Elle Fanning

0:12Welcome to the Off Menu Podcast, taking the raw steak of conversation, chopping it up with the capers of humour, adding an egg yolk of friendship, mixing it all up, add some mustard of great chat, put it on a plate, a sort of steak tartare I think I'm going for there. Sometimes I don't know when to interrupt because I don't know what the dish is. Sometimes I don't know when I'm going to... I don't know what this is. You didn't know what that was? Raw steak with all those things in it? No, for a while. I thought you might be about to cook the steak, maybe. No, man. No, man. No, man. Raw steak. Raw tartare.

0:50Ugly dogly, neighborinos. That's... Oh, that's Ed Gamble. My name... I'm probably talking like Ned Flanders for this one. No? Okay. Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. You can do it for the intro? but when we have our guest on I'd rather you spoke like yourself time will tell that's Ed Gamble my name is James Acaster together we own a dream restaurant every single week we invite a guest and we ask them guest? and we ask them their favourite ever start a main course dessert side dish and drink and this week our guest is Elle Fanning Elle Fanning a wonderful actor of course such a good actor an actor for the majority of her life James yeah and do you know what Ed?

1:23it shows so natural on screen can play any character thrown at her Elle Fanning such a great actor We're so lucky to have her on this podcast. Yes, and she will be in Predator Badlands, James. Absolutely. This Friday it's out, if you're listening to it, this now when it goes out. Nov 7th 2025. Nov is short for November, of course. Thank you, and 7th is full for 7th. Very excited. Hopefully we'll talk about Predator Badlands a bit. I'd imagine we will, because I'd imagine that's part of the deal with getting Al on the podcast. I don't know. We imagine. We don't know. We keep ourselves out of the business side of things.

1:58because that's Benito's domain. Yes. It's a new entry into the Predator franchise. All we do know is that if Elle says the secret ingredient which is an ingredient we deem to be unacceptable we will have to kick Elle out of the dream restaurant. Yes. And this week the secret ingredient is Green Eggs and Ham. Green Eggs and Ham, James. I think this is Elle's first film. It's I Am Sam. I Am Sam. With Sean Penn and her sister Dakota. Yes. So I think this is Elle's first film which is Dakota Fanning's younger self. Yes. Well, we've worked out she must have been like three or four when she did this.

2:32So you've got to imagine it was her first film. You've got to imagine it. I mean, we can't be far off someone having a role in a film while they're still in the womb. And Green Eggs and Ham, which is the Dr. Seuss story, Hello. Is a big part of I Am Sam. Sorry, am I a fucking ghost in this room? Why is no one talking to me? He reads that story a lot. So that's a big part of my food's here. It's been delivered, it says on my phone now. so that must have gone quite well. I really wish people could see this intro because we clearly have to just finish the intro before we eat the food. Yeah. Oni's very kindly got the meal and she put it out there.

3:08Yeah. But you leant round to look at the meal like you were the most distracted man in the world. I'm so hungry. But we've got to finish this and then we'll eat. Yeah, yeah. But that's why I didn't entertain your ghosts tangent. I was like, my food's nearly here. I haven't got time for this riff. That's going to last another... I didn't say anything about ghosts. Two minutes at least. Oh, no. Then you said you were a ghost. it wasn't the tangent I thought I felt like a ghost because I made a brilliant point about the future of Hollywood that eventually there will be a movie star who's still in the womb yes it's possible that will happen yes thank you right green eggs and ham is the secret ingredient yeah he reads it a lot in the film I Am Sam reads it to his kid yeah which Al played at one point during the film so like you know that's the earliest food reference in her film career her acting career I believe yes so if Al does say I'd like green eggs and ham cheers out the Dream Master yes and this if you want to watch it will be on YouTube tomorrow oh man I can't believe we got on YouTube yeah we're finally on YouTube we had a lot of meetings with those guys we were like how do we get on YouTube we've got a good product and then every meeting they'd say you just put it you just put it on there and Benito would be like no we want the official nod one day maybe a child in the womb will be on YouTube hey that's a good point that's a good point this is the off menu menu of El Fanning.

4:26El Fanning. I genuinely, before you stop recording, nearly shouted James Acaster. I nearly shouted James Acaster. This is the up-menu menu. Of James Acaster. That's what I nearly did. What the hell? It's El Fanning. It's El Fanning, mate.

4:52Welcome, El, to the dream restaurant. Thank you. Welcome, Elphan, to the Dream Restaurant. We've been expecting you for some time. Oh, man, I'm happy to be invited. Thank you for my reservation. There's no reservation. This is a walk-in only. Oh, that's right, yeah. You can just stroll in whenever you like. Oh, good. Do you prefer that? Is it better to know that you've got a reservation, you're looking forward to it, you've taken care of it, or do you like the feeling of like you just wandered in and, oh, there's a table? That's funny. I've never thought of that before. I kind of like knowing that that's the plan of like knowing where I'm going and like having the reservation yeah I think I prefer that because then you don't know if you might not get the table you have to wait thank you I completely agree with you and then there are some restaurants too and they're like we don't take reservation you're like oh gosh then what are you?

5:41I know it's supposed to be a restaurant like reservations are basic yeah it's them wanting to be cool it's like you know it's wanting to be cool I also understand that there's a big problem with people reserving tables and then cancelling maybe that's true but this whole this whole just you show up and queue for two and a half hours and then you get this whatever it is no i'm never gonna stand in like a long line to get something it's demeaning i know i don't want to when you see a long line sometimes i'll see like a long line for a place that maybe i queued for once and it was disappointing and then i'll go past it and see the line and i want to shout at the yeah do you tell them it's not worth it you're wasting your time exactly i get Yeah, because I'm in New York a lot and there's these little like pop-up places that people obviously like have seen on TikTok or whatever, like bagel spots.

6:31And it's like, I don't think this is worth it, I have to say. But those TikTok places are never actually good food. It's like, they'll be fun colors. Yeah, but I do love looking at them on TikTok. And I like save them thinking that I'm ever going to go to the place. You know, like, oh, I got to remember that, you know, taco spot. but they do make them look good on the videos well that's their job you know yeah every time i fall for it i feel absolutely so disappointed with myself as i'm eating the thing that looked amazing you know someone showed me an instagram thing i'm like look at that we've got to get it i know and then as i'm eating it i'm like of course of course it tastes rubbish of course like this is disappointing and rubbish i just fell for it because it looked good on the gram i know i know and then the top ranking you know the spots in the city and people rank the spots yeah um that's okay that that one when people just go here are the best places or here are the best things to eat and it's just stuff that they've had and this was delicious yes i trust those people yes that the ones that are just because it looked good in a photo and and they're just getting clicks and all of that not that's when i'm disappointed that's when i'm like what are you five james why have you fallen for this i know it's a lot of uh yeah it tends to be like donuts pancakes uh bubble tea freak shakes yeah freak shakes slice of cake and a milkshake i'm like a cent like i we're gonna get into this but i love fast food so much but i love a mix like i'm like a high and low i'm a really adventurous eater so i will try anything like i will i will try anything i love food but i do i i love fast food and i i love donuts but i don't like the fancy ones yeah i don't want a fancy donut like i love crispy creams i love dunkin donuts like boston creams love those i love like a hole in the wall donut shop you know like a classic donut shop like pink box place but like when it's fan like those don't get me because i'm like it just doesn't look i don't want bacon and fruit loops on my donut and it's normally the donut's always cakey and too thick anyway yeah you know you just want the pure sugar of like a crispy cream i could eat a whole dozen yeah i've like eaten i on sets or i would i would order donuts like a lot and or at like night like for dinner i'm like i think i'm just gonna eat a box of crispy creams tonight and i'm like a i'm a postmates or like deliveroo i know that's here like fiend i love looking through and just ordering all the different donut places i also just do the looking the looking through sometimes tell me if you think this is weird sometimes if i'm in a new area i will look at the delivery and imagine what it would be like to live in that area oh just to check to be like he said he said to tell him if you think it's weird no i get that you can put any address in yeah yeah that's fun i haven't tried that i've done it where i've been like looking for a house like thinking about getting a new house put the address into the delivery straight away i'm not moving there yeah you can't get anything so basic i'm not i'm not moving there do you ever i mean i know like you're not like you don't go method when you when you act but when you're ordering food do you ever imagine like air imagines what if i lived here do you imagine what would my character order oh what my character order on delivery tonight i've never no i've never done that i mean i've definitely had to eat some crazy things like in movies before i did a show here in london called the great and it was a period piece like uh what was it 17th century and on the menu we're supposed to eat like chicken hearts and like you know it was like this kind of period food or you know back in the day and and we're like oh yeah normally they would make something look like look like it was a chicken heart but it actually wasn't and like nicholas holtz in the show and we like we both have to like put the whole thing in our mouths like toast and whatever and we're like we put it in we're like oh my god they actually made it like it was exactly the recipe it was like wow the rosemary the chicken heart all the thing and we're like okay guys we can't do this many takes eating like a full like chicken liver heart like whatever this is every time i'm like i'm adventurous and like it's fine but that's a little that was a little extreme they really took it i mean hey the i feel like precision the detail orientation i they've got to give you a heads up they've got to give you a heads up yeah haven't they because if you're expecting like a fake chicken heart if your mouth's ready for something and then the chicken heart goes in you're like oh holy shit this is yeah that was uh yeah that was a lot but that's mad they didn't also i've had chicken hearts before they are nice but you do feel like you eat one chicken heart and you're like that is the entire chicken's heart yeah like that they didn't have another one of those because they are kind of small right yeah yeah they're tiny yes so that's what we had that is the only chicken heart that chicken had with chicken breasts you're like what are you trying to say there's another there's another one but you've eaten that entire quotient so if you have like four of them you're like that's four chickens that's four chickens yeah yikes and then how many takes were they thinking you know how many chicken hearts did they have lying around on set like oh my gosh and then we had ice cream in a scene which because of the melting aspect of it they used um lard oh my god as like a fake ice cream And so we're like, so you wouldn't give us real ice cream.

