The Food Programme
Episodes
Brexit's Import Controls
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Physical checks will soon be carried out on some foods being imported from the EU, but how will it impact the rest of the UK's food supplies? Jaega Wi...
A Celebration of the Birthday Cake
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jaega Wise delves into the history, traditions and culture surrounding the birthday cake, meeting bespoke baker Adam Cox, and attending a traditional ...
Cooking at home with Gary Lineker
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Footballing legend, broadcaster and our host for lunch… Gary Lineker makes his famous 'gambas al ajillo' for Leyla Kazim at his home as she hears ho...
Lamb Season
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Although chocolate eggs and Hot Cross buns take centre stage at Easter, millions of people also sit down to share a joint of lamb to celebrate. In thi...
Stouts and Porters: How dark beers became cool
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stouts and porters, dark malty beers maybe used to have a reputation of being a bit stuffy but there has been a recent trend of these drinks growing i...
The Plant-Based Diet Boom: How is it changing food culture?
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The last decade has seen an explosion in the trend of plant-based eating, from the growth of plant-based products in supermarkets and vegan options on...
The herb and spice scam?
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What’s really in your spice rack? In this exclusive investigation by The Food Programme, Jaega Wise investigates the authenticity of spices sold by ...
Feeding Norfolk
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A message from Delia Smith takes the Food Programme team to Norfolk to see how a network of social supermarkets is helping people out of food poverty....
The power of poems to connect us to food
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Getting people to engage with food and ideas for agricultural change can be really difficult - but that’s the hope of a major new arts project calle...
A Bitter Taste?
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Appetite suppressant, glucose control and inflammation antidote... The scientific research around the power of bitter foods may sound far-fetched. But...
Love on a Plate
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From warming aphrodisiacs in the early modern period, to date-night oysters and champagne or a loving dish of hot macaroni cheese, sharing food has al...
Destination Food
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us are travel looking for food experiences and we often want to eat something that is authentically of that place. So we seek out the local de...
How has a small island become the nation with the highest rate of obesity?
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon investigates what we can learn about food and public health from the extreme case of Nauru. It’s the world’s smallest republic yet h...
Haggis and Hosting: Celebrating Burns Night
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the dark nights of January, celebrating the work of poet Robert Burns by feasting, toasting and speaking poetry has become a much-loved tradition i...
Eating for Two?
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jaega Wise is on a mission to find out what she should really be eating while pregnant - from conception to birth. Presented by Jaega Wise Produced in...
A Seaweed Revolution in the UK?
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Seaweed farming could be a huge boon for the UK, restoring biodiversity, cleaning the sea and could even be capturing carbon. Seaweed is healthy and d...
New Year’s Eve Food Around the World
31 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join Leyla Kazim for a tour of New Year’s Eve food traditions around the world, from eating lentils in Italy, scoffing 12 grapes in Spain, slurping ...
Christmas with The Food Programme
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cooking at Christmas is so much more than just the main meal, so this year Sheila Dillon, and chef Thomasina Miers, show us how to do more with less. ...
Reflections on rum
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jaega Wise reflects on her findings and a few surprising moments during the making of this week's rum programme, with producer Nina Pullman.
Dark and stormy: A journey through rum
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A refreshing mojito? Rum punch? Maybe just a simple rum and coke? Many of us might think no further about rum than how to mix it within a drink. But i...
Recipes for Long Life
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Buettner believes that "when a ritual lasts for hundreds or thousands of years, like prayer before a meal, it serves some purpose". Dan is the be...
The food books of 2023
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over a coffee in community arts space The Place in Newport, south Wales, The Food Programme presenters Sheila Dillon, Leyla Kazim and Dan Saladino cho...
Food Under Siege in Gaza
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon looks at what the current conflict in Gaza has done to food supplies in one of the most densely populated places on earth. After Hamas g...
Older Men Learning to Cook
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jimi Famurewa talks to men learning or rediscovering cooking later in life, maybe due to a change of circumstance or loss of a partner, to hear how it...
Mezcal: A Beginners Guide
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino explores the Mexican spirit mezcal and the diverse world of agave spirits.Contents include: Gary Nabhan (Agave Spirits book): https://www...
