Podcast hosts James Acaster and Ed Gamble are thrilled to host the legendary A-List Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro on this week’s episode of Off Menu. 

In this brand-new episode out this Wednesday with one of the world’s most influential actors, Robert De Niro shares stories about food from his experiences filming some of his most iconic movies. All episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts.

De Niro talks about his time filming Deer Hunter (1978) “we were shooting in the river Kwai, and somebody said, you want to have some Cobra meat? So, I ate Cobra. … It was okay. It wasn't great, it was cooked literally over a fire. They're just like marshmallows, and they had nothing on it to kind of give it a different flavour or to enhance it’.

Robert De Niro also spoke about his experience filming Raging Bull (1980) where he gained 60 lbs for the role “when I was getting the weight, I had to eat in the morning three full meals, which was hard to do, and then digest the food, to eat lunch and then dinner. It's kind of fun for the first 10, 12, 15, pounds, and [then] it's drudgery.”

As for the classic opening question ‘still or sparkling?’ De Niro goes for still to avoid having an unpredictable stomach while on set, saying “I’ve had my stomach rumbling and I'm trying to stop it, and it's so annoying. You're in the middle of a scene and it just won't stop it as a life of its own. 

Ed Gamble said: “When I watched Goodfellas aged 13, I always knew that one day me and my friend James would ask Robert De Niro what his dream side dish was.”

James Acaster: “This is the most in-depth interview any of us have ever been involved in. Enjoy.”

Previous guests for the latest series of Off Menu include actors Harris Dickinson and Stephen Graham, Olympic weightlifter Emily Campbell and comedians Mo Gilligan and John Kearns, with more exciting names still to be announced. 

Robert De Niro visits Off Menu ahead of Acaster and Gamble bringing their smash hit podcast back to the stage in 2025. Off Menu: Live in London will be returning for a limited run, with four sold-out shows at the London Palladium in March 2025.                                          

Since launching in December 2018, Off Menu has become one of the biggest podcasts in the country and was an instant success, winning multiple awards, regularly topping the podcast charts and racking up nearly 200 million downloads. In 2019 and 2020, it was nominated for Best Comedy Podcast at the British Podcast Awards and they’ve had some of the biggest stars of stage and screen join them in the dream restaurant.