Geordie Hairy Biker Si King is back on BBC2 with a great new series Hairy Bikers' Bakeation - here he pays tribute to his mum as his cooking inspiration
Geordie Hairy Biker Si King is back on BBC2 with a great new series Hairy Bikers' Bakeation - here he pays tribute to his mum as his cooking inspiration
Posted: 15 Jan 2010
Si's sadness for mum Stella
Exclusive interview by Michael Hamilton
North East favourite Si King is back on the telly with his Hairy Bikers' Bakeation show on BBC2. He visits his big sister, who lives in Italy, for the show and here he pays tribute to his mum Stella who sadly died while he was filming his Mums Know Best series a couple of years ago.
The 45-year-old Geordie father-of-three paid tribute to her as his cooking inspiration.
“It was very poignant for me because my mam died when I was shooting the Food Tour of Great Britain. That wasn’t brilliant. In fact it was a hard time for us all because she’s a huge miss. She was a great lady.
“She was a big inspiration to me. My dad used to bring exotic stuff home from all over the world because he was a despatch rider in the Russian convoys.
“She was just a lass brought up in Kibblesworth, a north Durham coalfield village but she had the nous and intellect to give new things a try.”
Si, who lives in the Tyne Valley with wife Jane and sons Alex, James and Dylan, said: “My mam was cooking with lemongrass and all sorts of exotic things in the Fifties and early Sixties so when everyone else was eating Vesta curries we were eating great food. That’s a testament to her really.
“One of my favourite dishes she did for us was flat rib broth – it’s a miners’ thing and she was very specific about it. She used to say you can only buy flat rib in the autumn as that’s when the beasts are right. She would insist on it!”
Mums Know Best, a six-part series currently on BBC2, celebrates the history of family recipes. In the show Si shares the secret of his mum’s delicious rice pudding and serves up a North East favourite, Pan Haggerty – a hotpot of potatoes, cheese and onions.
Stella, who died aged 87, had a cameo role in the Hairy Bikers Cookbook series when he tried to get her to reveal to viewers the secrets of her cherished recipe book.
So what’s the philosophy behind his hit TV show Mums Know Best?
“Dave and I have a great family history of food and we wanted to do something about what is actually happening in people’s homes. We wanted to celebrate that and we had a lovely time shooting it.
“It’s not what TV chefs say this is what you should cook, it’s about what people are actually cooking in their homes.
“It was good to dip into the multicultural side of the UK. We’ve got mams from the Yemen, Greece, Birkenhead, the Punjab and Scotland.
“There isn’t any other country in Europe that has such fantastic diverse cuisine. My sister lives in Italy and I have to send her spice parcels from Newcastle’s Brighton Grove.
“What we are celebrating is what your mam would cook for you when you were little and it’s only your mam who can do that and nobody else.”
Si chatted at home as he made homemade burgers and hand-cut chips for his sons’ Friday night supper – he was spending some quality time with his three boys with wife Jane away on a work trip.
He continued: “I love the North East food scene, particularly Terry Laybourne. He’s a mate. I met him when I was shooting a commercial in 21 Queen Street’s kitchens.
“He’s a top boy and I have the greatest respect for him.”
And what’s Si’s food vice?
“I just love eggs and chips with tomato sauce. I don’t count it as a vice though!”
A Northern Soul - Middlesbrough superstar Paul Rodgers interview
Teesside superstar Paul Rodgers is the finest blues and soul singer of his generation. He's back in Newcastle in April on his new solso tour and Michael Hamilton caught up with him. . Tell me why you moved the Newcastle gig from the City Hall to the Arena. Paul: We switched the gig from Newcastle City Hall (capacity 2,000) to the Arena (capacity 11,000) simply to accommodate everybody. I love the City Hall. It’s always had a great atmosphere and I have great ...
Geordie band Lindisfarne 40 years on - what are they doing now?
Fog on the Tyne - 40 years onIt's 40 years since Tyneside folk-rock legends Lindisfarne changed the face of music with their debut album Nicely Out of Tune. The original band - dubbed the Seventies' Beatles - line-up was: Alan Hull singer and guitarist, Ray 'Jacka' Jackson on harmonica and mandolin, Rod Clements on bass, Si Cowe on guitar and Ray Laidlaw on drums. Michael Hamilton catches up with the surviving members of the original line-up and finds...
Folk on the Tyne - Ray Laidlaw on the 40th anniversary of cult North East band Lindis
It's 40 years since Tyneside folk-rock legends Lindisfarne changed the face of music with their debut album Nicely Out of Tune. The original band - dubbed the Seventies' Beatles - line-up was: Alan Hull singer and guitarist, Ray 'Jacka' Jackson on harmonica and mandolin, Rod Clements on bass, Si Cowe on guitar and Ray Laidlaw on drums. They hit the big time with their No. 1 album Fog on the Tyne and Geordie yearning anthem Run for Home. Founder member Ray Laidlaw takes a...
Stars shine again for Sammy By Michael Hamilton Auf Wiedersehen Pet star Tim Healy and his Loose Women wife Denise We...
THEATRE AND MUSICALS 17-18 ShangHi Cirque du Ciel – spectacular with over 30 performers from China Gala Durham 0191 332 40...