BBC Food and Farming Awards 2023: Second Course
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon presents more winners from the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2023, including who was crowned Best Streetfood, Takeaway or Small Eatery and...
BBC Food and Farming Awards 2023: First Course
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join Sheila Dillon from the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport for the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2023.In this first episode from the c...
Prescribing Fruit and Veg – A New Model for the NHS?
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A pilot public health scheme in south east London is prescribing fresh fruit & veg to people with chronic disease and mental health conditions. Sh...
Eating Wild Part 2: Inside the Gut Microbiome
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino finds out what happened to people who embarked on a wild food adventure, including chef and Arctic explorer Mike Keen and a group of Brit...
Kombucha: A Miracle Drink?
08 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kombucha has been around for a while but it has not had huge success in this country like it has in the US and Australia.In this programme, Jaega Wise...
Local food – is it working?
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Local food networks thrived during lockdown with more people turning to local producers, farm shops and veg box schemes as supermarket shelves ran dry...
Abergavenny at 25
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
25 years ago two Monmouthshire farmers had a plan. BSE had hit the rural area hard, and they wanted to create a food festival to showcase the area's p...
BBC Food and Farming Awards: street food finalists
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Judges have been visiting the finalists in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards. This episode of The Food Programme celebrates the businesses short...
The Food Innovators: Radical Thinkers, Big Ideas.
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino judges the The Food Innovation Award part of the BBC Food & Farming Awards. He is searching for big ideas that can change the food sy...
Festival Food
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As summer draws to a close, Jaega Wise heads to the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) to learn what goes into feeding the thousands of fans gathered...
A Food Museum – can it make us care about food?
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If food is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and also a lens through which we can interpret our history and how we live now, then surely it deserves...
Wedding Food
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wedding food is one of the biggest costs on the big day but the sit-down three-course dinner is making way for food trucks and festival-style take-awa...
The Global Food System: Too Big to Fix?
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders met in Rome to fix the food system. Dan Saladino reports on what happened at the United Nations summit and looks at some of the big idea...
Medicinal mushrooms – magically good for our health?
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mushrooms like Chaga, Reishi, Lion’s Mane and Turkey Tail are popping up all over the place at the moment, in supplements, powders, and even coffee....
Feeding Your Brain: A Users Guide.
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino and psychologist Kimberley Wilson explore the latest science about food, mental health and boosting our brain power. Featuring Professor ...
UPF WTF?
23 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ultra-Processed Food makes up more than 50% of all calories consumed in the UK - but UPFs are being linked with obesity and disease, and there are cal...
Smoke, Fire and Flame: Trends v Tradition
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The practice of smoking is one of the world’s oldest food preservation methods, but which techniques are catching fire today, while other processes ...
Bread, Baking, War and Ukraine
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino hears from the bakers in Ukraine supplying fresh bread to the frontline, and journalist Felicity Spector travels across the country to vi...
The Wild Venison Project
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eighty six year old Fergie MacDonald remembers shooting Red deer as a nine year old boy. The Second World War was on and food was scarce in his home ...
Agritourism: Italian-inspired hospitality in the UK
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Italy is famous the world over for its delicious food and beautiful countryside. The two come together in the form of the agriturismo, a type of farm...
Learning to Eat Part 2 – How the French do it
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The diets of children in the UK are now mostly made up of ultra-processed food, so can we learn from the French in how they teach children healthy eat...
Learning to Eat Part 1 – Do Kids Need Special Food?
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon explores how food habits are formed in the early years, and how parents and nurseries are coping with a food environment full of unhealt...
Pavlov to Plant Breeding: Food Prizes that Changed the World.
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From Nobel winners to great innovators, Dan Saladino explores the history of prize-winning food ideas that changed the world, including researchers wh...
The Awards Return
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The BBC Food and Farming Awards are back for 2023 and now is the time to get nominating. This year the judging will be lead by former Masterchef winne...
Tech, TikTok and the Future of Food Writing
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Leyla Kazim examines the growing influence apps, maps and lists are having on restaurant recommendations, food writing and the way we eat. Leyla si...
