Phil Wang (Tasting Menu)

**James Acaster** (0:00)
I'm on tour, I'm on tour until August, and there are still tickets available at jamesacaster.com. I'm looking at you, Glasgow, Belfast, ah, there was somewhere else. Just please go on the website and buy tickets, please, jamesacaster.com.

**Ed Gamble** (0:30)
Welcome to the Off Menu Tasting Menu.

**James Acaster** (0:33)
La-dee-dah.

**Ed Gamble** (0:35)
A new concept from the Off Menu Industries.

**James Acaster** (0:38)
Our minds are an endless well of ideas.

**Ed Gamble** (0:41)
Yes, this is our second one.

**James Acaster** (0:43)
In six years.

**Ed Gamble** (0:46)
This is basically our way of getting in some great guests that we've had in the past. Fan favorites, we always worried we put too solid a line under guests and said, you've done it once, you're not coming back in.

**James Acaster** (1:00)
So many podcasts.

**Ed Gamble** (1:01)
Oh, third idea, Redemption Dinner Party.

**James Acaster** (1:03)
We did a Redemption Dinner Party. So just so you know, we've had three ideas.

**Ed Gamble** (1:07)
Yes, in six years.

**James Acaster** (1:09)
And one of them was during COVID, just doing it on streaming, the Redemption Dinner Party.

**Ed Gamble** (1:13)
Then we did it sort of live for Christmas.

**James Acaster** (1:14)
We kind of did it live, yeah. But now this is the third idea, is that we get a menu, a dream menu from one of the guests that we've had on before, and we present it to a different guest who we've had on before as a tasting menu.

**Ed Gamble** (1:28)
And get their thoughts on it and whether they'd like it.

**James Acaster** (1:30)
Yeah.

**Ed Gamble** (1:31)
And you know us, it'll spin off into some wacky chats.

**James Acaster** (1:36)
We probably won't stay on topic. We'll probably get all over the place in crazy ways.
It's like we're on drugs.

**Ed Gamble** (1:44)
Yeah, bad ones. Well, our guest this week in the tasting menu restaurant, the dream restaurant, Dream restaurant. is the wonderful, Phil Wang. Phil Wang. You all know Phil Wang.
Do we even need to introduce Phil Wang as a concept to people?

**James Acaster** (1:59)
No, everyone knows he's a fantastic comedian. He's an actor as well.

**Ed Gamble** (2:04)
He's been done some great acting and stuff.

**James Acaster** (2:06)
Since we had him on the podcast, which was the first series, he's been in Wonka.

**Ed Gamble** (2:11)
Wonka.

**James Acaster** (2:12)
He did a dance in Wonka. Yeah. That's like, obviously I wouldn't, you know, that's my guy.

**Ed Gamble** (2:18)
Three Body Problem.

**James Acaster** (2:20)
What's wrong in that?

**Ed Gamble** (2:21)
Yeah.

**James Acaster** (2:21)
I haven't watched it yet.

**Ed Gamble** (2:22)
He's in it very, you know, he's got one scene in it, but it's a very good scene.

**James Acaster** (2:25)
I'd love to see that. He's worked on, worked with Amy Schumer and sketches.

**Ed Gamble** (2:31)
Look, the guy's doing well. What can I say? But we've managed to get him back into the Dream Restaurant for a tasting menu.

**James Acaster** (2:36)
Yes. So we're going to present him the tasting menu of Jay Rayner.

**Ed Gamble** (2:41)
Jay Rayner, notorious and brilliant food critic, Jay Rayner, who also came on very early in the life of the podcast.

**James Acaster** (2:48)
He did. We interviewed him in a room that I don't think have recorded in before or since. It was like some random place. We went to him and, you know.

**Ed Gamble** (2:57)
Was it Publishers? Yeah, I think it was his Publishers offices.

**James Acaster** (3:00)
Yeah, he had a book coming out.

**Ed Gamble** (3:01)
Yeah.

**James Acaster** (3:01)
And look, we're thinking like, who do we pair with Phil Wang? Like, whose meal should we give him? And we started thinking like comedians that are friends with Phil and like we can throw their meals at him and he can like, have fun picking them apart or get annoyed that, oh no, I've been given this. Yeah. But actually, we're like, he's a sophisticated guy.

**Ed Gamble** (3:18)
He is.

**James Acaster** (3:19)
Phil, you know, we're going to get more out of him. We're going to learn more about Phil Wang by presenting him with a food critics menu.

**Ed Gamble** (3:27)
Yes, absolutely.

**James Acaster** (3:28)
So like, I think we've made the right decision.

**Ed Gamble** (3:31)
I believe so. I mean, I think we should just get stuck into it. No, there's no secret ingredients on this.

**James Acaster** (3:36)
No, we're not going to kick him out. It was hairy crackling when we had Jay Raynor on, but it's not, you know, if Wang says, by the way.