Andi Oliver
British cook, television and radio broadcaster, singer (born 1963)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrea Oliver (born 26 May 1963) is a British chef, television and radio broadcaster, and singer. She is notable for her appearances on the BBC TV cooking show Great British Menu.
26 May 1963
- Chef
- television broadcaster
- radio broadcaster
- singer
Andi Oliver | |
|---|---|
Andi Oliver, Hatchards, London, 2023 | |
| Born | Andrea Oliver 26 May 1963 Paddington, London, England |
| Occupations |
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| Children | Miquita Oliver |
Early life
Oliver was born born 26 May 1963,[1] in Paddington, London to Antiguan parents,[2] spent a few years in Kent and Cyprus and was brought up in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, from the age of 10.[3] Her father served in the Royal Air Force and was based at RAF Honington; her mother taught at a primary school in the town.[4]
Early career
Oliver is a former member of the band Rip Rig + Panic[5] who appeared in an episode of Series 1 of The Young Ones. She used to co-host alongside Ice-T, the Channel 4 television show Baadasss TV,[6] and for a time worked at BBC Radio London.[6] She has also participated in the BBC's coverage of the Glastonbury Festival.[6]
For four years she ran a successful ephemeral restaurant, The Moveable Feast. After being creative director of The Birdcage pub on London's Colombia Road, she launched her own restaurant at The Jackdaw and Star, a renovated pub in the heart of Homerton. She opened her award-winning restaurant, Andi's, in 2016, and in 2020 created her newest food project entitled Wadadli Kitchen.[7]
She is best known for her appearances on the BBC TV cooking show Great British Menu.[8][9] She is the author of the book The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table, published in 2023.[1]
Other music projects
After 1983, Andi became involved in Kalimba, an African-inspired band. In 1990 she joined forces with her brother, forming the Mighty Hog.[10]
In April 2007, she began presenting a six-part cookery show, Neneh and Andi Dish it Up, with her friend Neneh Cherry for BBC2.[10]
Projects
- Host of Truth About Food
- Host of The Selector, a radio show for the British Council
- Host of BBC Four first-ever Radio 3 World Music Awards
- Took part in the charity performance of The Vagina Monologues at the Royal Albert Hall
- Took part in the Changing Cityscapes series for the BBC.[11]
- In 2009 Oliver took part in BBC flagship drama No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, set in Botswana.
- In summer 2012, she was a guest judge on the TV show Food Glorious Food, presented by Carol Vorderman during the Harrogate Regional Heats, first broadcast on 27 February 2013.
- In summer 2014, she opened her own kitchen, Sugarshack.
- Regular panelist on The Kitchen Cabinet on BBC Radio 4 alongside Jay Rayner, Henry Dimbleby and Angela Hartnett
- Co-hosts Food Networks The Big Eat alongside Andy Bates and Ching He Huang
- Co-host of BBC's Christmas Kitchen with Matt Tebbutt – December 2016
- Took part in Eight Go Rallying: The Road To Saigon in 2018 with her daughter Miquita Oliver. They drove a 1959 Morris Minor.[12]
- Replaced Prue Leith as permanent judge on Great British Menu with Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton, but then stepped away from the judge role and replaced Susan Calman as presenter[13][14]
- 2022, documentary, The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita.[15]
- 2024, host of culinary series, Andi Oliver's Fabulous Feast.[16]
Personal life
Oliver has a daughter, television presenter Miquita Oliver, from a previous relationship with Robin Baillie, a Scottish art history teacher.[17][18] Her brother Sean died in 1990 of sickle cell anaemia aged 27.[19] She lives in Wanstead, East London with her partner Garfield Hackett.[20]
Andi is allergic to shellfish.[21]
Book
- The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table, photography by Robert Billington (DK, 27 April 2023), ISBN 9780241560211