Amelia Dimoldenberg
(Picture: Derek Bremner )In case it had escaped your notice, Amelia Dimoldenberg is rather busy these days.
Since launching her YouTube series Chicken Shop Date in 2014 and starting her own cooking series (most recently featuring TikTok trainspotting legend Francis Bourgeois), she’s everywhere: hosting segments on Dave, becoming the face of Olay and now, doing red-carpet interviews at this year’s BRIT Awards.
Amelia owes her success to the YouTube platform itself, she says. ‘I was trying to get [Chicken Shop Date] commissioned elsewhere with other broadcasters and platforms but nobody would take it,’ the host explains. ‘So I was like, okay well I don’t really know much about YouTube but I know that anyone can upload. I’m gonna make the content myself and I’m gonna upload it myself.’
And she did – after originating as a column in youth magazine ‘The Cut’, her first date went live in 2014 with Grime MC Ghetts and has gone on to feature the likes of KSI, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Lingard and Ed Sheeran all taking a turn under the neon lights of the chicken shops.
Dimoldenberg’s signature awkward style of interview has resulted in a cult fanbase in the years since; hitting a million subscribers on Christmas Day was ‘the perfect present’, Amelia’s TikTok account has over 14 million likes, and her red-carpet interviews invariably go viral (see the Stormzy interview at the MOBOs for more evidence).
When we sit down together, it’s the day before the BRITs, and Amelia is excited. ‘A few of my exes are going to be there,’ she tells me. ‘Dave, AJ Tracey… I’m excited to see them, to know if they’re thinking about me. And there are people who I really want to ask out. Sam Fender, Adele. I’m using the BRITs red carpet as a way to just wingman myself.’
Amelia’s clearly experienced in the dating scene – and with Valentine’s Day around the corner, there’s no one better to share some London love stories; chicken shop-based or not.
What’s the best date spot in London?
I’m going to have to say a chicken shop. It’s an incredibly romantic venue for a date – I think the lighting is particularly good. They use the reds, the whites: they’re very romantic colours. Nuggets are also great for a date – you can nibble on them, and you don’t want to be eating anything that’s too messy. I don’t eat chicken on the bone as it would ruin my lip gloss.
Which chicken shop is your number one spot for a date?
Probably Casey’s on Holloway Road, because the bossman’s just so sweet and they do really good chicken nuggets. And they’ve got a nice picture of a chicken on the wall, which is romantic.
What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?
Well, I’ve been stood up on a Chicken Shop Date, by Novelist. It was because he actually ended up going to A&E, he fell off his moped. And then I had a really bad walking date in the park – the guy was really hungover, and he stopped mid-walk to lean over his arm and vomit. I was just like, you know what, you need to have a lie down. I never saw him again.
Snog, marry, avoid three of your Chicken Shop Dates.
Oh god, ok. I would snog Jack Harlow because he’s hot. I wouldn’t marry him because he lives in America and I don’t want to commit to long distance. I would marry Aitch, because he’s the love of my life. And I would avoid one of the footballers I interviewed recently, because they both have girlfriends now and they have a very strict schedule I wouldn’t be able to do.
What’s your idea of a perfect Valentine’s Day?
I’m actually throwing a party on Friday for Valentine’s Day. I hope this becomes an annual thing where I have a big Valentine’s party every year – it’s nice for people to do something if you’re single. I’m not really on any dating apps, and I really believe that if I meet someone it will be at a party or something like that. There’s nothing like meeting someone in real life – you know the vibe and whether you fancy someone straight away.
