Hairy Bikers meet non-hairy Alec!

A slow hum of Triumph bikes announced The Hairy Bikers visit to Packington Poultry, Dunstall (home of free-range happy chickens) on Tuesday 30 June.  Not so lucky for the chickens, they were there to cook!  Part of the Staffordshire episode of their next series, due to be broadcast soon on BBC, took them to the free-range chicken farm to find out how chickens are reared with the best of welfare standards to produce the most deliciously succulent and tasty chicken you can buy.

The Bikers (hairy they are) renowned for their travelling kitchen, double-act antics in far-flung places and food-lovers informal approach to cooking, investigated the free-range chickens amongst the large grass fields bordered with woodland and wild hedgerows.   Alec Mercer, the farmer who has pioneered his own method of breeding the free-range chickens, told them the ins and outs of a bird’s life from chicks to being a Sunday roast!

Despite a demanding filming tour around the UK for their latest series, on their last day neither Si (the big blonde) or Dave (the not-so-big brunette) let their weariness get in the way of getting stuck in to tasty food and some great banter, and a genuine interest in the animals.  Not content with the facts, having ‘a laff’ is clearly high on the agenda.  When asked what inspired them to start the series, they said after meeting on film sets and deciding to devote time to one of their main passions – bike tours – that they really should indulge in their other passions “We love food, and love talking b******s!” 

The farm tour inspired a wealth of questions from the Bikers, keen to know how the chickens were reared, what they ate, how lovely the fields were that they got to roam around all night, whilst being tucked safely out of reach of the foxes at night in spacious barns with footballs and other games for entertainment!  But what needed no words was their faces whilst tasting the juicy, mouth-watering meat during a welcomed pit-stop at the farmhouse…doorstop chicken sandwiches, carved in hunks, dripping with chicken juices, gorged in rustic style, gave their taste buds an introduction to the fabulously succulent chicken, with an old fashioned real tastiness that has long left fast-grown, mass produced supermarket birds.  

Sad to leave the countryside haven, and rustic food, they revved off into the dimming sunshine to cook up a storm in a ‘cook-off’ with the chef at the highly regarded Moat House in Acton Trussell, Stafford.   The resident chef was amazingly beaten by the two hairy blokes, reports said he was a bit gutted but admittedly they had fame on their side!   

They are pretty hairy, very friendly and love their food.  Simple.

It is being sold under the ‘Look what we found!` brand who’s focus is ‘All Natural’ that ‘Needs No Fridge’.

An excerpt from their website…
“We love the old fashioned foods that used to be daily staples and have become rare treats. Hearty, comfort foods whose ingredients take time to source, assemble and prepare and are chosen for taste, not because they can be flash fried in seconds.

We love the delightfully moist, melt in the mouth effect of gently cooking dishes like belly pork, mutton and rabbit in a stock based sauce, enhanced with natural ingredients like ale, honey, fruits and root vegetables.

We Believe…
That it is crucial to both the countryside and the rural economy that those who spend their life growing or rearing great food should be able to make a fair living. We believe that busy people should not have to rely on take-aways and tins and we hope that we will become a conduit for a rural revolution and a catalyst for the emergence of a new “micro is mighty” food phenomenon, which supports traditional food producers and provides consumers with exceptionally good food.

Look What We Found focus on relationships and responsibility. We have sought out and got to know specialist small-scale farmers and producers who share our values. We take responsibility for knowing how they grow their crops, or rear and take care of their animals and we are pleased to support, listen to and work with the food heroes who meet the very exacting standards set by our Director of Procurement.”

To find your nearest stockist please contact Sonya or George on 01283 711547.

This is where we will bring you articles, features, press releases, latest news and anything we feel you should know about Mercer Farming, Medium Rare, Packington Poultry and Packington Pork Free Range Meats.

We hope you like it and if you do tell us… and if you don’t… still tell us.  We welcome all your feedback.

Thanks for looking.