Highlights
- While much of the food on Friends appears to be real, actors often spit it out or use editing tricks to make it seem like they're eating when they're not.
- The trifle scene required the cast to eat something, but they didn't actually consume the revolting concoction. It was mostly whipped cream and bananas.
- Matt LeBlanc unknowingly ate some of David Schwimmer's spit-out food during the trifle scene, only finding out months later when he saw it in the blooper reel.
Food has always been paramount to the success of Friends. Whether it was central to the plot of an episode or simply an excuse to get the characters together to serve something unrelated, food played a massive role throughout all 10 seasons. So much so that lists have been created of every meal consumed on the beloved sitcom. There are even cookbooks out there with precise recipes to recreate your own version of Joey's meatball sub or Mama's Little Bakery cheesecake, which you can eat right off the floor.
In all likelihood, even Rachel's hilariously awful trifle is re-creatable...
Fortunately for the wealthy cast of Friends, no custard with beef sauteed in peas and onions had to be consumed. Just like The Big Bang Theory, some of the food on Friends was very much real. But the trifle the cast had to eat on set wasn't nearly as bad as what was implied. However, it did cause David Schwimmer to gag. Here's what happened...
Is The Food On Friends Real?
Given how much food was featured throughout the 10 seasons of Friends, it's only natural for fans to wonder if any of it was real. Unfortunately, there has not been a lot of information on this that's been made public. However, simply watching the show with an eye trained on the food reveals a lot.
Firstly, much of the food on Friends does appear to have been real. We know this because the actors are actually eating it on screen. However, not every time food is present in a scene does it get consumed. This is typical for movies and TV shows as it takes a long time to reset food between takes. Not to mention getting the continuity correct in the edit or simply making an actor way too full while they should be focusing on their lines and intentions.
But, when re-watching Friends, it's clear that the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc had to devour a few things, whether it was at a restaurant, muffins at Central Perk, pizza at Joey's, or a dinner at Monica's.
According to EveryMovieHasALesson, it's typical for actors not to fully consume all the real food on their plates. Due to having to shoot a scene multiple times, actors will often spit up their food into buckets so as not to eat too much. Specific angles as well as editing decisions are also utilized in order to make it look like an actor is actually eating when they are not.
Typically, the props department works with resultant supply companies and chefs hired for the show in order to create and replenish the food in every scene.
However, prop food is also frequently used. But mostly for food that the camera is not focused on. This likely means the apples and oranges in the fruit bowl at Monica's were plastic. The same goes for the muffins on the counter in Central Perk. But as for any food that was actually
Did The Friends Cast Actually Eat The Trifle?
"The One Where Ross Got High" is one of the highest-rated Friends episodes on IMDb. It also happens to contain some of the most quoted lines in the show's history. And this is mostly due to the trifle storyline which features an iconic and improvised line from David Schwimmer.
In the Season 6 Episode 9 show, Jennifer Aniston's Rachel attempts to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner by making dessert. Only she ends up accidentally combining two polar opposite recipes (a trifle and a shepherd's pie) and creates nothing short of a monstrosity. The concoction consisted of ladyfingers, jam, custard (made from scratch), raspberries, more ladyfingers, beef sautéed with peas and onions, a little more custard, sliced bananas, and whipped cream. Of course, Matt LeBlanc's Joey is the only one who actually likes the taste. The rest placate Rachel so as not to hurt her feelings.
While in some cases the food on sitcom sets is fake, this scene actually required the cast of Friends to eat something. Fortunately, the actors didn't have to consume such a revolting concoction. During an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Matt LeBlanc revealed that the dessert the actors had to eat on set was mostly just whipped cream and bananas. Therefore, LeBlanc had no issue shoving it into his mouth...
It was months later that he learned that he was actually eating much more than whipped cream and bananas...
"So, [in the scene, David Schwimmer's] Ross is saying that he doesn't like it and Rachel hears and it hurts her feelings. And he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. So he eats the whole thing," Matt LeBlanc said to Graham Norton and the other guests on the 2018 show.
"But there's too much on [David's] plate. So, he starts to eat it all and he can't finish it and he starts laughing. So we cut. And as we were cutting, he kind of spits it back on his plate. And I'm sitting right next to him but I'm looking the other way. I didn't see him spit it back on his plate. So, [later] I take his plate and I say, 'Give it to me' and I scrape his plate on my plate and I say, 'hear, let's [film] again.' And then we go again and now I'm eating it... And we finish the take and no one says anything to me."
LeBlanc revealed that he didn't find out that he actually ate some of David Schwimmer's regurgitated food until the wrap party when the whole cast viewed the blooper reel. In the reel, the exact moment LeBlanc described played out... and he was justifiably horrified.
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