The Food Programme

An Archive for Food

05 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the British Library there is an archive of life story sound recordings which tells the true story of how our food has changed over the past century...

Diana Henry: A Life Through Food (Part 2)

24 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Food writer Diana Henry has just collected a James Beard Award in America for her latest book 'A Bird in the Hand'. Straight from the plane she joined...

Best Food Producer: The Winner

13 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of a road trip which took BBC Food & Farming Awards judges Yotam Ottolenghi and Sheila Dillon from the Outer Hebrides, to Cheshire's past...

Best Food Producer: The Finalists

06 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sheila Dillon meet BBC Food and Farming Awards's best food producers.

BBC Food and Farming Awards 2016: Special Edition

05 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon presents the 2016 BBC Food & Farming Awards in this extended online special.At the ceremony in Bristol, Sheila and three co-hosts - ...

Bristol - A story of a city through its food

24 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon and Genevive Taylor explore why Bristol has such a strong food scene.

Food in Extreme Places: Space (3/3)

18 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Food in the most extreme cooking environment, space. Dan Saladino tries menus for Mars.

Food in Extreme Places: The Submarine (2/3)

11 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our series of programmes on cooking and eating in challenging conditions in remote places: The Royal Navy's submarines make their own air a...

Food in Extreme Places: Antarctica (1/3)

03 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Across all of the world, weather doesn't get more extreme than the Antarctic winter. The continent is plunged into 24 hour darkness from from March to...

Food Is Mad - The Update

24 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

From the guerilla gardener Ron Finley in South Central LA fighting the law to grow vegetables to the project training children in Brazilian favelas to...

The Pizza

21 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino charts the rise, fall and rise of traditional Neapolitan pizza. He's joined by Daniel Young whose "Where to Eat Pizza" lists 1700 great p...

Ferment

14 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Fermentation is one of our oldest methods for preserving food. All around the world people have been transforming food with the help of microbes for t...

BBC Food and Farming Awards 2016: The Finalists

14 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon unveils the list of this year's BBC Food & Farming Awards finalists.Presenter: Sheila Dillon Producer: Rich Ward.

The Sake Revelation

07 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If your experience of sake has been limited to simply 'a hot cup of alcohol after a meal' like Sheila Dillon it's time to listen without prejudice. Wi...

Feeding India

29 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino explores the fierce debate over how 1.2bn people will be fed in the future.

First Bite

15 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In her new book, First Bite - How We Learn To Eat, Bee Wilson takes a deep and reflective look at how food choices and habits are shaped, and how they...

Eating to Run: Part 2

11 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ultra-marathon champ and vegan Scott Jurek tells Dan Saladino how to eat and run 100 miles. Fermented food and Paleo diets are also put to the test in...

Newcastle: The Story of a City through Its Food

04 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino meets the people working to improve the food future of Newcastle.

Cardiff: The Story of a City through Its Food

25 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Cardiff, Croeso i Caerdydd. The capital of Wales and the fastest growing urban population in the UK. For centuries, people have come to the...

Leeds: The Story of a City Through Its Food

17 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When the Food Programme went to Leeds to cover its growing food and drink scene many areas of the city had recently been flooded. At the time communit...

2016 Food and Farming Awards Launch

10 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon reveals this year's team of judges, and launches the 2016 BBC Food and Farming Awards. Sheila will be catching up with some of last year...

Eating to Run: Part 1

04 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How important is diet to running performance? It's a question Food Programme listener and runner Nicole Marais wanted answers too and so she emailed t...

Yotam Ottolenghi: A Life Through Food

28 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Food writer, chef, restaurateur, philosopher...?Since 'Ottolenghi: the cookbook' was published in 2008, Yotam Ottolenghi has become one of the UK's mo...

No Mere Trifle

20 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For some, trifle is an essential part of Christmas - a star centrepiece at the dinner table. For others its a reminder of 70s food hell - soggy sponge...

Juliet Harbutt: A Life Through Food

15 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As she readies herself for an imminent move back to her native New Zealand after three decades in the UK, Juliet Harbutt, cheese educator and campaign...

Food Museums

06 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

If you were to create a museum telling the story of food and drink what would you say or put on display? What about interactivity - tastes and smells?...

