Oscar-winning acting royalty Kate Winslet joins us for a Christmas Special in the Dream Restaurant. But can James keep his Eternal Sunshine questions to himself? Kate Winslet’s directorial debut ‘Goodbye, June’ is in cinemas now and on Netflix from 24 December. Watch it here. Watch the video version of this episode on the Off Menu YouTube on Thu 18 Dec. Off Menu is now on YouTube: @offmenupodcastFollow Off Menu on Instagram and TikTok: @offmenuofficial.And go to our website www.offmenupodcast.co.uk for a list of restaurants recommended on the show.Off Menu is a comedy podcast hosted by Ed Gamble and James Acaster.Produced, recorded and edited by Ben Williams for Plosive.Video production by Megan McCarthy for Plosive, and Pippa Brown.Artwork by Paul Gilbey (photography and design). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What is the significance of water in Christmas dinner?
On Off Menu, we always ask guests the big question, James. Still or sparkling? That's the biggest question on the pod. But imagine if the answer was just neither. No water at all. Well, WaterAid have asked us to imagine a Christmas dinner without water. A shriveled up turkey, sprouts that turn into stones... And no gravy. It would be a full-on gravypocalypse out there. That wouldn't be dinner.
It would be a goddamn culinary catastrophe. And that's the point, James. Everything at Christmas and all year starts with water. But one in ten people around the world don't have clean water. You can change that. Donate today at wateraid.org because change starts with water.
Welcome to the Off Menu Podcast, taking the ginger biscuits of conversation, leaving them on the fireplace hearth of humour and awaiting the Santa of friendship. Santa's going to eat some biscuits, leave some biscuits out for Santa, James. What do you leave out for Santa, man?
That is Ed Campbell, my name is James A. Cousins. Together, we own a dream.
Good chat, what do you leave out for Santa?
And every single year, every single year? What do you leave out for Santa? Every week we invite in a guest and we ask them their favourite ever.
No, every single year we invite a guest in to ask them about their Christmas menu. Yes.
So you were right. And we ask them their favourite ever start a main course dessert, side dish, drink and Christmas dinner. Yes. Not in that order. Yeah. And this week, this year. He's had a nightmare. He's too excited. I am, because our guest is Kate Winslet.
It's only Kate Winslet. Holy moly. Holy moly, man. This podcast has got out of hand. Kate Winslet's agreeing to come on?
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Chapter 2: What does Kate Winslet say about her favorite Christmas food?
Yes. So I'm worried because we've got the star of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind coming in. Yeah. And we've got to ask Kate her dream menu. We've got to ask her about her Christmas. We've got to do all of this. And I'm worried that you're going to try and make this a podcast exclusively about Eternals.
No, brother. I'm a professional. You know I am. I'm going to stick to the format. No, I don't believe you.
When we've had actors on before, don't bring up their stuff. That's all you do. And that's fine. It's fine to bring up their stuff. Kate's got an incredible CV of amazing things that she's been involved in. But I'm worried you're going to over-focus on one thing. What, turn us on transport? Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Fake film? Yeah. It's Christmas, you know.
Because we've got to talk to Kate about food, because that's what the podcast is. And we've got to talk to Kate about her new film, her directorial debut, Goodbye June. Which is in cinemas now, of course. Yes. And on Netflix on Christmas Eve. Yeah, Netflix, December the 24th, which colloquially known as Christmas Eve. Just in case people don't know.
If I said Christmas Eve, people wouldn't know when that is. Oh, well, you never know. The cast list of Goodbye June reads like if you were putting together a football team for all the greatest actors in Britain.
Yeah, well it's like, if someone read out the cast list, it was like, these are the nominations for best actors this year. You'd be like, yeah, that makes sense.
Tony Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Risborough, Timothy Spall, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren. And then you're looking at other cast members, Stephen Merchant, heard of him? Just popping up.
He's not being on the podcast. Jeremy Swift, that's Higgins. Yeah, Higgins. Higgins is in this.
