Ed Gamble: ‘As a child I was a human dustbin. I’d eat every morsel'

The comedian and new Great British Menu judge on the horror of the children’s menu, a surprise encounter with Jamie Oliver’s pants and a lockdown barbecue obsession

I think about food 80% of the time. I guess the other 20% is sleeping.

My favourite episodes of Off Menu [Gamble’s food and drink podcast with fellow comedian James Acaster] are the ones that just spin off into ridiculous stories, or dig down into how weird people are. Serge from the band Kasabian said when he was growing up, he couldn’t eat food if there was a magician on the telly. No one’s ever said that. Then he says: “I just started thinking about how their props bag must really smell.” So we were like: “That’s the weirdest thing we’ve ever heard.” Well, actually, James was like: “No, I think I understand that.” And I’m like: “Of course you do.”