Cookbooks of 2015

01 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon and guests reflect on a year of cookery and food books.Sheila is joined in the studio by Bee Wilson, historian and food writer who's abo...

Chinatowns

23 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly every major city in the world has one- a district where Chinese immigrants have settled to live, work and eat. This week Dan Saladino takes you...

Scotch Egg! Scotch Egg!

15 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Scotch eggs may conjure memories of Summer picnics, school dinners or even Alan Partridge but the humble bar snack has been elevated to a culinary can...

Trish Deseine Goes Home

08 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Trish Deseine may not be a household name in the UK. But in France, the home of gastronomy, her 12 cookbooks, all written in French, have sold hundred...

The Pear

25 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, a disappointing experience with an unripe or tasteless pear has coloured our opinion of what was once thought of as a superior fruit: ...

A Milk Appreciation

18 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

When was the last time you drank a simple glass of milk? Perhaps you view it more as an ingredient for cooking or to splash in your tea rather than a ...

How Did the Chicken Cross the World?

12 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As a race, we humans owe a fair amount to the chicken. Throughout time it has been a religious deity, a medicine source as well as being a food. It's ...

Bitterness

05 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino hunts down that flavour we call 'bitter', and asks if bitterness is disappearing from our food and drink - and why this matters.Bitter ta...

Food Stories from Syria 1

27 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The continuing conflict in Syria has caused millions of people to flee the country. Images of men, women and children living in camps, walking vast di...

The Ark of Taste: The Story so Far

23 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This is a race against time. Earlier this year The Food Programme set out to record stories of foods around the world facing extinction, a project tha...

Jam Tomorrow... Today

15 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jam. Think sticky apricot and saccharine strawberry? Think again. Our British love affair with jam goes back to the sweet-toothed 17th century. But no...

Libera Terra: Sicily's Anti-Mafia Farms

07 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino finds out how farms confiscated from Sicily's mafia are providing food and wine, helping to fight crime and providing a future for a new ...

My Food Hero: Ella McSweeney Meets Wendell Berry

01 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Wendell Berry has been described as 'An American Hero' but his work and teaching have inspired and influenced leaders, writers and campaigners around ...

My Food Hero: Dan Saladino meets Mary Taylor-Simeti

01 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino retraces his Sicilian food roots and goes in search of a great expert on the island's cuisine, Mary Taylor Simeti. She left America in th...

My Food Hero: Sheila Dillon meets writer and campaigner Susan George

17 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of a special series of food heroes, Sheila Dillon meets one of the most influential writers on international hunger and social justice i...

My Food Hero: Tim Hayward meets Len Deighton

11 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Hayward meets the man who changed the whole way he approached food. Someone who inspired Tim, and many others, to look at food and the techniques ...

Going Pop

03 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Staying sober on a night out can be a limiting experience with the soft drinks choice on offer in many places. But with an increasing number of 16-24 ...

Bread for Scotland

27 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Scotland has a problem with food. For all the salmon, whisky and summer berries celebrated in this year of Scottish Food & Drink, the Government s...

Fast Food Workers

20 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

With a new "living wage" announced Sheila Dillon explores the world of fast food workers. In the U.S. a campaign over low pay, started in 2012, has no...

New Wine Generation

13 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

There's a revolution happening in the world of wine. While tradition once dictated the way things were done, a new generation of wine drinkers are sha...

Feeding the Commons - Part II: Lunch to Lights Out

06 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Lunch to Lights outThe Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most his...

Feeding the Commons - Part I: Breakfast to Brunch

29 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Breakfast to Brunch. The Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most h...

Fantastic Fiction and Fabulous Feasts

22 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Close your eyes and think for a moment about the books you read as a child and those that talked about food. A vivid description of a flavour can spar...

Simon Hopkinson: A Life Through Food - Part 2

15 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Cook and writer Simon Hopkinson was at the height of his powers in the kitchen of Bibendum in London in the early 1990s, but he'd walk away from profe...

Simon Hopkinson: A Life Through Food - Part 1

15 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Cook and food writer Simon Hopkinson shares his culinary life story with Sheila Dillon. In a food career spanning four decades he's been an influentia...

