Award-winning TV Chef and Broadcaster Andi Oliver enjoys a rich & varied career, with food and music being at the forefront throughout.
Andi is a regular face on screen – Host of the BBC’s Great British Menu, of which she has been hosting for four seasons, Food Unwrapped and a contributing chef and host on Saturday Kitchen. This year saw her new show, Andi Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts, released on BBC Two where Andi joined a variety of fabulous communities across the UK and celebrated food with heart and soul. Previously she was the Host of Sky Arts Live Book Club and C4’s Beat the Chef.
Andi co-hosts the Stirring it up podcast with her daughter, Broadcaster and Presenter, Miquita Oliver, where they welcome special guests into her home to gather around the kitchen table for a feast of laughter and deep conversation. The podcast is about to launch its 4th series this summer.
2023 saw the long- awaited launch of her cookbook The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table. Featuring both traditional and new recipes, cherished ingredients and vibrant flavours from across the Caribbean.
When it comes to radio, Andi is a regular panel member on BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet alongside Jay Rayner as well as a contributor to Radio 4’s Award winning The Food Programme. In 2018 she followed in the footsteps of Yotam Ottolenghi & Giorgio Locatelli and was appointed Head judge alongside Sheila Dillon for the prestigious BBC Food & Farming awards.
Outside of the realm of food Andi hosted the award winning Jazz 365 for BBC4 in 2019 and along with her daughter Miquita Oliver took part both in The Road To Saigon for BBC2 and Hosted The Cheltenham Literature Festival for Sky Arts. She and Miquita also travelled back to the Caribbean for BBC2 in 2022 for a two part documentary series that sees them connect with their past family roots, to discover where they really came from.
Andi rose to fame fronting the band Rip Rig and Panic with Neneh Cherry in 1981 she went onto work in TV in the 90’s, debuting on Backstage at The Brits. She then went on to present the hit cult show Baadasss TV with Ice T and the award winning documentary Crazy Sexy Cool. For 6 years Andi covered Glastonbury for the BBC as well as fronting various other BBC festivals.
During this period Andi hosted a hugely popular afternoon show on GLR for three years and presented The Selector for 8 years, a show for The British Council, broadcast in over 15 different countries. In 2005, with Andi at the helm, it won a Silver Sony Award for best weekly music show.
In 2006 she presented The Truth About Food for the BBC and in 2007 she and Neneh Cherry hosted the BBC2 cooking series, Neneh and Andi Dish It Up.
During her career, Andi was invited to perform a piece for a gala performance of the Vagina Monologues at The Royal Albert Hall with amongst others , Isabella Rossellini, Maureen Lipman & Meera Syal, which led to a 3 month West End run with Michelle Gomez, Samantha Bond & Linda Robson. She was featured in the 1st series of The Number One Ladies Detective Agency and is soon to be seen in a cameo in the upcoming film written by Caitlin Moran – How To Build A Girl.
Andi was (and is) in the kitchen throughout all of this, perfecting her skill, and for 4 years she ran a successful ephemeral restaurant – The Moveable Feast. After being creative director of The Birdcage she launched her own kitchen at The Jackdaw and Star, a renovated pub in the heart of Homerton. She launched her award winning restaurant – Andi’s – in 2016 & in 2020, she launched her newest food project entitled Wadadli Kitchen which showcases Real Caribbean Home Cooking. Wadadli pop ups took place throughout summer 2020, including a pop up at Somerset House and an offshoot of the Wadadli brand called One Love, which Andi created alongside Fred Siriex.
