Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster

Garth Marenghi, a Sunday Times best-selling horror writer, joins Ed Gamble and James Acaster in the Nightmare Restaurant. They discuss short stories and novellas, dream restaurants, the importance of water consumption, knowing who prepares food, and the character of Randy Mann. They also touch on horror genre adaptations and their preferred drinks and desserts.

Steve Coogan, known for his roles in Alan Partridge and Dr. Strangelove, joins James and Ed. They discuss his new book 'Big Beacon', Alan Partridge's new project, transitioning food preferences, working class food, bitter beer, and food shout outs.

Emmy and Bafta-award nominated actor Paapa Essiedu discusses his impressive body of work and the upcoming second series of the Lazarus Project. The hosts also share their food preferences and talk about glugging water and warm bread with condiments. They explore their dream menu, focusing on a taco al pastor from Mexico City, and debate whether plantains belong in savory dishes or desserts. They discuss chocolate preferences, the origins of Lloyd Grossman's sauce, funny encounters and mistaken identities, and their love for frozen cocktails.

Renowned space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock joins Ed Gamble and James Acaster to discuss their wishes if they had a genie, retiring to Mars, stargazing tips, flavored burps in outer space, their love for crusty bread, and the mysterious nature of dark matter. They also talk about their involvement in the development of the James Webb Space Telescope and the challenges of working with mirrors in a scientific setting.

‘Boiling Point’ and ‘Big Boys’ star Izuka Hoyle discusses her Dream Restaurant and James has a message for Stephen Graham. Topics include preferences for oils, being typecasted, facing a comet, a 12-hour restaurant experience, random topics like the number 69 and Dolmy O puppets, intense fandom of 'Six', childhood lies, working on film sets, favorite types of red wine, and drinks and palate preferences.

Actor Nick Frost joins the hosts in the Dream Restaurant to talk about his love for food, his book 'A Slice of Fried Gold', and their experiences dining at Michelin star restaurants. They also discuss techniques for slow roasted pork and perfect roast potatoes, share cooking and food stories, imagine having cake at the front row of a show, and playfully discuss missing chocolates.

TV presenter, AJ Odudu, talks about missing flights, being easily manipulated, food preferences and dislikes, hosting reality TV, dream meals, home economics class, Nigerian cuisine, margarita salt rims, airport lounges, supermarket shopping, and funny drink names.

Comedian and musician Jordan Gray joins the hosts to discuss quail, dream restaurants, banana naan bread, Venus fly traps, goths and nostalgic meals, and a memorable meal at a unique restaurant. They also have a playful conversation about mouths and dreams, and mention a nostalgic menu featuring the intriguing 'pussy pig' dish.

National treasure Carol Vorderman talks about her career and her new book. The hosts discuss their love for sparkling water with lime juice and their preference for long lunches. They also share stories about plate smashing, their dream meal, and their love for scallops and onions. The chapter covers their dining preferences and a funny scarf story.

Alternative comedy hero Paul Foot discusses the Fifth Flavour, tax evasion, property portfolios, burping struggles, canyons, food pairing, observing a Japanese woman with chopsticks, and a synthetic poop exhibit.