11:51Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've turned it and it was like a lard that we had to eat that was, it was so bad. You had to eat the lard. Yes, I did. And then Nick, I actually heard, he requested, he was like, just give me real ice cream. And I was like, oh, I just did what they said, you know. Just had the lard. I was like, I'll just take lard. You don't want that rep on the scene, right? I know. Have you heard about Elle Fanning? She demands real ice cream. I should have. Yeah, refuses to eat lard. I had the lard. She's such a diva. She refuses to eat a bucket of lard in every take. How dare she? What do you think your character in Predator would order?

12:28On a food app. Well, this is interesting. This is interesting because she is not a human. So in this film, it's kind of a mashup of our Predator world, which I like. This isn't Predator, but it's giving Predator vibes. Yeah, little Predator vibes. Thank you. Yeah, a lot of guests say that about Ed. I love that. Giving Predator. Please don't clip that up, Benita. But I play, so I play Thea and she, it's a kind of, our film is a little mashup of the alien universe. So that means I am an android synth from Weyland-Yutani, who is in the alien universe. So she, it's also talked about in the film. She doesn't eat.

13:12She doesn't eat any food. She's completely like mechanics - all underneath. I think this is going to be the problem when cyborgs come around. They don't eat. Yeah. That food's going to go down. Because everyone says, oh, there's going to be these humanoid cyborgs, but if they're not eating, I don't think they're human. You know? Yeah, that's true. You need a cyborg that sits down and eats with you. Yes. We're fucked. You have to eat. We're fucked. Yeah. Yeah, she doesn't eat, so I don't know what that would... She would have nothing. She would have nothing. That's it. I mean, that's... I know, sad.

13:46I mean, you can't do that on a film, really, can you? Imagine if you were a method actor. Oh, no. Oh, my God. I'd shrivel away. And we filmed in New Zealand, which I'd never been to before. And it actually, New Zealand has incredible food. Yeah, phenomenal. It's great for food, New Zealand. Yeah, I wasn't, we were filmed in the North Island, so I never went to the South Island. I didn't make it there, unfortunately, but I really want to go. But the pastries are really good there. like the breakfast the pastry there's like there was they would bring around these like fresh like pastries like croissants kind of with like ham and cheese rolls so i was eating a lot not method at all on that one australia new zealand they know how to do breakfast and brunch they do they really nail it yeah it's great and fast food wise as well i think like new zealand does fast food really well like even like little just like independent places popping up they know how to do like burgers and fries and really go for it yeah and make like good quality stuff yeah rather than just like yeah stuff that's gonna make you feel regretful afterwards i know which that's all the stuff i like but the buzz while you're eating it is so good it is so good i'm gonna feel absolutely dreadful after this i know enjoy the ride exactly and we were like in the film too were it was very physical so we were like quite hungry a lot because we were on these locations and And it's Demetrius who plays the predator in the film.

15:14He's like in this full predator suit and we're hooked back to back because I play a robot backpack, essentially. And I'm cut in half. So I had these like blue tights on and we're flying through the air together and hooked on these wires together. So it was very, it's a lot more physical, I feel like, than I'd ever had to be in a role before. And so, yeah, you have to fuel yourself. Yeah. when you're when you're doing something like that and you are like so you're just pretending to be half half yourself i know is there anything different that you do uh playing that role that you wouldn't have done in another film that you're actually just trying to get in a different headspace i mean definitely because i mean we had training before for a couple well maybe maybe a month or a little less than a month um that i worked with like the stunt team and we would like work out together and also kind of physically figure out how we wanted her to move because also it's she's not a human so it's she can move quickly on her hands you know it wouldn't be this it wouldn't be the same way as like a human would if they didn't if they were you know cut so kind of just learning the physicality of that was something um when you're working out for that role yeah do you skip leg day yeah yes yeah no point i know it's really not needed i do there there i play also another character as well in in it um she's another synth kind of like her sister counterpart and she does have legs so okay she's only legs yeah she's just a pair of legs yeah exactly it was quite funny because we had all these you know dolls made of me where it'd be sometimes it would just be my legs or it would be like these dolls and plushie dolls or ones that look more realistic or that they would put on the back and so it's like thousands of me's just like lying around i took a lot of photos what happens to that how does that feel when that's happening creepy yeah really creepy creepy very scary i think there's two answers to that and you gave the right one good good yeah you've been like i loved it i know looking around there were so many versions of me that'd be problematic yeah no it would like scare me i go where are they now what's happen to them that i wonder you should know that i i know i do not know they're in the hands of yeah you gotta find out the studio i don't know yeah that's i'm gonna i'm gonna call someone after this you gotta find out where they are that's it that's because i wouldn't i wouldn't like that in the back of my head not knowing where they are no way no i need to ask especially if they announce a sequel and that you've not been told and then it's just a plug they're just using one of the places that's scary right yeah i know we're fucked we got ai you know i watched an interview with this with this guy this ai guy he's working in ai safety and he's trying to make it safe was he ai no not that i know of he might have been he might have been he started i mean he went bananas it is crazy the videos that they don't sometimes they get me sometimes you're like is this video AI that I'm looking at or not, you know?

18:21And then you're like, oh, they have like six fingers. Never mind. Yeah, I have to check with my wife. Yeah. Our whole day is me going, is this real or not? I feel like an old man. Yeah. It's scary. Let's talk about food. I know. Let's talk about our dream restaurant, though. Yeah. Maybe AI can create our dream restaurant. Oh, it probably could, though. You could project in this room the dream restaurant. Ben, look into it. Maybe it already has. This guy on the interview was saying we live in a simulation at one point. And I'm aware of simulation theory, but I've never heard someone talk about it.

18:57In a serious way. So seriously before. And I was like, oh my God. Although he didn't convince me on that, to be honest. Yeah. It didn't really make sense. Well, you can't be convinced about simulation theory because the simulation would never let you be convinced about simulation theory. Yeah. Is that true? It's like if it's a Truman show that we're living in, we don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well. I'd love to be in the Truman Show that's a nice version yeah Truman Show seems nice but like don't start thinking about the Truman Show because whenever you do it's another 20 minutes for chat about the Truman Show is that one of your favourites?

19:31love it love the Truman Show he gets obsessed with the Truman Show love the Truman Show yeah I'm 40 so like I grew up with all the Jim Carrey comedy films and then just when I was the right age he started doing stuff like Truman Show yeah and then when I was the right age he did Eternal Sunshine I mean now he's bananas You need to have him on the show. You need to have him on the show. I would love to have Jim Carrey. Don't you want to know what he eats? I do. Jim Carrey thinks he doesn't exist. Right. You heard him talking. If you know, he says Jim Carrey doesn't exist. How do you book him? Being in the Truman Show is going to fuck you up, man.

20:00How do you even book him? Yeah, you have to figure out his code name, I guess. Yeah. He's playing a character who is living in a world that's being filmed all based on him, and he is an actor in a film, and everyone's filming him. Yeah. Because he exists. That's going to mess with your head. It's going to mess with your head. Totally. And we live in a simulation. James, let's start the podcast properly.

