Welcome back to What’s Cooking, Metro’s food series, taking a peek inside the nation’s kitchens. This week we’re at home with chef and presenter Andi Oliver, best known as the host of the BBC’s Great British Menu. After replacing Prue Leith on the show and working as a judge for four seasons, Andi took over the mantle of host in 2020. However, the 63-year-old hasn’t always worked with food. She started her career as a singer in the band Rip Rig + Panic in the 80s.
Andi Oliver’s Top Travel Food Tip
If you’ve ever wondered what a TV chef really eats at home when the cameras aren’t rolling, we’ve got the answers, as well as her top tips for finding the most delicious dishes when travelling. Andi says: “I like to find out what local people are eating. So I always ask the cab drivers for their recommendations. They’ll tell you where to go, and it’ll be some random little cafe that you’d likely never have found by yourself. I was taken to the best jerk and barbecue place in Jamaica. It was in this little clearing in the Blue Mountains, and I’m so glad we asked, because if not, I would have completely missed it.”
Snack Obsession and Endangered Dishes
Andi admits to being addicted to a vegan caramelised white chocolate by Ombar. “I eat it every single day. I went on holiday to Antigua recently, and I’m so obsessed that I had to take some of it with me. I literally had 10 bars of it in my suitcase.” She also works with Intrepid Travel on their Endangered Dishes campaign, highlighting 10 iconic global dishes facing extinction due to overtourism and climate change. “These are more than just delicious things on the plate; these are our human stories. These recipes tell the stories of the movement of people, why we’re in the places we are, how we got there, how we connected, and how we thrived as people all over the world.”
Childhood Memories and Fridge Staples
Banana pancakes remind Andi of her childhood. “My mum used to make them every day, and we’d eat them with savoury food in Antigua. They’re delicious, and you can have them with everything.” In her fridge, you’ll always find pistachio oat milk, which she uses to make a special drink with matcha pods, honey, and orange blossom water. In her store cupboard, tinned fish is a staple, and she loves sardines on toast with shaved raw onion, fudgy boiled egg, and green seasoning. In the freezer, she keeps stock or bone broth and Itsu dumplings for a quick lunch.
Splurges and Savings
Andi admits to splurging on a nice £40 bottle of champagne, like Fleury, which she enjoys with elderflower cordial. However, she prefers to buy cheap own-brand tinned beans. “There’s been a real thing lately where everybody’s buying beans in glass jars, but you don’t need fancy ones. People will always find a way to tell you to buy something more expensive, but I’ve been eating beans out of tins since I was born, and they’re fantastic.”
What’s Cooking Lately?
Andi is currently working her way through all 10 Endangered Dishes. Recently, she made chicken and oxtail gumbo from Louisiana. “It has a roux, which is thickened with the filé powder (dried and ground leaves from a sassafras tree). It’s not an easy dish to cook; it takes hours, and there’s definitely some skill involved, but it was really interesting and exciting to make.”
