Food is everywhere, including in some of your scripted favorite TV shows. Just as in real life, TV characters need to eat, and on occasion those instances end up playing a key role in the plot.
Take, for example, the much-beloved trifle episode of Friends. Also known as “The One Where Ross Got High,” this 30-minute block from season 6 of the hit show featured cooking-challenged Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) whipping up a Thanksgiving dessert after Monica (Courteney Cox) promised her she could make a holiday treat.
Thanks to an unfortunate cookbook mishap, the resulting dish ended up being half an English trifle and half a shepherd’s pie. Not wanting to hurt Rachel’s feelings, Chandler (Matthew Perry), Ross (David Schwimmer) and the other friends begrudgingly ate or disposed of the sweet and savory dish, which Ross hilariously remarked tasted “like feet.” To everyone’s surprise, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) actually liked the concoction.
LeBlanc later revealed the actors weren’t actually eating a combination of sautéed meat and fruit in the 1999 episode. Instead, they were feasting on a much tastier plate of whipped cream and bananas.
Since food is scarce in the post-apocalyptic world, viewers of The Walking Dead got quite a thrill when season 4, episode 9 (which aired in 2014) featured Carl (Chandler Riggs) pigging out on a massive helping of chocolate pudding on a roof.
The moment was one of the few quiet ones in the action-packed series and viewers loved it because it showed Carl being a kid, even as he was just beyond a walker’s deadly grasp.
In other instances, food can actually get a boost thanks to an appearance on a hit TV show. For example, Magnolia Bakery, which is now an international chain, was a virtually unknown West Village establishment before it was featured in an episode of Sex and the City in 2000. Today, that location is featured on city tours and frequently boasts a line that runs out the door.
Check out the video above for some more iconic food moments in TV history!