20:22Would you like still a sparkling water? Oh, okay. I know that it's probably like classier and chic-er to say sparkling, but I don't. That's still all the way for me. Respect. I think that is classier and chic-er. You think? To reject the sparkling. Okay. Yeah, because it's not the obvious choice when you're thinking classy and chic. Yeah. So still, I think that's a good option. And I'm just, when they're like, oh, bottle, I just say, normally just tap. Oh, yeah? Yeah. If it had to be from a specific place, city, is there somewhere where the tap water is? New York. New York. The water is the best there.

20:56Another vote for New York. It's good for your hair. Is it? Yes. Your hair feels better in New York, and that's why the bagels also taste different. And I've heard that in other states, there are some bagel places that get the water transported to their bagel shops to make the bagels because the water, that's what makes it so good in New York. They've got to get the New York water over. You need to get it over. Some people get New York water just to wash their hair. I'm sure there are people who fly out New York water. I'm sure, right? I'm sure. There's someone right now in LA building a pipeline from New York to LA.

21:32A hundred percent. To get the water, yeah. A hundred percent. Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt. I bet Brad Pitt. Or Jim Carrey. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Carrey isn't washing his hair. He doesn't believe in it. he's not trying Brad Pitt George Clooney DiCaprio they're getting the water pumped to him from New York to LA they're all doing that those three I think Clooney probably lives in Italy or something yeah I think he does I don't know or maybe I'll just believe in the Nespresso ads a bit too much yeah you're believing in the conspiracy yeah yeah it makes me believe that he lives in he's getting New York water flown out for his Nespresso yeah yeah just a little bit each time yeah yeah that's the only amount he orders each time flight it over just enough to fill a tank on a small espresso machine yeah you met cluny you know i have but it was in it was like at an event it was like kind of in a quick way i don't know him super i don't know him super well do you ever get starstruck totally i totally do i remember so i went to the met ball when i was uh i was 12 or 13 i think i was like the youngest I think I was 13, like one of the youngest attendees.

22:49But I was with my sister, which was really great. So I had like a buddy, but everyone, and I was a big like fashion nerd. I mean, I still am, but like, especially when I was young and all I wanted to do was meet Alexa Chung at the Met Ball. Because she, I was like, as a 13 year old girl, I was like, I just loved her style. Like I just wanted to meet her. And on the red carpet, I, and I kind of wore an outfit that Alexa would probably have worn at the time. You're trying to bait Alexa Chung into coming over. And then I turned around and she was there and she was like, I like your outfit. And I was like, ah, I was.

23:25I was like, I can't believe that. And Beyonce was there. Beyonce I've met and that is pretty, you're in the presence of a goddess. As British people, it's very funny for us to hear Alexa Chung listed before Beyonce. we've done hundreds and hundreds of episodes of this podcast that's the craziest thing

23:51also beyonce was there yeah because before alexa chung did did all the fashion icon stuff she did she was a host she was a host of like a tv show here yeah on t4 which was like the the youth channel yeah so we know her as a tv presenter really yeah she was you know i think like there was something exotic about her me being from LA like this London girl you know yeah yeah she's very cool very cool yeah and I have I got to I've got to know her a little bit now that I'm older but yeah we've a little bit um super nice and you know it's cool but um trying to think oh there's actually another funny one that I again it was at the Met Ball but I was it I was a little bit older and Billie Eilish and Cardi B were like talking and I was sitting down and I kind of, I got up and I was, you know, you're wearing giant shoes, of course, and you're like, have this long train and everyone's always trying to like outdo each other with, you know, the crazy outfits.

24:51And so I got up and I slipped, like completely fell off my ass and like in front of Cardi B. She's like, whoa, like she looks over like in her peripheral, she just sees me like just go down and um i was mortified but she was like oh we're like are you okay i was like girl are you okay i'm like uh yeah i'm all good like don't mind me like so that you know your star struck but i was like that was an embarrassing moment you should just pretend you're doing like a drag race death drop yeah i should have no i wasn't that quick but i was like oh sorry Pop it up, absorb bread. Pop it up, absorb bread.

25:26I'm fanning. Pop it up, absorb bread. Oh my God, what? Bread? Bread is my, like, I'm more savory than desserts. I don't, I'm not a sweet person, actually. Well, we can rewind the podcast. You just said you eat entire boxes of Krispy Kremes. That's true. No, but I mean, well, okay, I have an explanation for this. It's not like, I don't like restaurant desserts, like brownies or, I'm not really a chocolate person or like molten chocolate cake or like anything. things like that, I'm like, eh, like I could take it or leave it. But I love like, it's like bread and like creamy pastries, things like that.

26:01Love bread, love cheese. So I'm going with, this is going to be, I was thinking hard about it, but I don't, I don't know if you guys have ever had this, but have you ever been to a Red Lobster? No. No. We're so aware of it as a, as a cultural touchstone. Yes. Because we hear about it in so many, in so many films and TV shows yeah red lobster where else is there chili's yeah chili cheese chuckie cheese yes wendy's yes the kids place yeah i mean red lobster is a little a bit fancier olive garden fancier i mean it's more like a it's more like a i guess chili's tgi fridays more like that than it's not like a fast food place like it would be a place like families would go and like but you know it's It's like this chain.

26:44But they have the best bread ever. But it's a biscuit, not a cookie biscuit, like a flaky biscuit, American biscuit. And they're called Cheddar Bay Biscuits. And so I would like kind of a Cheddar Bay Biscuit, but maybe a little bit more upscale than maybe the Red Lobster, like a little bit flakier, has to be warm. And I want whipped butter, cold whipped butter and honey. so the cold whipped butter is gonna melt on the biscuit you're gonna cut it in half a little honey and like that's what i want this is like choice yeah your invention they don't do this at red lobster but you're saying like start with that red lobster biscuit yes and make it yeah and they have butter you could ask for honey if you wanted to ask them to whip the butter though at red lobster no and i don't i don't i'm trying to remember i don't think it's it's not whipped in the way that I'm like, yeah, really light, fluffy whip with salt, you know, like flaky salt on there.

27:43I love a salt and sweet, the salt, the honey. Yeah. Yeah. That does sound good. How cheesy is this biscuit? It's not crazy cheesy. It's just a little touch. Yeah. But there's like pieces of, it's like, it's baked with cheese in it. Yeah. And I love biscuits, but I don't, I'm trying, when I was here, y 'all don't really have biscuits. No, it's not, it's not really a thing like you could probably find somewhere in London that does it and it would be like these are American biscuits and they'd be a big thing because then it's like they're like oh it's like a scone it's like it's not a scone no it's something completely it's different they look like they kind of look like that though they do that's the closest thing that we can imagine being like yes they're just very buttery and flakier but I also love like a Popeyes biscuit have you ever had Popeyes y 'all don't have Popeyes we do there's a few Popeyes really they've opened quite recently oh I wonder if they have They opened a Popeyes in Shepherd's Bush this year.

28:39Oh, you've got to go. Well, we're here. How long are you here? You've got to go to Popeyes. I must, yeah. English Popeyes. I don't know what that's going to be like. They're a Louisiana brass band on opening day out the front. Oh, really? Yeah, because I was in Shepherd's Bush. It's like a Louisiana chain. I was like, oh, this is exciting. What's going on? It's a fried chicken shop. But I thought this was going to be like, there's a hot band in town or a really cool busker. It's this new restaurant that's opening up. You're like, I'm going to need a reservation for this one. It's just corporate America.

29:15It's nothing to do with Popeye the Sailor Man, is it? It's not. No, it's not Popeye the Sailor Man. I don't think it is. No, it's not. I could be wrong. I mean, it could. If you're using the Popeye name and you're connecting it to Popeye the Sailor Man, you're putting spinach on the menu. I know. And you're putting him on the logo. Yeah, and he's not on the logo. No, it's orange. Popeye's is an orange logo. Yeah, yeah. I think it was maybe the person who started the chain originally. Because I'm from Georgia, so I like, that's what I say, like, y 'all. And I have, like, there's, like, a southern, you know, skewing for me with, like, the biscuits and all that stuff.

29:53And also, like, KFC here has French fries, which we do not at home. Oh, really? Really? what is it don't no fries at kfc no you would have like uh mashed potatoes and gravy but we don't have fries i don't think was there somewhere um local to you growing up that was like the best fried chicken and like because i i do like whenever going to the south of america like yeah having like a good fried chicken like local fried chicken place and trying to hit those spots I wish I don't have an exact place from back home because I don't I kind of I moved out of there when I was young. But I would say it's like so my grandmother, she's very Southern and she lived with us growing up even when because I moved out to L.A.

