Andi and Miquita Oliver on making the everyday special with food

"We've lived in East a long time now," adds Miquita, "but we're from West London and for me it's really nostalgic and I have a lot of food memories of West London."

Although money was tight, Andi always wanted to make sure that mealtimes and birthdays were special.

"We didn't have any money, we were really properly broke. I was on the dole for a lot of the time and when I wasn't I had like three jobs and was barely managing to make ends meet, so food was incredibly important," says Andi.

"Because we couldn't go on holidays, food was really my way of making the everyday a bit special. I learnt really early on how to make a fiver go a very, very, very long way. I can pull a party together out of nothing," she adds.

"It's a beautiful thing because I had a childhood full of abundance even though we didn't have any money," says Miquita. "It's not just about feeding your kids, it's about creating a world where you don't feel like you're lacking."

Parties at home – with plenty of homemade food – were key.

"We used to have indoor nighttime picnics," says Andi. "Going to the pictures cost quite a lot of money, so we'd get a video, I would buy chicken and make sandwiches and stuff. Chicken was always the key, because it was cheap and you can make it taste incredible. You can create a home in a tiny space with hardly anything. If you have access to fresh vegetables, proteins and stuff, you can do it quite easily."

On making their own podcast

Their started a podcast during the pandemic, although they never had the intention of it becoming so big.

"It started in lockdown when we were losing our minds, like everyone," says Miquita. "Mum was cooking a lot and I started filming her and then decided to start editing it.

"We called it What's for Dinner, Mummy? and put it on Instagram. Because nothing else was on, we had this huge audience. It just grew and grew and then our careers sort of took off. Mum's kept accelerating and people asked us if we wanted to do one.

"We were like, oh god, it just feels so forced. Then we were like, we could just basically do What's for dinner, Mummy? and then it evolved into more of what Stirring it Up is now, which is basically the best dinner party you don't have to leave your house to go to. You can be [sat on] the other seat of the table, which is my favourite idea about it."

The San Antonio food scene

Earlier this year they visited San Antonio, Texas and had their minds "completely blown".

"We were treated so well," says Miquita. "We realised very quickly that there is truth to that southern hospitality thing. So we felt very welcome."

Their favourite restaurant, Mi Tierra, serves an impressive one thousand covers a night.

"This is where Tex Mex food comes from," says Andi. "Not just sloppy, awful burritos. I walked in and I started kind of hyperventilating because there's so much colour, so many shiny things. Underneath the restaurant they've got machines making fresh tortillas and huge pots of broth that have been cooking for 48 hours to make their sauces. They make everything from scratch."

"We felt like the food was like love," says Miquita.

"The food is absolutely stunning, imaginative," Andi adds. "It's forward thinking. It encapsulates heritage. I just found it to be the most incredibly inspiring place. That's what you want when you travel, isn't it?"

For the people of San Antonio, the food comes to represent more than the ingredients themselves, but also a connection to the land and its history – given its close proximity to the border with Mexico.

"There's a real pride in the genuine, real Mexican heritage," says Andi. "That's what happens when you overcome painful stories in history, but as we pass through it and move forward, if we come together, then beautiful things happen.

"Magical new things happen. Magical new food, which enriches everything. It enriches your heart, it enriches your body, which is your mind. That's what I think is happening in San Antonio, which is why it's such an exciting place, because they embrace each other's food cultures, music culture and art," says Andi.

"It's just colour and joy and you're hit with it when you turn every corner," adds Miquita.

Listen to the full episode then delve into the Good Food podcast archive for more culinary adventures.