Andi Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts "will make your heart fill up with joy"
This new series for BBC Two and iPlayer sees the renowned chef and restauranteur bring her party organising skills to towns and cities across the UK, galvanizing communities with her unwavering belief in the power of delicious food, good vibes and great music to bring people together and lift the soul.
From her legendary warehouse parties back in the 80s to her ground-breaking pop-up restaurants, Andi Oliver is the ultimate party-starter. Now she’s coming to the aid of people up and down the country desperate to celebrate their towns and communities in the most joyful way possible.
Each episode will see Andi’s creative sparks fly, devising unique themed dishes to serve up on the big day. For inspiration, she’ll meet local chefs and suppliers, getting to grips with the regional produce and recipes that make the area special.
But it’s not just food on Andi’s agenda. As a singer in the 80s punk band Rip Rig and Panic, Andi’s life has always been filled with music and art, so she’ll also be digging into local culture, discovering the brilliant performers and artists who’ll bring each event to life.
As her mission unfolds, Andi will unearth the personal stories and the rich social history that makes Britain’s towns, cities, and communities unique, feeding all she learns into her recipes and party plans.
It’s a huge mission and Andi will need to draw on her seemingly inexhaustible well of determination and enthusiasm to get the job done, devising creative solutions on-the-fly and persuading as many locals as she can to throng to each event.
But will she be able to make every party an unforgettable success?
Andi Oliver's Fabulous Feasts is on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two on Wednesday 27 March at 8pm.
Interview with Andi Oliver
What is this new series about?
This new series is all about feeling good and remembering why people are great. We have been travelling up and down the country meeting the most extraordinary human beings who are working on a real human level. That’s why I have been having such a good time, it’s been really amazing! Celebrating community, family, powerful human connection. All the things we need to remember about life right now. It's about the many ways that we find to look after each other. The work that happens when no one is watching. It's about real life everyday heroes, people who turn up for each other 7 days a week. You should watch it because it will make your heart fill up with joy.
Why are you such a fan of a party Andi Oliver?
Why am I such a fan of a party? Why would you not be a fan of a party? Because a party to me, is a perfect moment. It’s the moment people put down their baggage, open up their hearts, open up their spirits and just liberate themselves and each other. That’s what we all need to do regularly. It’s the only way to survive. People need to party.
Why does bringing people together matter to you?
Bringing people together matters to me because that’s how I got through life, it's how I still get through life. The best moments in my life have been with other people. Connecting to other human beings is the way we move forward in this world. If we don’t have each other, we have nothing.
What was your highlight of being involved in this series?
My highlight from this series, is that I think it’s really an honor to travel the country and meet people who are doing such extraordinary work. I just feel that every town I have been to and every community that I have engaged with, I have just met people who are showing the best of themselves and show us how we can live if we do really work hard and do it right.
Tell me about the best party you have ever been to?
The best party I have been to? That’s really tricky, there are so many for many different reasons. One of the best parties I have been to, was on the roof of my best friend's loft in New York. It was for King Sunny Ade the amazing Nigerian musician and his many many wives. Me, her and her mum, barbequed goat and made blue rice. That was a great party. Music was amazing, It was summertime and were on the roof in New York, everybody was wearing incredible outfits the sun was going down. Moki suddenly to put blue dye in the rice. All Nigerian people thought she was completely nuts. We just had the funniest time of our lives. It was brilliant.
You have got a pretty healthy party CV. Can you tell me about that?
It’s interesting really because I have always had parties even when I didn’t have any money. Even when I had 5 or 10 pounds.... If you have got 10 pounds you can buy chicken wings, you can buy rice, you can buy salad. That is a party right there. Get the tunes, get the lighting right and you have got a party. It doesn’t take much to make a party happen. It’s about intent and it’s about opening your heart. I have always done it. Especially when I was a single parent and I didn’t have the money to go out, it was a really good way to make sure I still had a good social life.
To get people round to the house, getting them round the table, getting some good tunes, getting some good food on. It just makes us remember we are alive. Because you know, we all work so hard and its quite easy to forget to give yourself some love and a bit of time. So, when I say party, they can be all shapes and sizes. A party can be 6 people, it can be 60 people. It can be 80 people; it can be 8 people. It’s about the energy in the room. It is essential energy. It’s all you need.
You must have hosted some star-studded events. Can you tell us about those?
We have had star studded parties but to me you know, everybody is a star. Actually, making this series is a really brilliant reminder that up and down the country there are genuinely just people who are spectacularly exciting and completely wonderful.
Whether they have been on the telly, whether they are popstars, whether they are actors, whether they are painters and decorators, whether they are carpenters, I just like good people. At my parties I just want good people and I don’t care who you are. Just be nice.
What are your top five tips to throwing a great party? Or what are the five most important things when you are getting a party ready?
Five most important things when getting a party ready, make sure you have enough time. Don’t shop for food on the same day. These are two tips in one.
So, when I am saying, give yourself enough time, I mean proper elbow room so that nothing feels stressful or pressurised because those are the things that can turn a party into not much fun for the person throwing the party. So, give yourself enough time and do all your shopping for the essentials and your food, booze and stuff a couple of days before. Make sure you have good music lined up. Either do the playlist yourself or get someone to DJ, but make sure you thought about the music. Don't do it last minute and hope you find something, get yourself together on the music front.
Music is the lifeblood of any party, it’s the heart of a good party. Make sure you have good music. The lighting is essential at a party. No one wants to feel like they are in a dentist waiting room when you are at a party. Make sure you have got subtle, moody, gorgeous lighting, this does not have to be expensive fairy lights will do it! . Also make sure it’s not cold when I am coming over because I will leave. It’s just not good.
Lastly, make sure you invite people that you really like. That you genuinely want to spend time with. Don’t invite people that you think are shiny and everybody will think oh it’s a really groovy party.... Make sure you invite the people that make you feel good because then you will have good energy and good vibes.
There's a sixth tip, which is that when you are making the food for the party. Don't make food that’s overly complicated. Get your seasonings right. Get your marinades right. Get those kind of building blocks correct. Cook big dishes. Big one pot dishes or big things on the barbeque. Things that go a long way. So, it might take a little bit of planning beforehand, but getting a big pot of things like curry on or a pepper pot or big legs of lamb on the barbeque.
Things that you can roll out and replicate for quite a lot of people. Don't do sort of fiddly things like a souffle if you have got thirty people coming round. It’s just not the one because you are at home, you have your kitchen at home and not a professional one. It's just going to be a pain in the neck. Don't try to impress, try to be delicious.
How has food and music shaped your life?
I think that food and music are the two building blocks at the basis of everything I do. My growing up life, was quite odd in lots of ways. My dad was not the best dad but he was a really good cook and he had the most amazing record collection. Actually, when I think about food and music, I think about really happy times. They were the happy times we spent when I was younger.
I started cooking when I was very very young. Helping cook the Sunday roast when I was six or seven years old or something. And I could cook a whole Sunday roast by the time I was twelve years old. It’s a survival building block in me, knowing how to cook. Its rooted me and grounded me to myself. I feel like it connects me to the earth or something. To my own gravity. Music is the same. Music is my balm. Music is my savior. I sound like I am about to break into a gospel song. Music has held me in its arms and has lifted me up when I needed it and stroked my forehead when I needed that kind of support. Music and food are essential to everybody, but that’s my religion there. I just have a different religion to a lot of people.