Rachael Hughes
It was a random Tuesday afternoon when I was scrolling through YouTube when a video appeared in my recommendations; ‘BIMINI BON BOULASH (Drag Race UK) CHICKEN SHOP DATE’. Obviously, the YouTube algorithm picked up on the fact that I’d exhausted the RuPaul’s Drag Race content, and instead, it suggested a video of (the iconic, gender bender) Bimini Bon Boulash sitting at a table face-to-face with a gorgeous blonde girlie in a London chicken shop.
Being an avid follower of Bimini, and embarrassingly unaware of Amelia’s Chicken Shop Date phenomena, I had to watch. It was 5 minutes of my life well spent. I feel like I have a newfound bestie, she just doesn’t know it yet.
“we all need that friend really”
In fact, I think I’d go as far to say she is one of the girls; the one with all the funny stories, the popular but painfully awkward one, the go-to when you’re stuck between the nice top to go with the jeans for your next outing (and will be brutally honest at that .. we all need that friend really).
This is Amelia Dimoldenberg, aka Amelia Dimz, aka Chicken Shop Date girl. She is the ‘millennial multi-hyphenate who’s taking over comedy’, as Glamour Magazine perfectly described her. A presenter, journalist, comedy queen and fashion icon. Candle-lit dinners over a box of chicken nuggets with the atmospheric sound of the deep-fat fryer sizzling in the background are officially the epitome of dating.
“Picture a job interview, but with a *hint* of spice.”
It sounds like the most bizarre concept, but with dry humour and wit, Amelia makes it work. It began in 2015 when she sat down in a London Chicken Shop with British grime rapper Jammer (BBK). Seven years, 1.2 million subscribers, and questionable conversations later, her dating life persists, inviting guests such as Maya Jama, Dave, Ed Sheeran, and Louis Theroux to sit down with a greasy box of wings and a side of discomfort.
Throughout the series, we are positioned as a third-wheel, desperately wanting to make a quick exit out of the Chicken Shop, yet unable to turn away. We love to watch guests squirm in their seats, and look down at their hands as they attempt to fill awkward silences. Whilst American rapper Jack Harlow recites lyrics to Amelia, insinuating she meets him in Miami, she simply nods with a satirical frown plastered on her face, and responds with “well, I’ll have to check my schedule.”
“reaching people through comedy is the best”
Picture a job interview, but with a *hint* of spice. To add to the atmosphere, and our desire to turn away, the camera tends to pan to the owner of the Chicken Shop simply smiling into the camera from behind the counter. She oozes Louis Theroux vibes; toe-curling and painful to watch with tumbleweed silences and urges to break the fourth wall, but in the absolute best way possible.
Her comedic timing is so iconic – however, reducing Amelia to just the Chicken Shop phenomena would do her a disservice. Her presence on social media is poignant, as she acknowledges current affairs, demonstrating that politics should be a space for everyone, allowing her younger audience to engage in issues that impact their lives. In her Glamour interview, she states that “reaching people through comedy is the best, if you’re making them laugh and then also making someone think about something differently.” It’s uncommon to find a young woman who is so confidently able to divert into the political sphere when she is primarily known as a comedian. As a young woman myself, it is liberating to know that we can possess multiple attributes; we can be funny and politically aware, be in a silly goofy mood and be literate.
Amelia’s success shows no sign of decline. She is successful for who she is, not for what she is and that’s why I love her. She is hard not to love, and that is clear from the connections we see on screen.
Image courtesy of Kampus Production on Pexels. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