Eating Wild
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can you eat like a hunter-gatherer in 21st Century Britain? Dan Saladino meets a group of people doing exactly that to see how their bodies change dur...
Coronation 2023 – How is Food Bringing us Together?
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As people around the country gather to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, Jaega Wise finds out how food is bringing communities together. J...
Conversations in cafes: all hail the greasy spoon
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Traditional cafes, greasy spoon cafes - have been a fixture of our highstreets for at least a century, providing sustenance for those looking for some...
The Good Friday Food Revolution
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joris Minne, Northern Ireland's most respected food critic, takes Jaega Wise on a culinary expedition to show how the politics of peace have helped re...
Weight-loss drugs
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is hacking our biology the only solution left to an unhealthy food system and bad food culture? Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Secret Supply Lines – Fruit & Veg Under the Radar
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon delves into the world of fresh produce wholesale markets – an unseen part of the food system which has provided a steady supply of fru...
A Pudding Celebration
02 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are we still a nation of pudding lovers and does pudding still matter? Join Sheila Dillon in her kitchen where she's joined by some of the UK's best p...
Glasgow: Seeking Asylum and Finding Refuge in Food
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Leyla Kazim and producer Robbie Armstrong explore the central role of food in building community, shaping identity and providing culturally appropriat...
Hospital Food: Agents of Change?
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hospital food has long had a bad reputation, but after several high profile campaigns, are things finally starting to improve?In England, new regulati...
A Food Rethink: Lessons from a Food Shortage
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From energy to seasonality, Dan Saladino explores the big ideas prompted by the recent shortage of fresh produce in supermarkets. Is the now time for ...
Halloumi and hellim: The story of an island and its cheese
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Halloumi, or hellim as its known by Turkish Cypriots, is now ubiquitous in our supermarkets, fast food chains and on restaurant menus. We import almos...
One Armed Chef: The Food Adventures of Giles Duley.
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The story of how a photojournalist severely injured in a war zone reinvented himself through cooking. Giles Duley is now using food to transform confl...
Delia Country: How Delia Smith changed food in Norfolk and Suffolk.
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon is on a trip through 'Delia Country'; Norwich, Norfolk and mid-Suffolk. An area with a rich agricultural past and a vibrant food present...
Low Energy Cookers: Fad or For Life?
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sales of air fryers, pressure cookers, slow cookers and even microwaves have been increasing over the past year, and it is not hard to understand why....
Pierre Koffmann: A Life Through Food
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Born and raised in Gascony but celebrated as a chef for his cooking in London, Pierre Koffmann shares his food story, from summers spent on a farm to ...
Brexit and Food: How is it working out?
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three years after the UK left the EU, and two years after the end of the transition period, Jaega Wise speaks to some UK food producers about if and h...
The Wild West of Whisky: From Cask Investments to Dram Scams
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Whisky has long been associated with money and wealth, but in recent years prices of rare casks and limited bottlings have soared. A cask of Islay whi...
Fixing Dan
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like so many of us, Dan Saladino knows he needs to be in better shape, but why do his attempts to make a change keep failing? There's one important qu...
Shellfish: A Very British Image Crisis
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When was the last time you tucked into cockle pie? Or stirred clams into a sumptuous pasta or stew? These bivalves are plentiful all around the UK coa...
Hangovers: a guide to the morning after
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For many, drinking is part of our national identity but the immediate after effects of alcohol, it turns out, are an under investigated part of the ex...
Food, Philosophy & Football: Christmas with Delia Smith
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In food, there are household names. And then, there is Delia Smith. So synonymous is she with cooking that her first name was included in the Collins ...
The Forgotten Foods of Christmas
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino and food historian Ivan Day rediscover lost flavours from Christmas past with a feast that features chestnuts from an Italian forest, a c...
The Food Books of 2022
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon and guests come together at Cherry Tree Library in Blackburn to discuss this year's best food books. From recipes and biographies, to fo...
Nutrition's Dark Matter: The New Science of Eating
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This year's winner of the Derek Cooper Lifetime Achievement award, scientist Professor Tim Spector explains the latest research into what, how and whe...
Fred Sirieix: A Life Through Food
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fred Sirieix, the French maître d’ joins Jaega Wise to share his ‘Life Through Food’ and passion for hospitality. It’s been a decade since Fr...