30:37when I was like three. But my grandmother would go with me on all my film sets when my and my mom would go with my sister a lot of the time when we were working when we were little. And she's quite Southern and she lived with us and she still lives with my mom. And so she, it would be like her fried chicken, like all the stuff that she makes. Which it's, I know I need to get the recipe. She did make me like a recipe book of, it was a nice Christmas gift for the grandkids of like her recipes, which was really nice. Yeah. I know I don't have a exact fried chicken place. Do you cook from it? Because my mom did that for me.

31:12She was like, here's all, when I went to university, she was like, here's all the things you like that I cook. Oh, that's nice. Here's how to cook them. Did you do it? No, of course I did. Yeah, I know. because that was a nice story absolute free reign to just order pizza all of the time exactly i'm not going to cook it i read it like a novel yeah i'd be like yeah this is what i used to have yes yeah you're like there it is just imagine it you'll want it you'll want it you know yeah one day one day i'll totally no i have i haven't cooked from it either but i also feel like well she's around i'm like yeah yeah cook from it exactly it's nice to know what goes into how much work goes into it but yeah you're still cooking it for me yeah i do love to cook though I do.

31:50I just, I go in phases. Like there was a time where I was like, I would cook a lot and like, Oh, go to the market. And like, it's so that's like, what am I going to get? And look up recipes and things. And then right now I'm in a phase of like strictly not, not just, you know, it's like working out. I'm like, I'm either in or I'm out. Like there's no like consistency. It's like all or nothing for me. I do the same thing. Do you, when you're in one phase, think about how much you want to be in the other phase. And then as soon as you get into it, you think about how much you want to stop doing the things.

32:19Yes, definitely. Yes, I know. I think possibly Ed's reading his mother's recipes is the saddest thing he's ever done on the podcast. That he used to just sit there and read a book of his mother's mother. What if I'm homesick? I just, you know, here's all the things you like. Read about the chicken noodles. That I've cooked for you. Oh, ginger, there was ginger in it. Lovely. Read it like a book. You weren't watching TV, you weren't reading books. No, no need. Let's read the recipe book. She's just really cut out recipes from the Goodreads Mub. No, it'll come in handy. It's a sweet thing. Yeah, we'll get to that because one of her things is on my trays.

32:54Oh, great. Well, let's start the menu proper then, your dream starter. Okay. So, I mean, I'm also like, what restaurant is this place? Because we're going to get eclectic here. So, okay, so we have still water, right? We have the Cheddar Bay Biscuits. now for starter it could be a couple of things because i also i'm trying to think of the mood of the restaurant but then also i don't know if the mood really goes with any of the food but i'm like who cares yeah it's my dream it's your dream it doesn't matter right but yeah i definitely want like a place with like a good vibe and like i want the place to be very populated i don't and i like kind of getting dressed up a little bit it doesn't have to be fancy but i want like the occasion of like feeling like you're going to you know a place you and do you want when you walk in in your outfit but do you want Alexa Chung to walk over?

33:46She has to be there and say, I like your outfit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, she's the maitre d'. Oh, yeah, that's great. And, okay, and so then for starter, which this is like not upscale, I'm going mozzarella sticks. Oh, great, huge choice. Yeah, with marinara sauce. But it has to be, again, like I love cheese, but like I want the panko crumbs. Also, this is the same thing I have with onion rings, where I'm like, it's a toss-up. I'm like, okay, I'm going to order onion rings, but I don't want like a beer battered. I don't want a smooth onion ring. I want the, I want the bumpy panko crumb crunchy one.

34:22Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I want the same with the mozzarella stick. And I also, I would eat, I mean, I want it to be warm and you want the cheese to be soft, but I also kind of like when it gets rubbery and like kind of cold. I know what you mean. You know what I mean? You shouldn't like it. Because that's when they're the worst. I'm fine with it. Yeah. I don't care. I did this movie when I was like nine. It actually is the worst. It has zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes. That must be a point of pride. Yeah, it is because it is the lowest ranked movie. It's like called, it's the Nutcracker in 3D.

35:00Don't watch. I mean, I haven't seen that. I was a child. I had nothing to do with it. Sure. None of it's on your shoulders. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're not blaming you for this. But yeah, zero percent. You know what we need in 3D? The Nutcracker. was this at the time when nathan lane was in it john totoro was the rat king wow it's a pretty great car yeah i know but it just it didn't was this at the time when when 3d technology they were like we've everything's got to be in 3d yeah it was kind of that time yeah well also because like when avatar came out yeah you know it's like um and all it meant was you go and watch the film and then occasionally one of the characters would do this whoa yes yeah for no reason yeah okay um but this there's a point to this because we filmed in hungary and uh in hungary and it's called something i i can't pronounce it it's in hungarian but there's a cheese dish it's basically a giant triangle of a mozzarella stick and i would eat that every day there like when i was nine they would have it at the catering yeah and i would just i would eat it every day i was like i wanted that thing it was a huge triangle yeah of cheese And they used a specific cheese in Hungary.

36:07It wasn't mozzarella. I forget what it was, but I love that. I love mozzarella sticks. We can throw one of them in. Yeah. Do you want the triangle? Sure, yeah. The trucker 3D? Yeah, let's throw that in. Why not? We could do that. And like maybe a clam chowder. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. I said we're getting neglected. We almost fell for that. We chucked in a whole other start. And everything is extremely fattening on this menu. but it doesn't matter like we're living in a dream reality yeah I don't know I was just thinking I don't have clam chowder I love it so much and it's a good one is hard to come by and it's not always on a menu so like when there is one I want it and I'm so disappointed when there's when it's big potatoes small clams hate that I want big clams and I don't want much potato in there small potatoes?

37:00well yeah I want to I don't want to be chopped big chunks of potatoes in there because they're tricking you they're like oh you think it's a clam and it's like that's a potato i don't want that i want the clam well as an actor i don't think you can get annoyed when uh things pretend to be things that are not that's true okay i think you have to just take it poor potato you have to respect it respect that potato it's doing its job it's doing really well it's pretending to be a clam yeah no i agree with you i think if it's going to be called clam chowder that's the headline yeah i mean potatoes are fine but you know with the oyster crackers yeah that's another thing we don't have much here yeah we don't see the oyster crackers do you have a lot of clam chowder here too not no not really i know i mean i'm trying to decide if we're going to throw in the clam chowder because that's two stars really you don't have to i like the thought of all the mozzarella sticks with the triangle yes nutcracker 3d perfect on set would you call it nutcracker 3d or nutcracker i think it was called like the nutcracker like the untold story in 3d or something it was a long title so was it a different story from the no but it was a weird take on it the nutcracker's told it was it is yes i don't know what they thought they were doing reinventing the the wheel i know maybe they shouldn't have but i like that i have zero zero percent yeah nine though yeah do you know what here's an observation um i think every every time like i've met an actor who has been an actor since they were very very young they're the most well-balanced actors ever oh they're just very like just normal people who are very easy to talk to is there do you find that as well do you nicholas holt yeah is always comes across like true has he been on here no we would love him to be on here but like is there something about just like just from day one you're doing it and you're used to it and you kind of like you're learning how to cope with it all is it not as yes there is something there is something to that i also think like i was really lucky because either my mom or my grandmother like was on set and so you know I was very much kept in line of like, you have to be on time, you have to be polite, respect everyone around you.

39:23So I had that through that lens. And also, I didn't go to drama school or anything like that or never did any classes. I actually wasn't allowed to do plays at my school that I went to in LA because they told me, well, you already act. So like... That's harsh. I know. That feels harsh. I know. I was like, oh, okay. but um what's it to save the other students blushes yeah i guess it's like give them an opportunity yeah fine yeah um but so i didn't have that so i learned on the job you know of uh just learning from directors and other actors and like i was lucky that i worked with people that like really took me under their wing and like helped me and um yeah i but i think i just i'm very comfortable and like feel the most at home like on a on a film set and it's that the The film set's also something it's grown with me, like as I've grown.

40:15And so I've got to discover myself through that. And then, you know, how roles change as you get older and how your choices change and what you like changes. So, yeah, I don't I don't know. But I mean, also, I had my sister. She was, you know, young when she started to. My first thing was technically it was playing her at a younger age. And I am Sam. And I am Sam. Yeah. And that's right. Why are you hitting me, man? Ed doesn't like it when I just say someone's films at them No, but that felt natural That felt natural Rather than what he normally does, Al Nutcracker 3D He'll just say Nutcracker 3D And then go Nutcracker 3D And then just wait for the guest to say something With the hand gesture And they go, yeah Do you have a question about it?

