Home Truths with Andi Oliver - find out what furniture she can't stand
The TV chef and BBC Great British Menu host gets up close and personal about her home (and the lengths she goes to to avoid a 'stingy sofa')
Recently, we've had the pleasure of watching Andi Oliver on our TV screens quite a lot... and we're all the better for it. Her passion and enthusiasm for life and her infectious laugh are such a tonic.
She lives in Wanstead, East London with her partner Garfield Hackett, her Mum, and the dog she shares with daughter, Miquita.
What is the first thing you do the second you walk through your door?
I walk in, put my stuff down, hang my coat up and go to the fridge and see what's in it.
It's my comfort; I know where my coat is, I know where my bag is, I know what is in the fridge.
What is your favourite time of day at home?
I do like very early mornings these days. It's just all quiet and nobody is around to bother you.
I also like coming up home in the afternoon when everyone is still out rushing around working and I've suddenly got a few hours off. I love a cosy afternoon on the sofa - it's my favourite thing in the whole world.
Where’s your happy place at home?
The sofa. We've got all these big new sofas from The Sofa Company and they're incredibly comfortable. The sofa is the heart of the home as far as I'm concerned.
I cannot abide a stingy sofa that you can't really stretch out on. What is the point in living?
What's on your bedside table?
My water bottle, my Bernadine Evaristo book Girl, Woman, Other that I'm reading again, it's just too brilliant for words. And cocoa butter, because you always need cocoa butter.
I'm actually about to set up a tea station in my bedroom. I'm going to build a little shelf with some tea, a kettle and a little fridge with some oat milk in it. I want to be able to get up and make myself a cup of tea at any point if I need to.
What’s your homeware addiction?
I'm really big on colourful heavy iron saucepans, I've got quite a lot of them from Le Creuset. But ProCook sent me this one the other day, which is gorgeous. It's like a big dark red, stew pot and I'm very fond of it already.
What are your home pet peeves?
I hate people leaving lids of things. My partner and I are in a silent war about him leaving lids of things in the bathroom.
I've also got my kitchen really well organised, but just now I found a packet of rice in with the peanut butter... I mean, what's that doing there? They're just trying to upset me with that.
What smell says home to you?
The smell of stuff going on the BBQ. I have two massive very beautiful Weber BBQs that they very kindly sent me for Christmas, so I'm really excited to be out in my garden barbecuing like a lunatic this summer. I love barbecue food, I even barbecued my turkey last year.
Available in 10 different colourways, this cast iron casserole is one of Andi's new favourite kitchen additions.
Do you have a bad home habit you’d like to quit?
Putting laundry in and forgetting it's in there, then I have to redo it because I've left it overnight and it's started to smell funny. It really annoys me that I do that.
What chore do you love doing?
Weirdly, I quite like washing up. I like the sense of order that it brings. I do also like to organise the kitchen, there is nothing more satisfying than redoing the spice cupboard. Everything is labelled - oh yeah, now you're talking - freshly labelled spice cupboard.... hello!
What chore do you hate doing?
Pick a chore, any chore, I hate it. I hate vacuuming, I can't stand it. Dusting is ridiculous, if you have time to dust, you should get a life, I think.
I'm not very good at all that stuff, I do it but I'm not happy about it, let's put it that way.
Do you have any routines at home?
I like very early mornings these days. I get up at like 6am, I do half an hour on my Peloton and I potter around.
I'm on HRT now so I put all my hormones on and let them soak into my body, and by the time I've done that other people are starting to get up and I'm ready for the day. It's quite important that early morning routine for me.
Do you try your hand at DIY?
Oh god, no. [laughs]. Nooooo!
I think you have to know your own limitations.
Do you think you're a good host?
I'm a great host, because I generally like it. I take away as many rules as possible, I think that keeps people nice and relaxed. Literally, bring who you want, do what you want and come when you want, just don't come too late.
