The not-so-secret seasoning that makes Chicken Shop Date so tasty
If you aren’t familiar with the name Amelia Dimoldenberg, I’d hazard a guess that you’ve heard of her YouTube show, Chicken Shop Date, given it feels like almost every big name in pop culture has appeared on it as a guest (well, date).
It’s hard not to marvel at the British 30-year-old’s rising star power. Beyond hosting her own highly popular show, nowadays, if she’s not interviewing stars on the biggest red carpets, she’s sitting front-row at fashion’s biggest shows.
But Amelia has been chipping away (there’s a chicken shop pun there) at her craft for a decade now, so if you want to pigeonhole her as an overnight success story, think again.
Last month, Amelia posted a picture of herself with British rapper Ghetts, along with the caption, “10 years ago I filmed the very first episode of @chickenshopdate with the legend @therealghetts, so it was only right that I asked him on a second date to celebrate a decade of the show ❤️a very special episode out FRIDAY!”
Though I knew Amelia had been working on Chicken Shop Date for years, I was shocked that it had been an actual decade, and immediately looked up her first episode. I was delighted.
While the production value, episode duration and hype around the show has grown exponentially (the show’s Instagram account has 1.3m followers along with Amelia’s personal accounting boasting 2.1m), it was so refreshing to see that the essence of Chicken Shop Date has not wavered since its inception, and that comes down to Amelia’s unique personal brand.
She has a way of commanding the spotlight despite sitting across from some of the most famous people in the world. She’s quirky, without being forced. She’s extremely pop culture literate. Her charisma has the ability to both disarm her guests and keep them on their toes. But mostly, she radiates authenticity, a rare and powerful quality in her industry.
Celebrity interviews can be hard to pull off, with the line of questioning often either overly surface-level or uncomfortably deep and philosophical. It’s difficult to find that sweet spot but Amelia’s conversational style allows celebrities to show a lighter, more playful side to themselves, whilst giving them the platform to plug their projects. And while the format is gimmicky, it’s somehow not contrived.
Earlier this year, Amelia received an honorary doctorate from the Central Saint Martins – University of Arts London, the school in which she studied fashion journalism in her earlier years. Her acceptance speech gave insight into her journey to success, urging the young graduates in attendance to stay steadfast in their self-belief.
“Yes, a lot of people don’t actually know this, but I invented content. You’re welcome,” she joked, before detailing how the final project she produced for her course featuring video interviews and humour had been met with confusion. “Most of the feedback I received was, ‘I don’t get it’.”
“By the time I got to my graduation, even though I was pleased with what I had made, I felt like somewhat of a failure because I hadn’t received the approval of my tutors. I put in so much effort and I still felt like my ideas were misunderstood,” she told the audience. “Looking back, the judgement is irrelevant. What is important was my belief in the idea.”
She went on to share that the most important lesson she learned from her degree was that “it’s crucial that you hold onto that originality and creative independence.” Her work is evidence that this is something she lives by.
One of the main draw cards of Chicken Shop Date is the palpable chemistry Amelia often has with her male guests, many of whom are considered internet boyfriends. Us girlies ride for her and are completely jealous of her in equal parts, wishing it was us flirting hard with Paul Mescal or Matty Healy (pre-TTPD cancellation).
Last week, though, things were taken to the next level, when actor Andrew Garfield finally sat down with Amelia for their date.
For context, the internet was blessed with two encounters between the pair on red carpets Amelia had been working. First was the GQ’s Men of the Year Awards in November 2022, followed by the Golden Globes red carpet in 2023. The vibes were potent and the world instantly shipped them, desperate they would fall in love IRL with us all witnessing their meet-cute.
While Andrew is currently on the press junket promoting his new film We Live In Time co-starring Florence Pugh, the movie was the furthest thing from anyone’s mind (including his) when he joined Amelia on Chicken Shop Date.
The two instantly got meta and discussed the “powerful vibes” between them and whether or not they could or should actually date, and we all predictably went nuts.
Comments on the YouTube video included “This video is either an absolute masterclass in acting or a public declaration of true love, there’s no in between”, “I’m obsessed with the fact that he waited until he was single to do this,” and, “So we definitely just watched them on a real date trying to act like it’s a fake date,” to name a few.
Chicken Shop Date is funny and unique and smart and a little bit horny, and I’m so genuinely impressed by the niche Amelia has carved out for herself in pop culture. I’m excited to watch what unfolds for her over the next decade, which, with the help of manifestation, will surely include a happily-ever-after with Andrew Garfield.
Written by Lil Friedmann, who can be found lurking around her local chicken shop in the hopes of getting famous too. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
Image credit: Charlotte Hadden for the New York Times