41:00You wouldn't have some Or he'll just quote something Well, that was like a fill in the blank in a way just now That was smooth That was smooth Super smooth But now what he's done is he's brought it up and he's killed the smoothness. And he's so proud of himself for being a bad, let's be honest, a bad interviewer. Well, you know, you've done your research. I've done my research. Yeah. I don't know. Well, I'm talking in circles now. But yes, that was my first. But I also had like a built-in role model, I guess, with my sister. Because I could look up to her. So that was great for me. but I love that you kind of said that because normally people always ask the question of like child stars, like they're off the rails.

41:41But I'm also like, but there's also so many examples that I could say of ones that are, you know, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, like Nick, like you said, there's examples of totally the opposite. Yeah, but people don't want to talk about it. They don't want to talk about it. It's not as juicy for them. They're not really thinking about what they think when they say that. I don't think, I think it's just like, yeah like an acquired opinion and then actually if you sit down and think about it yeah it's not true at all but like uh but they just like to yeah i love because i also it's like i got to find what i love to do from a young age it's like what's what's better my family's all they're all athletes so we were supposed to be tennis players my sister and i um but i think the like athletic like discipline that's in my family there is something to acting that i feel like is like a it is very athletic.

42:32Like there is a discipline to it or like the adrenaline that you get. It's like that feeling before a game. It's like, there's a lot of the same, you have to nourish yourself. Like there's a lot of similarities in the way that I work. I feel like it does feel like, and it's like a team sport, you know? It feels like an athletic event, so. Clam chowder allowed? Huh? Clam chowder's allowed. He's not allowing it. Not allowing it. It was just a mention. It was just, you know, it's a food show. I think we should allow the clam chowder. Yeah? Yeah. Clam-a-louder. Come on. Clam-a-louder? Clam-a-louder?

43:06I'll tell you what. I'll allow clam chowder. I'm not allowing clam-a-louder. Holy smokes. When did you start? Are you saying holy smokes a lot today? Well, I said it earlier. Holy smokes. I met the lady from Disney earlier. I shouted holy smokes. He's trying. And when he says it, he looks right in the camera. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Holy smokes. Something cameras to choose from. And he's going to get Ben to put up holy smokes below it. Smoke come out of your ears. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got to have new little catchphrases as it's going on. You've got to keep something going. Bloody L. Yeah. People like saying that to me here.

43:40Oh, what a bunch of wankers. Because they say bloody L like instead of bloody L. I'd hate that. As long as you, I would hate it. They do it. Wouldn't make sense for you. No, it wouldn't make sense for me. My name's James. Clammer louder. Bloody. Clammer louder. New catchphrase. Okay. Okay. Well, I'll allow the chowder, but that's... Come on, that's good. Allow the chowder's better. Yeah. But we workshopped that. Allow the chowder, yes, we workshopped it. I wouldn't have got there without you. It's a team sport. Podcasting, it's a team sport.

44:18Yes, your main course. Okay. Okay, we're going to do something from my grandmother's recipe book. And it is something called Chicken Dye Van. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. No. If you look it up, it is something that it's kind of, I don't know if it's Southern. I'm assuming it is almost like a take on like a curry, but like a Southern curry. So when I describe it, you're going to think it sounds so gross, but it is made with cream of mushroom, like soup. Oh, the soup goes in. Yeah, but like cream of mushroom in the can. mayonnaise oh my god I'm pretty sure we can say this is something this has never been said on this show chicken die fan never and curry powder like bought in the store generic curry powder yellow curry powder I guess I'm trying to think exactly I've actually never made it but it is in that book but it's a casserole so you boil chicken You boil the chicken.

45:25Yes. This gets better and better. It is one of my favorite. It's like so comfort for me. I mean, because it just also, it just makes me think of home because she would make it so much growing up and she's still like, oh, can you make chicken divan? So then like the curry, the mayonnaise, the cream of mushroom, like all that's like mixed together. That's put in a casserole dish with broccoli. Because can't guess the next one going into the next. We're going to top it off. So then the broccoli's in there. It's like layering. We're going to top it off with... Can we guess? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Both have a guess?

46:01Yeah, have a guess. Well, I mean, we've already got mayonnaise and cream of mushroom soup. But are we putting cheese on top of it? Yeah, we are. Oh, I wasn't going to go so obviously. What were you going to say? I was just going to say marshmallows. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. At this point, who knows? That could have been as well. Jell-O. Yeah, that could have been too. No, you like yellow cheddar cheese. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So then that goes on it. Then you bake it in the oven and that cheese gets like really crispy. Like I like it has to have a crisp layer on it. And then the curry, it's like a it doesn't taste like mayonnaise.

46:37It just has that like consistency. But I also I love mayonnaise and condiments and stuff like some people are like revolted by it. But like I more condiments, the better like on anything for me. But I mean, this is a casserole. but yeah and you and you have it with like white fluffy rice i mean i'm not selling it i'm not selling this but it also it's like if you look up chicken divan there's a lot of recipes for it people eat it i eat it as you were describing it it sounded like the sort of thing you'd see on diners drivings and dives yeah yeah oh yeah you think like guy fieri would be going it doesn't look bad when you see it it's actually it's colorful imagine it it's colorful because you You got the orange, you got the bright green of the broccoli.

47:23And then the chicken is like a nice yellow. So it's not like sloppy looking. It looks nice. I think the bit that upset me the most was boil the chicken. Boil the chicken really upset me. I think once the, I can, because I can imagine the soup, that's a quick way of doing something. You know, just put the soup in. I was even on board with the mayonnaise, but boiling the chicken. I know, because it's not, you don't, you're not trying to get a brown on the chicken or anything. You don't want that extra flavor. No. No. You don't. Because a lot of that's coming from the soup. Yeah. Yeah. And it's the whole chicken.

47:58It's like chicken breasts. So you would just buy the chicken breast. They've got two of those. They've got two of those. Okay. Two. Yeah. Made with only chicken hearts. No, it's chicken breasts. Yeah. And you kind of, does she shred it up? I don't know. Well, it's not really shredded. It's kind of put in there. I know. I need to revisit. I haven't had it in a little bit but then my sister the other day because I'm here in London she was in LA and she said that Gaba that's what I call my grandmother Gaba she's like she made Chicken Dive Van the other night I'm like I wish I was there I missed it yeah so it had me thinking I'm like I'll put it in my dream restaurant when people have like here's something I respect we talked about this I shouldn't say here's something you can't flag what what you're going to say with here's something because now we're all expecting something yeah but it is you're going to say something right he'll say something but he said here's something as if this is going to be good stuff good right yeah I tend to use it when it's not good stuff okay to try and like got it but Elle doesn't know that yeah try and get it so I was like oh so here comes something I'm getting used to it now yeah it's really nothing guests take a while to get used to James but eventually they do not really by the end of the podcast though they're usually on the way home they go I could probably do that podcast now put up with that guy like can we do it again yeah um i always respect when people use uh their you know they have a specific name for a grandparent that is like no one else would know that name it's based on someone not being able to say it when they were a kid or whatever that's what it is when they still just would say it to everyone else because when i was a kid at my school everyone called uh their grandpa grandmother nan everyone just said my nan yeah and i called mine granny and felt like an idiot really still Did you get bullied for that?

49:47No, because I just said nan at school. I was trying to blend in. I go, my nan, and I remember, I have a distinct memory as a kid, of my mum picking me up and me talking to a kid in front of her about my granny, but saying, getting to the point where I'm like, oh my God, I've got to say nan now. And what if she sells me out? Right. What if she goes, what did you just say? Yeah, and then your mum is like, nan? He calls her granny. Yeah. Like a little baby. people that's what i felt like so whenever anyone proper just goes with their own name which is like so specific to their family i'm like respect so self-assured i wish i was that brave thank you that's a cool name though that's like an individual name for grandparents yeah i was just grandma grandpa nanny and granddad those are mine yeah yeah yeah solid solid did they decide it or did you because like i don't remember a moment where i decided it yeah and that's like family wide as well those names oh okay yeah because now like i have to remember like with my my nephews and stuff yeah different grandparents and different grandparents names change with like my parents are not known as the same thing to both sets of nephews and i've got to remember that and if i get muddled up i get corrected big time oh wow this is like childhood trauma for you yeah that's keeping the grandparents i don't know why they can't just cut it off after the parents why do we have grandparents to confuse everything.

51:10Their first names. We should know our grandparents by their first names. Yeah. That'd be much easier. Because uncles and aunties, they're closer in age and we'd just call them by their names, right? You wouldn't call your uncle, Uncle? No. But I'd call him, like, full name, Uncle Billy. But you wouldn't call Uncle Billy, Uncle Billy to his face, would you? Yeah. Hello, Uncle Billy. Used to when I was a little kid. Oh, what a loser. What a loser. Hello, Uncle Billy. well that's the one I should have been self-conscious about yeah oh my god I'm saying that to everyone I'm going to go and see my uncle billy it's not uncle billy in the rhyme is it no it's not it's my friend billy yeah it's my friend yeah I'll just need to know that what's the rhyme it was like a schoolyard uh I apologize for this I can't believe he's brought this up we all learned and I don't know how these things spread because me and James went to school in completely different places in the UK.