Barbecue

11 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

From the 'slow and low' tradition of the American south to the village of Llantwit Major in South Wales, Dan Saladino explores the revival of one of t...

Rick Stein - A Life Through Food (Part 2)

08 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In this second part of a two-programme special, Rick Stein continues in conversation with Sheila Dillon talking about how he was discovered for TV by ...

Salt, Pepper... and Seaweed?

26 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Highly regarded for its health benefits, people living by the shore have been eating seaweed for millennia. In Ireland, it was part of a prehistoric d...

The Spice Explosion

17 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This is more than a story about chicken tikka masala. The UK's palette is changing with a demand for far more spice and pizzazz in our menus and larde...

Jane Grigson - A Tribute: Part One

11 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Grigson was a unique and pioneering voice in food writing; a self-taught cook whose books and journalism changed British food culture. Twenty-fiv...

The Legacy of the BBC Food and Farming Awards

04 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon reports on how 15 years of the BBC Food and Farming Awards have captured the revolution in the streetfood business, witnessed the rise o...

Diet and Diabetes

04 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In the UK, there are 3.2 million people who are living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and a further 600,000 who have Type 2 but just don't know it ye...

School Dinners - A Progress Report

20 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Ten years on from 'Jamie's School Dinners', Sheila Dillon is joined by children's food campaigner and former dinner lady Jeanette Orrey and Co-Author ...

The Ark of Taste

14 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino meets the people working to save foods and flavours at risk of extinction. A global project called the Ark of Taste is now attempting to ...

The Joy of Eggs

05 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We were once told 'Go to work on an egg' but health warnings later saw us cut the number we eat. As the US Dietary Advisory Committee drops its advice...

Sweet Britain

29 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The nutritional debate over sugar doesn't seem to be putting off a new generation of sweet makers in this country. Sweets sales seem stable, and new t...

Food Waste Pioneers

22 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino hears three stories of how three very different individuals are reimagining food waste - solving problems, discovering flavours, and chan...

BBC Food and Farming Awards 2015: The Finalists

15 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In a special edition Sheila Dillon reveals the finalists for this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards.At the beginning of the year Radio 4 listeners we...

Reconsider the Oyster!

10 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Oysters are receiving renewed attention around the world, with new ideas for producing more, and eating more. Dan Saladino finds out what's driving th...

The 'Clean Label' Question

01 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

For over a decade consumers have become finely attuned to E-numbers, flavourings, colourings and additives in our food. Food manufacturers have change...

The Clink - Revisited

22 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila goes behind bars to visit the most popular restaurant in Cardiff, The Clink, which is run by prisoners. Ten years ago Al Crisci was a winner at...

The Secret Formula

20 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

With one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe, many parents in the UK feed their babies formula milk. But what's actually in it? Sheila Dillon ...

Soup and the British

15 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

From a hearty warming bowl of chunky soup on a frosty Winter's day to the smooth comfort of home-made chicken soup when you're ill, the British, it se...

How Britain fell in love with the microwave

09 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In a recent survey, the microwave was voted the kitchen gadget that people couldn't live without. 83% of all households in the UK have a microwave, ye...

Christmas, food and being far from home

02 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

As we prepare to tuck into our festive family meal, Sheila Dillon uncovers the food stories of those who won't be home for Christmas with the help of ...

The Grain Divide

01 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Wheat has, since the dawn of agriculture, been especially treasured amongst all of the food crops, and is now the most widely cultivated food plant on...

The Future of Food Markets

18 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Food markets have been the heart of our towns and cities for thousands of years. Now, with financial pressure on local authorities, and growing compet...

2015 Food and Farming Awards Launch

11 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon unveils a new team of judges for the 2015 BBC Food and Farming Awards, including Giorgio Locatelli, Diana Henry and Cyrus Todiwala.Sheil...

Your food science questions for Harold McGee

04 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon is joined by Harold McGee to answer your food science questions.Harold McGee is fascinated by what we are actually doing to our food whe...

Redemption through Food

28 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Redemption through food. Sheila Dillon brings you her selection of inspirational stories from The Food Programme in 2014.Ken Hom tells Sheila how food...

