Have you ever thought about what that animal could have been if it wasn’t the meat on your plate? James Acaster says it could have been a lawyer.
When it comes to podcasts, most people talk politics, conspiracies, celeb gossip, but Off Menu discusses the REAL stuff.
Comedian James Acaster, the one who did bake off once and wrote with a candle on Cats Does Countdown, teams up with Ed Gamble, the guy from Mock the Week, in a fantasy restaurant where diners can order their dream 3 course meal.
Each episode see’s the comedic pair offering a range of celebrities the opportunity to create the starter, main and dessert of their dreams. And if that’s not weird enough for you, somewhere along each hour long segment, Acaster screams POPPADODOMS OR BREAD and other ‘this or thats’. It’s the weirdness of the questions that really helps you reconsider who your favorite celebrities are. For instance, if I had previously known that Loyle Carner drank sparkling water over still , I would have definitely reconsidered investing myself so deeply into his music. He may be cool but that’s just gross really isn’t it.
Only downside of this podcast, for me, is the fact that they don’t actually get served the meal afterward. I know it’s a dream restaurant (I mean, James enters as a magical food genie) but it’s quite an anti-climax after the hour long talk about food, when both you and the guest have to leave hungry. It’s not the kind of podcast where you can sip a hot cup of tea and comfortably tune in, it’s more of an edge of your seat listen, where Victoria Coren Mitchell’s scooping hot buttery Lurpack all over a warm fluffy loaf, whilst you’ve wound up sat with a lukewarm cuppa dreaming of steamy hot bread baskets.
What’s great though is that the series can be found on Spotify and if you’re not a foodie or comedy fan, well I don’t know what possessed you to read this far, but there’s still plenty for you to sink your teeth into. The personalities featured really vary so there’s plenty on the menu. You more serious lot can tune into MP Jess Philips meal manifesto, indie fans can find out what Sergio Pizzorno likes to eat on tour, Joel Dommett and Nish Kumar make an appearance for comedy fans. Oh then there’s Dynamo for any of you creeps out there. You can view other guests here, see if there’s anything that tickles your fancy.
Overall I’d give it a go if I were you. I’ve listened to about 50 different podcasts so you don’t have to, and this one came out on top. It featured British celebrities I actually knew, there was no subject specific jargon so I could actually understand it (always helpful) and it married two of my favourite things – Food and Comedy. If I had to put a number on it (10 being the Terminator/Die Hard of the podcast world and 1 being Paper Towns) I’d give it a solid 8.9.
There’s a lot more to be said but I have to wrap it up here, because quite honestly, I’m hungry for bread. So, if you do happen to check the podcast out, drop a comment and let me know what you think!