52:03Oh, okay. But we all know my friend Billy had a 10-foot willy, etc. El, I'm sorry. Yeah. El, I'm just so sorry. I won't go through the whole... You didn't come here to hear that. I won't go through the whole rhyme, El, but it ends up being cut off with a rake by the girl next door. Oh, my God. She thought it was a snake. In her defense. There you go. In her defense, she thought it was a snake. She thought it was a snake. And that is your uncle. Yeah. I can't believe it. Everyone thinks that's my uncle now. Everyone expects him to be sad, but he's like, it's still two foot four, guys. Yeah, yeah.

52:38If anything, it's easier to manage. Yeah, exactly. She did him a favor. Yeah, yeah. God. Oh, Al, I'm so sorry.

52:51I mean, it seems inappropriate to segue into your dream side dish now. So you've got rice with it. uncle billy's willy's i did oh no oh god well we had rice yeah yeah put in there but i do also i mean this is funny we were talking about popeye earlier but like people call like i love spinach like so i need a side of spinach like if if there's a side and like spinach is on there i'm always getting it i'm like i'm gonna be good with that main course i think so things that'd be like quite nice green yeah yeah mixed in there maybe and like you know would you get it involved with the no i wouldn't get it involved no but i no way no that was so quick no no no no no for the people who are just listening i got a finger wanked no but yeah just like simple steam spinach uh-huh yeah salt like but yeah not too watery not too dry i really hate when it's really dry yeah but it's so difficult last night actually at the hotel i was like ordered some spinach like a side and it was like no too dry it too dry do you ever complain no never come you can't can you i mean also it was room service so what are you gonna do yeah it's gonna go through the whole rigmarole again coming up with another you know they'll bring a whole table up yeah for the side of spinach yeah yeah it's really drying on the way up is the problem as well true so next thing you know there's someone with like a spritz bottle on the way up being like we've got to keep this spinach moist no fannings in town everybody that's what they'd say it's like a spinach moist like a whale's washed up onto the beach they're just trying to keep it moist i am the other day i was on tour i was in norwich you know norwich in the uk i do not it's a little little city uh and uh i ordered some room service in the evening and there was like a kind of a charcuterie board type there's a mezze yes platter yeah so i'll get that yeah comes up deliver it they leave i look and realize oh they've forgotten the falafel isn't on there but it's actually quite a lot of stuff on here so i won't complain i'm just gonna leave it 10 minutes later maybe even five minutes later knock on my door they've got they brought the falafel up but in the five minutes since they delivered it and left i was now just in my boxes so then i had to go hold on a second yes and then they're thinking what's he doing with the meze he's getting freaky with it he's getting freaky with the meze and then I answer it and now I'm just in a dressing gown same lady she's like what are you doing so you answered I do want to know so you answered the door you got the room service you immediately took off your clothes to eat see I understand James I understand all this I get this it's just me and the I'm just getting ready for bed I'm not about to do anything weird with the hummus never so when you eat in restaurants are you like I can't believe I've got to have my clothes on for this it's the worst part of a restaurant yeah I've got to sit there with my clothes on I've never come to your dream restaurant I know like I am I can be gross like eating in bed or eating in the tub yeah and then sometimes you look and you're like this is disgusting what I'm doing yeah never look never think about what you're doing you just can't like why am I doing this but then it's like have your like laptop like if you order pizza like you have i once like had a full setup like on the you know bath tray thing that goes across all fell down like oh my god in the water i mean that is gross still eat it still eat it no but i am i'm someone i will eat off the floor like there's like five second rule like i'm like i it really doesn't bother me i think if you're willing to eat off the floor, I think five second rule's out the window.

56:44Yeah. You just find stuff because it doesn't make any difference. I won't find stuff, I guess. It's foraging. Yeah, I know. It's like, if it drops, it's like, okay, it's fine. Yeah. Keeps my immunity up. When the pizza fell in the bath, are you then having to run a whole new bath? Because obviously then you're basically sat in pizza. Oh God, yes. Yeah, yeah. Then you, yeah, 100%. And order another pizza yeah yeah would you ever do pizza in the shower no but i have just heard someone laugh outside it's always good to get a laugh outside uh just want to do a shout out to the outside crew we don't we don't shout them out enough on the pod so we appreciate your support there are people outside yeah just so you know i think i have eaten when i'm like in a rush I wouldn't put it past me that I've like leaned out the shower and like had something you've got to lean out for sure you can't be having pizza in the shower no or like a burger yeah yeah yeah yeah burger in the shower if you've got one of those like you know rainforest big shower heads you could put the food on top of that like a plate yeah and just like have it there and then put it on that's the driest place really on the top of the shower that's the driest place in the shower yeah for sure that's the driest place in the house I think is it on top of the shower yeah yeah or the fridge actually the fridge is very dry or the little soap tray in the shower you could have some fries on there exactly I've done a beer in the shower before is that sad?

58:12yes it was on holiday okay that's alright I like the idea of it depends if it was like a depressed it wasn't it was like holiday starting baby great I'm getting clean and I'm getting tipsy I like that yeah I like that yeah yeah but then it got did it make it hot the beer hot because I like I love a beer like a cold beer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But it was never as hot as the shower. So yeah, it was perfect actually. And I'm going to do it again.

58:44Well, let's get onto your dream drink from that. Oh yeah, drink. Is it a beer? Is it a nice cold beer? Oh my gosh, it could be. That actually kind of go good with my Southern curry. Or I normally, I order a Negroni. That's like my drink. Yeah, I think I'll say Negroni. That's what I was coming in here with. When did you get into Negronis? Because I consider Negronis to be a very grown-up take. Really? Yeah, I remember when I was like, hang on, I like Negronis now. Yes, yeah, I know what you mean. I saw a Negroni fridge magnet the other day. It was a picture of a Negroni and it said, I didn't like you at first either.

59:20Oh, really? Sassy. Oh, I didn't know that this was the lore. Well, neither did I. Apparently the takes I bring to this podcast are already on fucking fridge magnets. Right. Hot posts in the podcast. with a fucking fridge magnet, Elle. I'm saddled to this fridge magnet, motherfucker. And you know what I always say, Elle? Live, laugh, love. Yes. That's mine. Shit happens. I think, well, so Aperol Spritz, you know, that's like sweet. So it's like the grown-up Aperol Spritz in a way. It's like much more bitter. But I got, it was here in London, I would say, because the showrunner, again, of the great, the show I did, because I did that show for like three years.

1:00:01And I think I turned, I started when I was like 20 and then till 25, like that's how long with like the pilot and the whole thing. So it was a lot of like formative years of my life. And the showrunner, Tony McNamara, he wrote The Favorite, he wrote Poor Things and he wrote our show as well. He's a genius, but and he's a huge foodie beyond. And he drank a lot of Negronis. So I was like, oh, like, I like that. I'm going to order a Negroni. Like we would all go out to dinner a lot and he would get a Negroni. And so I wouldn't. So then I just started to really like the taste. And I like that it's bitter.

1:00:36Like now when I drink like an Aperol Spritz, it's just too, I'm not someone that normally says, ooh, it's too sweet. But like when I want to drink, I want it to taste like alcohol. Yeah, yeah. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, you're having a drink. Yeah. And I've heard that a Negroni, because all three parts are alcohol, that like that's the sure bet at the bar. Like if you don't want a watered down drink, like any bar in the world, get a Negroni. because they can't water it down. It's not like a tequila soda. They're not shaking it around. They can't because there's nothing else in it. Unless they put a massive ice cube in it.

1:01:07True, which I do like that. You like that? Yeah, I do. That winds me up. Really? Why? Because it hits your nose? Yeah. There's nothing good about it. It hits your nose and it takes up all the real estate in the glass. You're like, how much drink is really in here? But I think this is a difference between... It's not like a Yorkshire pudding in like Americans and Brits there is an ice difference oh there's a big ice difference yeah because I love a lot of ice like I don't care about oh I'm not getting enough drink I want my soda or like coke I want it like crisp I want tons of ice like I'm okay with it but that's because you're getting free refills true at my fast food joints yeah yeah we don't get that so if we order a diet coke or something we have to pay for another one so we don't want any ice in there.