Yeah, Emmy-nominated Higgins. Yeah, yeah, that's fun. That's crazy, man. You can also watch this podcast on YouTube. Why wouldn't you? No one's going to stop you. No one's going to stop you. Watch it on YouTube, listen to it, just do as many things as you can. Yeah. You won't hear this bit on YouTube, though?
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Chapter 3: How does Kate Winslet feel about her directorial debut, Goodbye June?
Well, people do like labels. And I think, you know, starting out in some of those great early things I was able to do, like Sense and Sensibility and things like that. Yeah, people do like to sort of pigeonhole actresses and they don't really like it if you step outside of that framework that they have chosen that you're going to exist in. And so, no, I'm, yeah, weird. Corset Kate.
It doesn't make any sense.
And you were so young at the time. I think there's a lot of jealousy from other people.
Probably.
Giving you a nickname like that. But then like, I just think like, for me, you're just someone who's always done so many different things. It's really weird to watch that and go like, when did that happen?
I know, it's bizarre. I think something that helped me kind of move beyond that was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I remember thinking, okay, this could be good. I could be stepping outside of that and, you know, doing something completely wild and different. And that whole experience actually of making Eternal Sunshine was so amazing.
I mean, Michel Gondry, who directed it, he's just avant-garde and funny and bonkers. And it was a great experience. I loved playing that character.
There's a lot of improvisation in that film. I'm glad you've brought this film up, Kate, because I had to message James when we confirmed that you were coming in and say, don't only talk about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, because he will talk about it for a whole episode with a guest who's not been involved in the film at all. Oh, it is a good one. Why? He's gone quiet.
Yeah, because he's excited. He can't wait. It's my favourite film.
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Chapter 4: What was the inspiration behind Kate Winslet's film Goodbye June?
Yeah, I'm very serious about it.
You've never been more serious about anything. Why are you... Yeah, they're just eating a castle. Yeah.
You're not eating a pie then. No, it's not. Well, what are you doing? What's the point? Might as well have soup.
Yeah.
Might as well have soup or quiche. Absolutely.
They probably wouldn't eat the crust of the quiche either, these people.
They're just eating scrambled eggs. See, and I would take the crust off a stranger's plate of a quiche as well. Do love it. So, yeah, I love a good old pie. I'd always reach for that in any restaurant.
What's your preferred filling for the pie?
Well, it's probably sort of a chicken and veg type vibe, something like that. I don't eat a huge amount of meat, actually. I'm talking about all the meat things, but I don't really eat a huge amount of meat. My husband, Ned, is completely vegan.
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Chapter 5: What are Kate Winslet's thoughts on the role of food in family gatherings?
And I was sat beside him and they were passed around the table. He's a very, very generous man. It's the only time I met him. Passed around the table, would you like an oyster? Would you like one? Would you like one? I'm thinking, oh God, he's going to offer me a fucking oyster and I'm going to have to say no. The plate came to me, and how about you? Would you like an oyster?
And I said, no, thank you. And I looked at his eyes, and I went, actually, yes. Because I thought, if I eat this oyster, I will always be able to say, Paul Newman gave me my first oyster. And I had the oyster, and I loved it. And so on occasion, I will order oysters, and they're just delicious.
Do you think about Paul Newman every time you have a oyster?
I do, actually. I do. And then I tell the story that I just told. But I don't think I've ever told it on a podcast. Yes.
Road to Perdition? Exclusive.
Road to Perdition. Exactly right.
That film, yeah. There's a point in the video where people will say that you mentioned that they work together and I go like this. I don't want people to think that I wasn't interested in what you were saying.
It was that I went, I had to remember what the film was. It was a great, great film. Really, really great film. And then years and years and years later, in 2011, at the beginning of the next chapter of my life, which I'm currently very, very happily immersed in, I met my husband, Ned. And and and again found we found ourselves in New York and it was at the very beginning of our relationship.
And Chelsea Market is a great market in in the city. And there's an amazing fish shop in there. Really spectacular. And Ned and I were just having one of those kind of early romantic days out wandering around New York City. And I said, oh, should we get some oysters? And he said, well, I don't know if I've ever had oysters before. And I'm sure I then told him about the Paul Newman story.
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