BBC Food and Farming Awards 2022: Second Course
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The winners of the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2022 are announced at a ceremony at the National Museum Cardiff.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced...
BBC Food and Farming Awards 2022: First Course
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The winners of the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2022 are announced at a ceremony at the National Museum Cardiff.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced...
Avoiding the Avocado?
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There's a growing anxiety around avocados. With more awareness of their impact on the countries where they are grown, some chefs have been reducing th...
Best Food Producer: Meet the Finalists of 2022
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon and chef Michael Caines meet the three Best Food Producer finalists of 2022, a community farm in Sussex, a business making cultured butt...
Wine in a Changing Climate
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As rising temperatures supercharge the UK wine industry, Jaega Wise finds out what this means for winegrowing at home and abroad, and the mixed blessi...
The Food Innovators
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino explore three big ideas that are set to influence the future of food and farming: the reinvention of wheat, supplies of wild meat into ho...
So You Want to Be a Bartender?
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the world of cocktails and the people who make them. As Jaega Wise discovers in this programme, it's a world of extremes. On one hand, in t...
Cost of Living Crisis: Food Donations
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As energy bills rise to their new capped level at the start of October, Leyla Kazim shares some inspiring stories of giving that she has heard while o...
Hospital food - a turning point?
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The quality of hospital food around the country remains a very mixed picture, despite various initiatives over the last decades. But now there is real...
Cooperation: the solution to a food crisis?
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The co-op that's saving land, a food culture and villages at risk of being abandoned. In Benevento, Italy, Lentamente is also giving former convicts a...
The Hairy Bikers: Full Throttle Food
11 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thirty years ago, Dave Myers, a specialist prosthetic make-up artist walked into a pub in Newcastle after scoring a job on a Catherine Cookson TV dram...
A Very British Restaurant Revolution – Jeremy Lee and the joy of ingredients that sing
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon hears the story of one of the most loved and admired chefs in the business, Jeremy Lee, and celebrates the joy of his simple ingredient-...
Cost of Living Crisis: The Food Factor
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The latest calculations from economists point to an inflation rate for average shopping baskets of just under 12 per cent, but as Dan Saladino hears f...
Feeding the Circus
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Meet the chef who ran away with the circus. Ols Halas is one of the longest-serving cast members at much-loved Gifford's Circus. As well as being head...
Fried Chicken: a story of race and identity
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the American Civil War to the present day, fried chicken has been used to create negative stereotypes of black people. These stereotypes and thi...
Reformulation – a fix for the obesity crisis?
07 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the UK poor diet is a worrying public health issue, and we rank one of the worst in Europe for levels of obesity, particularly among children. Refo...
Protein: power in powder?
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Protein supplements have been around for a long time but recently it feels like they made the jump from a niche product for gym enthusiasts to somethi...
Sandor Katz: Fermentation Journeys
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino talks with Sandor Katz about the diversity of fermentation around the world. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Michael Caines: A Life Through Food
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The award winning and inspirational chef tells his food story to Dan Saladino. One of his mentors, Raymond Blanc, explains why Michael is one of the b...
Mindful Food and the Art of Attention
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a world where our attention spans are getting shorter, where we are rewarded not for the attention we pay to others but the attention we receive –...
Bread: Why should we care more about it?
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What difference would it make if more people rejected cheap bread made using the Chorleywood Process, and moved to eating 'better' bread, i.e bread wi...
The Food Strategy: Is There One?
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino and Sheila Dillon dig deep into the details of the newly published Government Food Strategy.Produced by Dan Saladino.
Birmingham’s Food System Revolution
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The city of Birmingham is about to launch its own ambitious Food System Strategy. It’s vision is to create a bold, fair, sustainable and prosperous ...
Can we bring food diversity back to the table?
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Saladino meets people saving endangered foods and bringing diversity back to our diets. Groups of scientists, chefs and artists are now finding pi...
The BBC Food and Farming Awards return for 2022
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Dillon and judges Asma Khan and Michael Caines open nominations for the 2022 BBC Food & Farming Awards, which celebrate people across the U...