1:01:56I'll say no ice. But that's the experience of drinking a Diet Coke. Don't you think it's better when it's really cold and has the ice? I'm not in it for pleasure. I'm in it for value for money. For value, yeah. That's our life, yeah. Yeah, that's your life. Do you think, did Tony Mack know that you were copying his drink? I wonder. Or were you keeping it on the low? Were you acting like you always drink Negronis and this is what you've always done? Yeah. Or were you saying, oh, Tony, what's that? I like the sound of it. maybe I'm going to get one as well. Yeah, he probably knew. He probably knew that I wasn't acting cool.

1:02:31Because again, I was still kind of young. I mean, because obviously you could drink earlier here, but I don't think I had turned 21 on the show. So I was still like, you know, when you're at like parties and things, you're not drinking Negronis, you know? So I was open to that of like, oh, I'll try this because you're trying it. So yeah, he probably knew. Pair well with a chicken heart and a Negroni. honestly probably yeah probably but i always think of that was that restaurant here that y 'all have like saint john's oh yeah yeah that's right he loves that yeah yeah i like it too a lot but that i'd like had sweetbreads for the first time like whoa they'll do everything and i try it all i mean yeah it's nose to tail so they're literally like everything goes on there it doesn't bother me i know people are like can be really grossed out by it but i'm like i'll try it That's great.

1:03:21They do good Negronis. It's better, it's better for, if you're going to, as you say, kill an animal, it's only got one of everything. To use all of it. Yeah. Or two of everything. You've got to use all of it. It's been more respectful, isn't it? Yeah, I think so. Well, you say that, but then. Less wasteful. Yeah, it's less wasteful. You might feel less, more respectful. Also, you're not using everything. There's some bits I'd be like, come on guys, throw that away. Not me. No. Not Uncle Billy. I have all of it, yeah. if it's 10 foot I'll eat it all

1:03:58we arrive at your dream dessert okay you said you didn't have much of a sweet tooth but then we had the donut chat at the beginning I know James is worried because James is a dessert guy this is where we differ I'm more of a savoury guy at the beginning I felt like kindred spirit because I've only really just got like I've changed my donut habits and now I love Duncan so much. I used to think Duncan is dumb. Do you guys have Duncan here? Yes, but not as good as you got it. So here's something.

1:04:32The last November, I was in America for a month and I didn't have much to do and I went big on Duncan. I suddenly discovered... I didn't know you went big on Duncan. I went big on Duncan. I suddenly discovered that I loved it. I mainly told Stuart Law, as our mutual friend, because he's always been a dunking evangelist to me. And I've been like, you're high as a kite. And also I don't really like Krispy Kremes anymore because I saw Stuart eat just too many of them during the tour and it made me go, I don't know how this guy is eating Krispy Kremes at midday. Also, Krispy Kremes here is like every service station on the motorway has like a cabinet of Krispy Kremes.

1:05:10I know, which is so crazy. Like in Tesco, they have them like out, which is like not like it is at home because they're the best when they're hot. yeah and then and at home it's like hot donuts now and then you go in right and you can get them fresh but i like them from well not stewart laws stewart laws if he's listening and he will be he he is he can't walk he loves predator a cold crispy cream donut without eating it immediately wow he loves it um yeah and he was always always saying to me you are duncan's the best and i was like you know uh so i had a duncan donut in london and was like i know what you're talking about man it's just a very boring donut yeah in america that you've got different ones that we don't have here but it is still just like so straight down the line nothing fancy yeah but i have so many favorites there and i on my next trip to america i was so excited to go to dunking when i got back to london i was like i'm just gonna dunk it all the time now no forget it not as good can't yeah but in a way i was relieved because i was like that would be the end of your life That would have been the end of your life.

1:06:13Yeah, exactly. So actually, thank you for making Dunkin' not as good in London. Yeah, it can be a treat. That's so good over there. Yeah, it is. He's flying to America about six times a week. For Dunkin'. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You need to get in the commercial. You're a Dunkin'. Oh, I am a Dunkin'. You're a Dunkin'. You need to get him a Christmas gift, the Dunkin' shirt. Yeah. You know what I mean? And a crown. And a crown. And the crown, yeah. Yeah, yeah. The Ben Affleck, you know, you can be in the Super Bowl commercial. Yeah, I could be in the Super Bowl commercial. I actually know about that now because I stayed up for the last, well, for the Kendrick one to watch.

1:06:45Yeah. Because I wanted to watch the halftime show. The commercials are a big deal. So I now understand the commercials are insane. Yeah, yeah. Like, it's like the cast of the Nutcracker 3D in every single commercial. It's mad. It is. They are. It really is. Absolutely insane. You've got some royal blood in you. I do. You're a... Yeah, I mean... You're related to our royal family. Yes. on my mom's side someone did some ancestry.com and it's who is it it's King Edward the some not the third or something there's been a few of those guys yeah there's some but there is like apparently some royal bloodline someone did an ancestry.com we didn't even do it ourselves like a fan did it or something and there was like so I don't know but apparently that is true I don't yeah you can go on one of those shows and find out if it's definitely true I could I could.

1:07:39I probably should. But then I always... There's something about those swabs and stuff that I'm like, then my DNA's out there. If I commit a crime, you might not want to have that. Is that the main worry that someone will frame you for a crime? I don't know, but you're just like, well, it is out there. You're giving it over. I don't know. If he's that nice man who presents that Ancestry program is going to frame you for a crime. Yeah, he's going to frame you for a murder. And it could be a crime from way back in the past, because he knows everything about history. Exactly. So he could get you. Exactly.

1:08:14Yeah, he could. They never caught the person who did this. Yeah. So when's the crime you're thinking of that L's going to be framed for? Because it would have to be within L's lifetime. Zodiac. They never caught Zodiac. That was me. Sorry. Huge exclusive for the podcast. Yeah. This is huge for you guys. and thank you for bringing this to us no for the listeners we all know it's Arthur Lee Miller oh no he's the number one suspect so you're a huge crime guy he loves Dunkin Donuts and the Zodiac Killer I do I'm not a crime guy but Zodiac is I'm just going to explain myself on the dessert front I don't feel that donuts are a dessert in what I think like you know what i mean like donuts they're not going to be on the menu at a restaurant for like a dessert they could be maybe a cinnamon donut or like a churro i love a churro but there's certainly i call it like restaurant desserts i'm just like not interested i know exactly what you know what i mean like the brownie and the molten thing and tiramisu it's like i like it creme brulee i like it fine or but it's not i could take it or leave it it's not it doesn't call me like, ooh, I really want that.

1:09:34Like a donut is, I know. I'm so sorry. I had donuts as a dessert recently. Does that change it? I was in Bristol at a place called Other. Okay. And they used to have another restaurant that Ed had gone to. They used to, they ran a restaurant called Casimir in Bristol. And their donuts, they have sourdough donuts that are toasted that are, I mean, I think they used to be in lamb fat. Yeah. And then, but it's got like vanilla sugar on it and salt definitely. I don't know. It's like savory fat on the outside as well. I'm sure I would like that. It's one of the best desserts I've ever had. I would like that.

1:10:09It was mind-blowing. I would like that. I would like that. Yes. But that's not what, but you're not, but you're not, I'm trying to delay the inevitable. Of what I'm going to say. You're going to like what I'm going to say, I think. Well, you're going to think one is really weird and I'm having two. You can't stop me. I won't stop you. But I, one is like ice cream, so. Okay. Yeah. We're good. we're good okay we'll start with one that i think you might like there's this place called lady m in new york yeah and they make meal they're called meal crate yeah cakes like 20 layers of cakes with the cream it's like pillowy soft and they have all different flavors and they're like really pretty and i like the strawberry one i love strawberries so that it's pretty except it's pretty exceptional i think that's the first uh thing you'd eat at my restaurant crepe cake crepe cake is what they're called in America I'm saying crepe cake because that's what we say here but it does sound like I'm saying crap cake so I don't know if I'm merely helping anyone there yeah crap cake but no one's chosen that yet relatively a new thing is it a relatively new thing I've been going for ages I think it's one of those things that has obviously been around for ages but someone has gone let's make this trendy now let's get it out there on the algorithms I know that Lady M in New York they kind of are like the iconic place for doing it so maybe they've been doing it for a long time and then some tiktoker put it on you know what i mean because i do look incredible yeah yeah and it was the first time i had one i did have that like you know oh i've been done here they look amazing in the photos james is so worried about being done at every opportunity i get done all the time and then like i was eating it and going i'm not that fussed about it actually and then I wanted another one in the future and actually I find that as long as I'm not being a gentleman about it and I just go nuts and cram it and have huge mouthfuls of it and really go undignified delicious it's really nice when you have loads of it so the whole point of the layers is you get like a fork and you cut down and you can see all the layers inside no no if you pick out on them and you just go like a massive mouthful and you get all all the cream and the crepes and everything in your mouth at once it just fills your mouth it's delicious it's not a dainty but it is that's what it is yeah but that's the thing that's where they get you that's the con Elle how are you eating it?

