TV chef Dave Myers, whose death was announced yesterday (February 29), developed a love for cooking after his parents fell ill.
After announcing he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2022, Dave underwent chemo. He took a break from work during the treatment.
However, this week, his best friend and Hairy Bikers co-star Si King announced the heartbreaking news that he had died at the age of 66.
Dave Myers family heartache
While still at school, Dave started to take an interest in cooking after his mum suddenly fell ill with multiple sclerosis. Within a year, she was left in a wheelchair.
Speaking to the Mail Online back in 2009, Dave admitted that his dad wasn’t the best cook, explaining that he “did his best,” but they lived on “instant potato, tinned meat and tinned peas” for the first year.
“It soon became clear that if we were going to survive, we’d both need to learn to cook properly,” Dave said.
Dave and his father sought out recipes from a cookbook for food such as cheese and potato pie. However, his mum’s health took a hit after doctors were concerned about her weight gain. Dave knew he had to cook healthier options.
To make his meals as “interesting and appealing as possible,” he started to make “complicated salads with all kinds of ingredients”.
Dave Myers childhood
However, things started to get more difficult for Dave when he was 17 after his father fell ill from a stroke. He was taking care of both parents until a nurse came in to assist.
“I put dad in his bed, mum in hers and wondered what I was going to do. When the district nurse came round, she realised I couldn’t cope and asked which parent I could manage best,” he told The Guardian in 2014.
“It was awful to have to choose, but I said dad because I knew he had a chance of recovery. Mum went into a geriatric ward and never came home again.”
At age 23, while still a student, Dave lost both his parents. He referred to this period of his life as “rootless”.
He later met his best friend Si and formed The Hairy Bikers. They both went on to become one of the UK’s most adored chefs and television personalities.
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