BBC’s hairy bikers launch search for isles mams who know best

The BBC is on the hunt for hairy mums from the isles. Or, more speci­fically, women armed with long-standing home-cooked recipes to feature in the second series of Mums Know Best, hosted by those well-loved culinary experts the hairy bikers, aka Si King and David Myers.

The series will see Messrs King and Myers on a nationwide search to find family gems and secret scribbles that have been handed down through the generations.

It aims to bring together grannies, mums, dads and daughters from across the country who love to cook, to ensure the recipes are lovingly preserved for future use.

Currently the Beeb is scanning the Scottish islands for willing parti­cipants, and has included Shetland in its search.

The first series of Mums Know Best has already been aired by the BBC. Those behind the programme say series two will be bigger and better, with regional dishes that are cooked every day up and down the country finding fame on television.

Into the mix will be plenty of the hairy bikers’ own creations, includ­ing recipes from their own heritage and those they think should be on every table.

Producers hope to find the best, tastiest and most loved dishes, all of which have great stories attached to them.

They want recipes that have been cooked through the generations, or those that have been discovered in unusual moments and are now firmly on the family table.

Dog-eared recipe books, or fad­ing photos of the people who used to cobble together the ingredients, are also of keen interest to David and Si.

“Our relationship with food is a complex thing,” they said.

“It’s not just the tastes and flavours that we love, but often it’s knowing where the recipe has come from that makes it special.

“The food our mums used to cook us might not have been the most adventurous or refined, but it’s the food we remember and love the best.

“We know that this heritage is being kept alive all over the country right now, by family cooks using recipes handed down to them or creating new family specials that their kids will remember.

“We were really impressed by the quality of the recipes on series one.  It was really, really tasty food, nutritious, easy to cook and perfected over generations.

“That’s what we are looking to celebrate again in the second series of Mums Know Best.”

So, if anyone thinks their tattie bannocks deserve a place on TV, or are particularly proud of their mealy pudding, an application form can be found on the BBC website at www.bbc.co.uk/mumsknowbest.