The Nastiest Thing Matt LeBlanc Ate On The Set Of Friends

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Over the course of 10 seasons on "Friends," everyone's favorite foodie, Joey, happily ate just about any food — no matter how off-putting. Things were a little different behind the scenes. During a 2018 appearance on "The Graham Norton Show," Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey, was asked about the worst thing he had to eat on the sitcom's set. The star revealed how he unknowingly ended up eating a mushy blend of whipped cream and bananas that co-star David Schwimmer had spat out moments ago. "So we cut, and as we're cutting, he kind of spits it back on his plate, like that [...] and I'm looking the other way, I didn't see him spitting [...] and we go again and now I'm eating it," he recounted to audible laughs and groans from the audience. The worst (or funniest) bit? No one said anything to LeBlanc. Instead, they let him find out during a blooper reel screening at the wrap party.

The mistake occurred on the set of the iconic "Friends" kitchen in 1999, during the filming of Season 6, Episode 9 ("The One Where Ross Got High"). Funnily enough, the scene actually features the show's worst dish — Rachel's botched trifle. Veteran fans of the sitcom may recall Jennifer Aniston's character making hybrid of English trifle and shepherd's pie because two pages of a recipe book got stuck together. As the episode progresses, LeBlanc's Joey is the only one who can stomach the meat and dessert amalgamation. "Custard? Good. Jam? Good. Meat? Good," he famously says as he wolfs it down. But David Schwimmer's mushy mouthful? Not so good.

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While the scene with Rachel's trifle pudding made it onto our list of the most iconic food moments in TV history, there are other instances where Matt LeBlanc's on-screen character has us in stitches because of just how much he is willing to overlook where food is concerned. The show established Joey's proclivity to not let food go to waste early on. In Season 1, Episode 2 ("The One with the Sonogram at the End"), Rachel loses her wedding ring in a tray of lasagna. After the gang digs through the dish, Joey takes it upon himself to finish the leftovers.

Eating off the floor also comes naturally to the actor behind Dr. Drake Ramoray, as he briefly demonstrates in Season 6, Episode 18 ("The One Where Ross Dates a Student"). During a spaghetti dinner in Joey's apartment, Rachel accidentally spills some and apologises. So she doesn't feel bad, he drops a handful of his own spaghetti on the floor, then quickly scoops it back up onto his plate and continues eating. His reason? To not waste food.

Rachel seemingly takes a leaf out of Joey's book in the Season 7 episode, "The One with All the Cheesecakes," In it, she and Chandler repeatedly steal a neighbor's cheesecake until they are reduced to eating it off the floor of their building's corridor. Joey appears and does the most Joey thing imaginable: He pulls a fork out of his jacket and promptly joins his friends in devouring the dessert on the floor.