Interview with Andi Oliver

Andi Oliver is a familiar face in the UK. As a chef, television and radio broadcaster, and restaurateur, she is best known for appearing on the popular BBC cooking show, the Great British Menu as a judge and, more recently, as the programme’s presenter. Born in England to Antiguan parents, Andi started her career as a singer in the group Rip, Rig and Panic with her brother Sean and great friend, the renowned artist Neneh Cherry. A regular visitor to the island, The Citizen caught up with Andi on a recent visit to learn more about her heritage and passions.

You are here in Antigua at the moment. Do you have plans for any collaborations here on the island?

We have many plans here, but since we don’t know what we will be able to deliver given how things are in the world, we’re breaking them down into smaller parts to see how we go. But they are centred around food and music. Cultural exchanges are essential to nurture and rebuild communities and keep them together. I think community is at the heart of everything, and it’s vital that it remains cohesive and connected. In 2020, we came to Antigua intending to stay for four weeks. However, things changed no sooner than we arrived, and travel to and from the island was restricted. Since we were staying in a lovely house in Turtle Bay, we decided not to leave and were actually here for three months. I am usually so busy that I don’t get time to think and write, so it was an absolute blessing for me to have that time. I started jotting down the ideas and thoughts I’ve been having for a while about a book. Because the time difference was only four hours between the UK and Antigua, I worked very effectively and productively. When you go to bed early here, you get up at five or six, and so by midday, you’ve done all your work, and you’ve got the rest of the day to do wonderful things and enjoy the island. I never wanted to leave. I think I will live here eventually as I love it so much.

The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita was broadcast earlier this year on the BBC in the UK. Over the two programmes, you and your daughter visit Antigua & Barbuda and Barbados to learn more about your heritage. What was the experience of making this mini-series?

I’ve never had such an incredible response to any work I’ve ever done; it’s been an absolute outpouring of love and appreciation. For many people, having people with Caribbean heritage telling Caribbean stories and giving Caribbean people centre stage is so important and not what they’re used to seeing. I feel incredibly proud of the programme and to have been able to do it with my daughter was such a gift. But more than that, it’s been transformative. We did a DNA test in the programme. It turns out I am 38 percent Nigerian; the rest is made up of Malian, Beninese and Togolese heritage with nothing from the indigenous Caribbean people. It was incredibly moving when I saw the journey that the slave ships had taken. Although before this I knew intellectually and academically that we were descended from enslaved African people, after this, I could feel our ancestors so powerfully. Although I cried and cried, heartbroken for their loss of dignity, it also made me feel very powerful thinking of what we have now. It’s almost like giving them back their name and the beauty that was taken from them. That is why cultural exchange is so important for me. You want to do projects that do well and feed into the economy, but there must be emotional truth at its heart. When we tell stories about people from the African diaspora, it’s about their pain, trouble and difficulties. We forget to celebrate the beauty and powerful magnitude of what we’ve overcome to get to where we are today. It’s an extraordinary story, and I feel very driven to tell it.

Did this journey help you discover Antigua in a different way?

I certainly feel connected to Antigua, the Caribbean and Africa in a new way, so I am now more connected to myself. I’ve still got a lot of family here, and we were able to spend proper time with them, listening to stories, which helped us understand who we are. Interestingly, it’s all gone full circle. Our parents left Antigua to go to Britain to give us opportunities, and now, with those opportunities we want to come back and learn about Antigua. It’s a beautiful exchange of generations mirroring each other.

When we tell stories about people from the African diaspora, it is about their pain, trouble and difficulties. We forget to celebrate the beauty and powerful magnitude of what we've overcome to get where we are today. It's an extraordinary story, and I feel very driven to tell it.

What was your impression of Barbuda?

I was actually amazed about how different Barbuda is. So tiny and wild, and the people are beautiful. I met a wonderful restaurant owner called Jackie Breezer, who taught me how to cook Barbudan fat fish. I was fascinated by the food and how I’d never heard of many of the dishes. It’s a mere 15-minute flight from Antigua, and it’s a whole different country. I met people passionate about their island, and I like how they genuinely commune with one other. I think it’s a beautiful place and I would like to spend more time there.

What do you like eating in Antigua?

I am definitely a side-of-the-road food lover. My favourite place to eat is called Complements to the Chef on Potter’s Main Road, run by Simone from Guyana. She makes a wonderful Guyanese pepperpot. Her food is special as it tastes as if it comes from someone’s heart, not someone’s head. My favourite dishes are Antiguan pepperpot; I have my grandmother’s pepperpot recipe. I also love fungee and saltfish; that is incredibly soothing for me. I also love goat water, and rotis.

Food is now your thing, but you started as a musician, singing with Neneh Cherry no less. How did you move away from music to food and broadcasting?

I’ve always cooked, and Neneh and I always cooked together; it’s like our language of love. You can’t cook with everyone – it’s like dancing. You might both be good dancers, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to stand on each other’s feet. But she and I are like cooking twins. Food and music areinterchangeable. You need to have heart at the base of both. Otherwise, they’re pointless and hollow. When I moved into broadcasting and television, Neneh and I, in fact, did a cooking show for the BBC. I then started to do supper clubs and got deeper into learning more about cooking, and I guess you could say I became completely immersed in culinary adventure. It’s a great way of connecting with people as well. If I’m going to meet with people, I either cook with or for them – it’s a way to the heart. It relaxes people.

Tell us about your restaurant Wadadli Kitchen in London?

It’s a kind of moveable feast, really. Wadadli is a pan-Caribbean celebration. When you look at food from across the region, the influences are so vast: Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Indian, English, and Arabic food are mixed with an African hand. And it’s glorious! People have a simplistic idea of the Caribbean and think it’s just Jamaica. They also have a simplistic idea about Caribbean food, and so Wadadli Kitchen’s mission is to celebrate, uplift and explore the breadth and depth of Caribbean culinary adventure and excellence. It’s an endless journey and adventure.

What is your motto in life?

Be kind, be good, be truthful.