Andi Oliver: ‘I always find the best food on holiday by asking this one question’

Andi Oliver let Metro snoop through her kitchen (Picture: Andi Oliver)

Welcome back to What’s Cooking, Metro’s food series that takes a peek inside the nation’s kitchens.

This week we’re at home with chef and presenter, Andi Oliver, who is 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 actually started her career as a singer in the band Rip Rig + Panic in the 80s.

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.

The chef and presenter is the host of the Great British Menu (Picture: Andi Oliver)

First, tell us a secret. What’s your most unhinged snack obsession?

I’m addicted to this vegan caramelised white chocolate by Ombar. It’s so nice and creamy, I eat it every single day.

Usually, I don’t have a massive sweet tooth, but now I have to have at least two squares of this after dinner, otherwise I feel a bit weird.

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.

Ombar is the 63-year-old’s current obsession (Picture: Andi Oliver)

Do you have any tips for finding the best food when travelling?

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.

You can also ask people in local food markets where they like to go, or speak to the experts at Intrepid Travel.

I’m a massive fan of what they do, which is why I’m working with them on their new Endangered Dishes campaign to highlight 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.

We need to preserve, celebrate, and encourage people to experience these beautiful dishes.

Which dish always reminds you of your childhood?

Banana pancakes. My mum used to make them every day, and we’d eat them with savoury food in Antigua.

You can make them from pumpkin or banana, and they’re a cross between a pancake and a fritter. They’re delicious, and you can have them with everything.

Name one thing that’s always in your fridge…

Andi always has oat milk in the fridge (Picture: Andi Oliver)

I don’t have dairy, so I buy oat milk, and I specifically like to get pistachio oat milk.

I’ve got one of those Nespresso machines, and you can get matcha and vanilla pods. I mix that with pistachio oat milk, and then put a little bit of honey and add a tiny drop of orange blossom water in there – it’s a trick I learned from a woman in San Antonia, and it’s absolutely delicious.

What about in your store cupboard?

Tinned fish is always in the cupboard (Picture: Andi Oliver)

I love tinned fish, like big time, and I’ll make sardines on toast with shaved, raw onion, a fudgy boiled egg, and a little bit of green seasoning on top, which is a mix of herbs, spring onion, and garlic. 

That’s a real Antiguian breakfast/lunch thing to eat, with a side of avocado.

And in the freezer?

I always have stock or bone broth in my freezer, and I’m quite a fan of Itsu dumplings.

I’ll cook the dumplings in a pan, straight from frozen, and add some of the green seasoning I mentioned earlier, plus a splash of stock, and some butter. You get this really lovely, buttery chicken stock sauce. 

Top it with some spinach and put the lid on while it finishes cooking, and that’s a really banging, quick lunch.

Itsu dumplings and frozen stock are her freezer must-haves (Picture: Andi Oliver)

Is there anything you can’t resist splurging on at the supermarket?

I do like a nice £40 bottle of champagne, like Fleury. That goes down very well in this house, and I’m partial to it with some elderflower cordial. 

What do you prefer to get the cheap own-brand version of from the supermarket?

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.

Finally, what’s been cooking lately?

The filé gumbo is at risk of going ‘extinct’ (Picture: Intrepid Travel)

I’m currently working my way through all 10 of the Endangered Dishes and bringing them to life. 

Recently, I’ve made chicken and oxtail gumbo from Louisiana, which is a filé gumbo. 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.

Want to take part in What’s Cooking and let Metro raid your kitchen at home? Email [email protected]  

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