The food isn't necessarily ready when you come, it's ready when it's ready so just come over, hang out.
What do you do if you have time at home on your own?
I'm on the sofa. I watch really, really terrible television, like Real Housewives, or I watch things that I'm very invested in like Happy Valley. Great things or terrible things, I'm not a very in the middle person.
What do you miss most about your home when you're away?
My family, and my sofa. The hotel ones are never the same. I go to Stratford Upon Avon for three months every year and I have to stay in a different house when we film the Great British Menu.
The last one we stayed in the sofa was awful, just everything I hate in a sofa (little, hard and stingy). In the end, I took the one from my dressing room and got them to take it to the house.
Quick fire questions with Andi Oliver
- SHOES IN THE HOUSE – ON OR OFF? Off
- EAT – TABLE OR ON LAPS? Both, it depends what we're watching and what we're eating
- LIGHTING – BRIGHT OR MOODY? Candlelight please. Fairy lights and candle lights are my preference.
- QUICK SHOWER OR LONG BATH? Long shower
- ROOM DECOR – COLOURFUL OR NEUTRAL? Colourful
- ARE YOU A NEAT FREAK OR DO YOU PREFER TO BE SURROUNDED BY CREATIVE CHAOS? Creative chaos... let's call it that, shall we?!
- DO YOU TEND TO HAVE MUSIC/THE RADIO/TV ON AT HOME IN THE BACKGROUND OR DO YOU PREFER A QUIET HOUSE? All of the above! Music, radio and TV!
Andi’s new cookbook The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table is out now and you can catch up on the latest series of Great British menu on BBC iPlayer.
Get the Ideal Home Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter for style and decor inspiration, house makeovers, project advice and more.
Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.
- Ginevra BenedettiDeputy Editor (Print)
-
Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Flip Mini Oven SP101UK review
This mini oven does all sorts of things, and does them fairly well, but is it really necessary?
By Ellen Manning
-
Brown kitchens are the big colour trend for 2025 - here's how to use Mocha Mousse in your cooking space
Brown kitchens really are having their moment right now – we explain how to get the look just right
By Natasha Brinsmead
-
Poundland is now selling apartments on Rightmove which will set you back £85,000 - here's everything we know
The brand has branched out to property this year
By Kezia Reynolds
-
Melissa Hemsley shares her home truths about her Sunday Cook Off and must-have kitchen products
Chef and cookery writer Melissa Hemsley gets up close and personal with her home truths
By Ginevra Benedetti
-
Sara Cox shares her home truths about her GSD weekends to the pet peeve she can't stand
Sara Cox gets up close and personal with her home
By Andrea Childs
-
Shirley Ballas Home Truths - her favourite Matalan pjs and where she's spending Christmas day
The Strictly Come Dancing judge reveals her festive Home Truths, from her decorating style to what she hopes to find in her stocking this year
By Gemma Calvert
-
Home Truths with Emeli Sandé - and why she's always on Christmas Day dishwashing duty
Singer songwriter Emeli Sandé reveals how she spends Christmas each year and why tradition is so important to her
By Ginevra Benedetti
-
Pinterest UK's Head of Home reveals what the most popular Christmas trends this year will be
Pinterest UK’s Head of Home Matt Siberry shares the top three festive trends that people are ‘pinning’ the most
By Matt Siberry
-
Home Truths with Emma Bunton - the Spice Girl reveals her love for cleaning
We speak to self-confessed clean freak Emma Bunton and find out what part of her home she loves to clean every day!
By Ginevra Benedetti
-
Home Truths with Joan Collins - find out why she never misses home...
Dame Joan Collins tells us all about her home life and why she loves instant coffee and eighties music...
By Ginevra Benedetti
-
Home Truths with Helen Skelton (and what bad habit she can't quit)
The presenter and Strictly alumni Helen Skelton loves nothing more than a relaxing long soak in the bath
By Rebecca Knight