FOOD TVHave a Hairy Christmas!

Gangway Santa, it’s the Hairies! The popular TV chefs kick off the festive period by sharing their Christmas plans and favourite seasonal recipes

Christmas may still be a few weeks away, but you’d never guess seeing Hairy Bikers Dave Myers and Simon King arrive at the studio for our exclusive photo shoot.

"Ooh, look at that turkey," drools Si, eyeing up a table laden with festive goodies. "And what about these Santa hats," grins Dave, pulling one on and puckering up in jest to his buddy.

"Gerroff man!" chuckles Si. "As you can see, we love Christmas – essentially because Dave and I are big kids."

Which is exactly why millions of TV viewers love the madcap duo, best known for cooking great food while having a laugh and riding their bikes. Except we’ve swapped the bikes for reindeers today, lads…hope you don’t mind!

"No, I love it," says Si, 43, jumping on Rudolph. "It’s fantastic," adds Dave, 52. "I remember as a kid being so excited when my mum bought TVTimes at Christmas – now we’re on the front cover!"

With plenty to discuss, including a TV Christmas special and top turkey tips, we best get cracking with our chat, boys, before the mulled wine starts flowing…

Is Christmas your favourite time for cooking?
Dave: "Definitely, although we’ve been doing it since January 3rd when we started cooking for our Christmas book! We had to start early while chestnuts and cranberries were still around."
Si: "What’s nice is that people take a bit more time preparing festive food."
Dave: "And take more liberties. No one’s counting calories; that starts January!"

What’s your favourite festive recipe?
Dave: "We do a mean cranberry, kumquat and port sauce. And our chestnut and chocolate roulade is a bit special."
Si: "I love the cold turkey and ham pie with cranberry topping [see recipe]. And we do a lovely date and macadamia pudding with an awesome butterscotch sauce. You know our cooking – it’s no holds barred!"

And your favourite tipple?
Dave: "Oh, it’s got to be a sherry on Christmas morning."
Si: "Same for me, in one of those little crystal glasses. My wife, Jane, is a devil – 9.30 in the morning she’ll be like, 'Do you want a sherry, Si?'"

We hear you’ve got a Mums Know Best Christmas Special coming up next month…
Dave: "We’re very lucky boys. When you’re a kid it’s all about the Christmas specials on TV and now we’re doing one! Our fourth, in fact."
Si: "It’s a privilege, beyond our wildest dreams to be on telly at Christmas time. We’re up there in high company aren’t we? The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise – it’s insane! We’re very proud."

Tell us about the show…
Dave: "It’s the Mums Knows Best formula which works so well and we’ve made it Christmas-sy so it’s very, very touching. We’ve got our ‘Star Mums’ cooking their favourite festive dishes: everything from ‘cow pie’ to cockerel, samosas to salted lamb."
Si: "It’s not just about the food either, it’s about the traditions particular to each family. We’ve all got them: from what we do last thing Christmas Eve – I put a carrot and sherry out for Santa – to what time we open our presents. For me, Christmas isn’t Christmas without my mother-in-law’s sherry trifle. It’s the best in the world."

Who cooked the turkey in your house when you were growing up?
Dave: "My dad. He’d start preparing the gravy Christmas Eve using the giblets. He had some huge hypodermic needles from belonging to St John Ambulance and I’ll always remember him injecting the turkey with butter like a mad scientist!"
Si: "There would have been hell on if Dad went anywhere near the turkey in our house. That’s was me mam’s job. I was in charge of the gravy, under her supervision. Terrifying."

What’s the most common mistake people make cooking a turkey?
Dave: "Overcooking it. And buying a cheap bird. It’s only once a year so get a decent one. Your leftovers taste so much better and you won’t waste a scrap."
Si: "And ignore anyone who says to cook your stuffing separately. The herbs and fruit inside the stuffing keep the turkey moist, whilst the turkey flavours the stuffing."

How will you guys be celebrating Christmas this year?
Dave: "I’m driving to Transylvania where the in-laws live. Me and my wife, Lili, are taking five days to get there, visiting Nuremberg’s Christmas market and doing a spot of Chrissy shopping in Vienna. At the in-laws I’m going to sit by the stove and eat pigs trotters!"
Si: "Our family is going out for the first time to a friend’s restaurant. I lost me mam last year and it feels right to do something different."
 
Surely you’ll miss cooking a bit….
Si: "Oh, we’ll still be cooking, it’s what we do. Just not Christmas lunch."
Dave: "The in-laws celebrate with a big bash and open presents on Christmas Eve, so I’ve offered to cook Christmas Day. I’m going to buy a nice big loin of pork and loads of crackling in Vienna and cook it with sage and bramley apples."

What’s your favourite festive memory from your childhood?
Dave: "My dad’s false teeth exploding! He bit into a turkey drumstick and they shattered like a windscreen. He was on soup for weeks afterwards."
Si: "For me, it’s standing in line for Mam’s Christmas pudding. All the family had to come to her house and stir the pudding and make a wish. She’d drop a shilling bit in greaseproof paper into it."

We’re amazed you two haven’t been snapped up to do pantomime!
Dave: "I’d love to do it, but he won’t! If anyone was born to be up a beanstalk it’s Si."
Si: "I want to enjoy Christmas, not be working. You do it on your own – you could be Widow Twankey."
Dave: "But we’re a double act. Besides, Widow Twankey needs a foil, a genie with his lamp. Imagine you in silk trousers, having to rub your belly to get three wishes…"
Si: "I’m NOT doing it!"

And finally, apart from your own show of course, what will you be watching on the box this Christmas?
Si: "Everything! I love the lot, especially all the Christmas specials."
Dave: "I always enjoy Wallace and Gromit and Strictly…because I like Brucie."
Si: "Then there’s White Christmas, a Bond film and The Great Escape…."
Dave: "And it wouldn’t be Christmas without Nigella pouting somewhere, now would it!"

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