBS – was watched by so many people. “Folk were coming up to me in the street – you get used to that in the UK, but I didn’t really expect it out here.”
Although the show has yet to explore Australian cuisine, they have visited countries as far afield as Mexico, Vietnam and Namibia – where their choice of mount – BMW R 1200 GS bikes, proved wise. On a lengthy trip through the south-western African country, long sections of the journey took them among shifting desert dunes on gravel roads – and the latest evolution of the long-running BMW Boxer just lapped up the challenging conditions.
Dave Myers and Si King chasing the sunset on BMWs in the UK
Thus Si’s choice of the highly versatile all-terrain BMW bike for his brief Australian visit comes as no surprise – he was so impressed by the bike during the trip to Namibia that the R 1200 GS quickly became a firm favourite with both the Hairy Bikers – and he bought one for his personal stable at home in the north of England.
He left Australia vowing to return with Dave for a longer, tastier look at this Wide Brown Land.
For comprehensive information on the Hairy Bikers, their cookery book and DVDs, please visit the www.hairybikers.com website.
Doing what they do best – cooking it and eating it!
To return to previous page click here
|
 |
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