1:12:31you have to go I'm not going like crazy I don't think in a jacuzzi maybe? on the top of a plane do you have anything on the outside? I have to be skydiving eating the I yeah I think like normal person like a human yeah probably like a human sure but But I like, but the strawberry one is really good. The strawberry like pastry cream. That, that is really good. I think I've had matcha before. Oh yeah. I like matcha as a drink, but I don't know if I would like it. See, again, if like the, if it was a chocolate, like one of the crepe cakes, I don't know if I would like it as much. It's funny. It's like, I love like custard and cream and I like white cake and I do like that.

1:13:18But and then we're having, OK, then we're having that. This doesn't go with this at all. It does in color. But I have to mention it because it's my favorite ice cream in life. And it was recently discontinued. It's at Baskin Robbins. Yeah. It was recently discontinued or, well, not recently for like a couple of years. And I thought, wow, I'm never going to have this taste. It's like the taste of my childhood. I'm like, I'm never going to have this taste again. And it's the bubble gum at Baskin Robbins. It's pink and it has pieces of like square pink bubble gum in it. And it almost tastes like milk.

1:13:54Like the ice cream itself kind of tastes like milk. And then you have these really frozen rock hard pieces of gum that you chew at the same time as you're eating the ice cream. So then it's like it could break a tooth. I mean, the gum is so hard, like for kids. I mean, it's definitely like a choking hazard, but it's so it tastes so good. It's like my it's my favorite thing. And my mom is very good friends with there's a Baskin Robbins, like a local one around where she lives. And she goes there and gets like a milkshake like once a week. Like and she is very good friend Bruce, who works at Baskin Robbins.

1:14:33Bruce and her like this. He knows how to make her milkshake. She likes it. She likes chocolate syrup extra. She has to be thick. There's a whole thing. And like Bruce knows how to do it. And so he sees Joy and my mom walking in. He's like, all right, he knows. And for my birthday this last year, my mom surprised me. Bruce called the company and ordered a gigantic drum, like a drum. It's like this big of bubblegum. So they made one up for you? Yeah, but they make it. But you have to like, because no one likes the ice cream. So it's a terrible seller. It's like the worst seller of their ice cream.

1:15:12So they're like, the stores have to buy it or call it in to be like... It's a special thing. And no one is doing it anymore because they're like, literally no one eats this. And so Bruce was like, well, no one eats it, but I can call it in if you buy the big drum, but we can only do it by the bulk. And he did, which was amazing. So I got to eat that. Are you swallowing the gum? Yeah, well, this is what I'm thinking. Are you trying to keep it in your mouth with each mouthful, chewing it up and then blowing a huge bubble you can't blow a bubble with this gum no no it's too well there's also something great about the gum kind of freezes while you're chewing it because ice cream's so cold and i like that um like it's kind of like drinking really cold water with gum yeah there's something there or drinking like eating like a chocolate bar and drinking cold water i know what you mean when you drink cold water with the gum in and then you can feel it kind of get hardened that's what happens with the ice cream and then you're swallowing the bubble No, you just chew it and once you're done, you spit it out.

1:16:12Yeah, you can't eat it. It's bubblegum. You can't swallow it. That's crazy to put it in ice cream. I know. I've seen it at the Baskin-Robbins and thought, never in a million years would I get that. Exactly. That's why no one orders it. I didn't know how it worked like that. Yeah. But shout out Bruce. Bruce-Gin-Robbins. Woohoo! Yeah, Bruce-Gin-Robbins. You gonna call him Bruce-Gin-Robbins from now on? Yeah, I think you have to. He's gonna be called Bruce-Gin-Robbins. Oh my god, what is this? Oh my god. I'm going to read you your menu. Yeah, this is your menu now. The most disgusting menu. Right here.

1:16:42Oh, no. Not to me. No, trust us. Yeah, this is a nice menu compared to so many that we've had. You would like still New York tap water. You would like the red lobster cheddar bay biscuits, but like upgraded with cold whipped butter and honey. You would like a panko crumb mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce. Hungarian cheese triangle chucked in there. And we did a loud of the chowder. We a loud of the chowder. Yeah, that's right. main course the chicken divan made by your grandmother how are you spelling divan it's d-i-v-a-n I think lovely yeah side dish steamed spinach with salt not too watery not too dry drink a negroni and dessert strawberry crepe cake from lady m in new york and a bubblegum baskin robbins ice cream that will kind of you won't have it together you'll probably go back and forth one after the other I think you've got to have the bubblegum last haven't you Yeah, you do.

1:17:37Top it off. It's an aperitif. I think that sounds good. Yeah, it's good. I think you would like it. I actually do want to try the main. I want to try the chicken diamant so much. I want to show you a photo of it. I bet it looks exactly as I'm imagining it. I think it does. I mean, hers looks a little... So Ben's holding up... Oh, there he is. Ben, I'll be honest. That's pretty much it. But the cheese is a thicker layer on ours and more crispy. Yeah. It sounds like something someone made up when they were stoned. Totally. They put it together, they're thrown in a load of soup, they're like, what else have we got?

1:18:13Fuck a load of cheese onto the top, and then they're like, great. Exactly. This is a tradition, no? An accusation's leveled at the grandmother there? Yeah, yeah. Not specifically. And guess what her name is? Mary Jane. No way. Yes, it is. Well, that's exactly what's happened. and it's the pronunciation of her what do you call her gaba is that because she was the one who couldn't say it yeah yeah high as a cut mary jane yeah el thank you so much for coming to the dream restaurant thank you thank you el i loved it thank you guys this is so much fun

1:18:54well there we are james what a great episode terrific what a delightful lady absolutely fantastic a pleasure to chat to el fanning absolutely um i i kind of do want to try the duvin yeah i would like to try the chicken divan um i mean i said i said to you uh off mike that el was so nice and we were getting on with it so well that i didn't put the boot in on that dish as much as i wanted to restrained a lot of listeners would have thought ed's been remarkably be restrained yeah the idea of dumping a mushroom soup into something is upsetting to me but i bet it is comforting and warming and it obviously held a lot of nostalgia yes and significance for l so i didn't put the boot in but it does not sound nice well you know i i like that i might start dumping it in the mushroom soup and everything that i eat yeah you should do that sounds comforting and nice yeah yeah l did not say green eggs and ham so you got to stay in the dream I was very happy for that actually and Predator Badlands November the 7th this Friday if you listen to it when it goes out 2025 2025 of course yes and this is on YouTube tomorrow yeah this is on YouTube tomorrow November 6th 2025 yeah we'll be on YouTube yeah our lives are going to change yeah we're all doing well Elle's got a new big hit franchise film yeah we're on YouTube we're on YouTube now man what are you going to do with all your YouTube money I think I mean it's going to be a house in cash yes yeah and then probably another property in New York maybe somewhere in Tokyo and then probably a lot of properties around London and I'll just get into the property game I'm going to buy Josh Whittacombe's big house that he's got in Cornwall that he puts on Instagram I'm going to buy that off of him and then take over the Instagram account and then level it on Instagram and everyone will see that I just leveled the house but dressed as Blobby so he's like oh no he's coming for his other house I mean dressed as Blobby yeah yeah that's what I'm going to do so then with more YouTube money yeah Benito what are you going to do with your YouTube money theme parks he says spend it on theme parks yeah yeah well thanks Al thanks for coming in thank you so much for coming in Al what a wonderful menu what a wonderful conversation and everyone should go and see Petit at Badman's bye goodbye

1:21:30Hello, I'm Amy Gledhill. And I'm Harriet Kemsley. You might remember us from when we were guests on Off Menu, where I tried to find where I got seaweed mash, and we had to call my mum. And I talked about how my mum was worried that I might drown in my own body. That's cool! And we've got some exciting news. We've sorted your Valentine's Day plans again, as we're doing a special live recording of the podcast on Valentine's Day. A.K.A. Saturday the 14th of February. Yes, we've got a lovely venue. It's at the Underbelly Boulevard in Soho, London. We had so much fun at the last Valentine's Day show.

1:22:06Yes, and we both absolutely overshared. Will we do it again? You'll have to come along and find out. Okay, yes, yes, we will. So that's Saturday 14th of February at Underbelly Boulevard and you can get tickets on the link in our bio and our Instagram. Thank you.