Feeding Britain

14 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Feeding Britain - The story of one shop in South Yorkshire which is changing the way we think about food waste and food poverty. A year ago the Commun...

Cookbooks of 2014

07 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

A review of cookbooks and food writing of 2014. Sheila Dillon is joined to discuss the year in books by Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly...

A Bronx Food Tale

30 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

New York's south Bronx is still one of the city's most deprived areas; low incomes, unemployment and health problems abound. In the 1970's it captured...

Get Ahead Treats for Christmas

24 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon invites Diana Henry to provide a guide to an Eastern Christmas. With experts Bee Wilson and Sally Butcher on hand, Diana looks at 'get a...

Terra Madre

16 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Food stories from across the world. Dan Saladino travels to Terra Madre 2014 in Turin. It is a global movement of farmers and food producers which att...

Mushrooms

10 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

From the king oyster to the not-so-humble button, Dan Saladino discovers a world of mushrooms, grown for food - and follows the spores to reveal the s...

Tom Jaine

02 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon talks to the publisher, writer and restaurateur Tom Jaine about his life. From his early days at 'The Hole in the Wall' in Bath to custo...

Women in the Kitchen

26 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon looks at the state of play for female chefs in the professional kitchen. She talks to Alice Waters, Sally Clarke, Margot Henderson and M...

A Life through Food: Harold McGee

21 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Harold McGee, the man who helped explain the science of the kitchen, tells his food story. His book, published in 1984, On Food and Cooking, has influ...

In a Stew about Rabbits

19 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Sheila Dillon discovers the delights of eating rabbit meat, but also why some people think it is unjustifiable.Dil Peeling from Compassion in World Fa...

Mouthwatering Mutton

05 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Mutton tastier than lamb - why we should all demand to eat older meat. Dan Saladino uncovers the mystery of why we no longer eat mutton, despite it be...

Bees and the City - the Urban Honey Story

28 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

As bee populations fall, Sheila Dillon asks if some salvation may be found in the mean streets of our cities. With a report from New York where bee ke...

Food Is MAD

22 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

From a lesson in "guerrilla gardening" by LA's Ron Finley to Mastering the Art of Soviet cooking with food writer Anya Von Bremzen, Dan Saladino repor...

Ethiopian Teff - An Ancient Grain

16 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Teff has been grown in Ethiopia for Millennia. Traditionally, it's ground, milled, mixed with water and fermented for days to make the sour staple fla...

A Taste of Britain Revisited - Yorkshire

07 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Saladino revisits Yorkshire food traditions which were captured on film in 1974 by Derek Cooper, previous presenter of The Food Programme. From Yo...

A Taste of Britain Revisited - Wales

31 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

In 1974, Derek Cooper set off on a hunt - for BBC Television - around Britain to discover what was left of its regional foods and traditional ingredie...

A Taste of Britain Revisited - Dorset

26 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

In 1974, Derek Cooper set off on a hunt - for BBC Television - around Britain to discover what was left of its regional foods and traditional ingredie...

Eat for Victory

17 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Eat for Victory - Sheila Dillon meets the people who are using the techniques of WWII rationing to improve their diet today. Clare Millar likes to dre...

Growing Veg, Not Drugs

10 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Growing salad leaves is changing the lives of former drug addicts in Bristol. Sheila Dillon visits The Severn Project run by Steve Glover. Steve emplo...

Problems with Poultry?

04 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Is the poultry industry fit for purpose? As our consumption of chicken increases and UK poultry production intensifies, Dan Saladino looks at the mode...

English Wine

27 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

English and Welsh wines are on the up and up, as Sheila Dillon investigates.Wine production is well known as a risky investment, not least because it ...

Salad leaves

20 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

It's boom time in the world of lettuce and salad leaves. More leafy greens were sold in the UK last year than ever before, and that upward trend looks...

Food in Opera

13 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Food in Opera. Sheila Dillon hears the story of food told through 400 years of music history. Gluttonous composers, cuisine centred plotlines and sing...

Food and the Curriculum

06 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Stefan Gates talks to teachers, kids and cooks about food and the curriculum, ahead of the changes that come into force from September. Stefan asks ho...