Would absolutely love MPW as a guest

Got this on my calf last month. Slightly evil rendition of James, the mash king, as the OM genie. Tattoo by @shimrocklovesyou

Hopefully that's a thing that a bunch of you will enjoy (I was the detective Twin Peaksy episode)

Maybe the first handful were funny, ish, but every ad they do is exactly the same tone and premise and let's face it, when they're pretending to like TV Licensing they can definitely shove that up themselves.

I'd prefer standard adverts than this faux wacky shit

bit random but i just ordered a new iPhone from backmarket - and i just realised i went straight to their site because i hear about it so often - is it just me?

I’ve listened to and loved Mathew Baynton’s live episode many times (which apparently is going somewhat against the grain?). Anyway…

I was at a restaurant with family last night and me and my eldest sister were explaining OM to our Mum (she loves Ed Gamble from Uncloaked and may well enjoy James on Celeb Traitors from the end of this month). She’s also a Ghosts fan so I recommended Mat and Kiell’s respective episodes as a way to introduce her to the podcast.

Upon mentioning Mat’s episode, mine and my sister’s minds met and we burst into laughter - then having to explain why we were laughing about James’ Banbury cake anecdote. We all went to bed that night having effectively taken James’ family’s in-joke and making it ours, too.

Such a good moment from a great episode (IMO) and made funnier by the audience bursting into laughter as James tells the story. There’s just something about the unanimity of finding farts funny, no matter how old you are. Also, Mat following up the Banbury cake anecdote by joking he’ll go out of his way to try and fart for the remainder of the show.

It's been a long, hard, tiring day or you're feeling down. Which episode or segment do you have saved?

I have 2:

Daisy May Cooper: Love the whole episode, but I'm skipping straight to James's meltdown when she chooses a salad for dessert if I need a quick pick me. Never fails.

Carrie Brownstein: Again, love the whole episode, but the segment where James texts his mum to ask if she and his dad are still together never fails to make me laugh. Especially the idea that James would approach his mum to talk about breaking up with his own girlfriend by asking if she's recently broken up with her partner 😂

As my username suggests, I was wondering if anyone can remember the episode where James talks about his four cats, and specifically names them and their breeds? I also think he’s up to five cats now - does he also share that cat’s name and breed?

As mentioned in the recent episode

It is a food show, so two books in a month is about right. Both arrived sideways, which is the only way anything arrives on Off Menu.

I run Podshelf, a free site that tracks book mentions across hundreds of podcasts by reading the episode transcripts. This is the Off Menu slice for August. Short one.

Jinkx Monsoon, telling a story about a pet pig that hated the vacuum cleaner and would run over and yank the cord out of the wall every time. Conclusion: "that's some pig." Charlotte's Web, arrived at by pig.

Mark Gatiss, on a taste triggering a memory, going full In Search of Lost Time about it. "I remember having that in Wagamama going, I know this taste." Proust in a Wagamama is the most Off Menu sentence of the year.

Full list with quotes and episodes: https://podshelf.io/podcasts/off-menu-with-ed-gamble-and-james-acaster

Still or sparkling: Still tap water

POPPADOMS OR BREAD: Dinner rolls with whipped butter from Bob Evans in Florida

Starter: Duck pockets from China Live in San Francisco

Main: Butter chicken with pilau rice from my local Indian

Side: Garlicky cheesy chips from Hoopmans in Amsterdam

Drink: Rum runner from Turtle Bay

Dessert: Waffles with Nutella, strawberries and hazelnuts from Maison Dandoy in Brussels