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PODCAST

The Food Chain

BBC World Service

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

arts food

All Episodes

27:55

Bringing dark kitchens into the light

The Food Chain ·

2023/03/29

Dark kitchens are the multi-block commercial units allowing virtual brands and events companies to prepare and deliver food. They’ve got a mysterious reputation, sometimes also called ghost kitchens, so The Food Chain wanted to see how they have expanded since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this episode, presenter Rick Kelsey speaks to chefs who buy a place in them, and to the owners who build them. Gini and Eccie Newton run Karma Kitchen, one of the fastest growing dark kitchens in Europe

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27:02

What do medics really eat?

The Food Chain ·

2023/03/23

Long days, unsociable hours, a hectic and pressurised workload – the working environment for health care staff is full of challenges. Maintaining a healthy diet in those conditions is tough. Two shift workers talk honestly about what they eat on the job, and get advice from a dietician. Ruth Alexander speaks to Scott Christmas, who’s on his eighth year of overnight shifts, to Tom Gibbons, a paramedic, and to Dr Linia Patel, dietician and performance nutritionist. If you would like to get in touch

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27:11

How to photograph food

The Food Chain ·

2023/03/16

Anyone who has taken a photo of their plate in a restaurant knows how hard it is to make food look good on camera. An industry is dedicated to advertising food products on TV, online and in print. What does it take to make a burger look delicious, desirable and realistic? And, most importantly, is any of the food in adverts real? In this programme, Ruth Alexander meets a food stylist, a food photographer, and a director of food commercials, who share their industry’s tips and tricks. She’s joined

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31:19

A taste of home

The Food Chain ·

2023/03/09

Facing the trauma of having to abandon your home because of war or climate change, how do you find solace in food that is no longer your own? There are 10 million registered refugees in the world – probably many more - who are living this reality. In this episode, Ruth Alexander speaks to two families – one Afghan, one Ukrainian - who know what it’s like to lose their food; and to Allison Oman Lawi, deputy director of nutrition at the World Food Programme. If you would like to get in touch with the

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32:29

The joy of feeding birds

The Food Chain ·

2023/03/02

Humans have been accidentally feeding wild birds for millennia; any leftover food scraps to be scooped up by opportunistic, feathered friends. The deliberate feeding of birds, however - placing seeds out on a feeder in the garden, taking crumbs to a nearby park or lake – is a more recent, cultural phenomenon. In some countries, it has deep significance and one of the most popular ways humans interact with wild animals – and it’s big business. In other places, it’s practically unheard of. So, why

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28:05

Feeding the VIPs

The Food Chain ·

2023/02/23

How do you make Michelin Star-level food, for hundreds of people, in a kitchen you just built in someone’s garden, and with no access to cooking gas? That’s just a typical scenario facing chefs in the world of high end mass catering. In this episode, we hear from John Downey, the Catering Manager at the Web Summit tech conference, on the pressures of feeding high profile figures, and VIPs who've spent $26,000 on a ticket. We also hear from Matt and Ted Lee, authors of the book Hot Box: Inside

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31:29

The growth of food banks in Africa

The Food Chain ·

2023/02/16

Food banks have operated for decades in North America and Europe. They are generally operated as non profits, connecting food businesses that have waste with individuals, families and charities that need food. In 2006 there was just one African food bank in Egypt. A second opened in South Africa in 2009. Today there are around twenty five across the continent. In this programme we look at how African countries have adapted food banks to their needs, and hear how they address criticisms that the

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33:54

What's the best pasta shape?

The Food Chain ·

2023/02/09

Spaghetti, penne, farfalle, gnocchi, lasagna – just a few of the 300-plus shapes of pasta in existence. And there are some very strong opinions about them. This Italian staple is one of the world’s most popular foods and one of the most versatile. In this programme, Ruth Alexander delves into the history, culture and passions of pasta-making to ask a controversial question – what is the best pasta shape? She speaks to restaurateur Elisa Cavigliasso and chef Giulia Martinelli, from The Pasta

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28:46

What's the big deal about fine dining?

The Food Chain ·

2023/02/02

Noma – considered by some to be the ‘world’s best restaurant’ - has announced it will close in 2024. The news has prompted headlines around the world and a renewed discussion about the culture of fine dining, and whether it is sustainable as a business model. In this programme, Ruth Alexander asks ‘what’s the big deal about fine dining?’. Is it an industry that exists only for the very wealthy, or do its innovations and trends affect how we all eat? Ruth is joined by Pete Wells, restaurant critic

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30:54

Why can’t my child swallow?

The Food Chain ·

2023/01/26

To feed a child is fundamental to a parent, it’s instinct. But what if your baby can’t swallow?After receiving lots of emails to a programme we made on dysphagia – or swallowing difficulties – we were asked to explore the condition as it affects children.In this edition, Ruth Alexander speaks to parents Kelly Rose, in the UK, and Melanie and Sean Hoffman in Canada, about how they manage their children's conditions and their relationship with food; and to a doctor, Professor Hamdy El-Hakim, who is on

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29:35

The ghost writers

The Food Chain ·

2023/01/19

Who wrote the cook books on your kitchen shelves? For many celebrity chefs, a cook book, or several, is an obvious way to extend their brand. But if they don’t have the time or the skills to write one, they may hire a ghost writer or co-author to work with them. It’s not just writing, the work can involve project management, recipe testing, meeting deadlines and handling some big egos. Sometimes writers are credited on the cover of the book, sometimes in the introduction, sometimes not at all. In

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29:16

The opera singer's diet

The Food Chain ·

2023/01/12

Opera is viewed as something of an endurance sport in the musical world. Hours spent on stage, in costume, doing a very physical job far away from home comforts can take its toll on the body if it’s not adequately fuelled. As Ruth Alexander discovers in this programme, diet is of paramount importance to a professional singer. Sopranos Rachel Nicholls and Lucy Schaufer, and Fred Plotkin - opera and food writer and friend of Luciano Pavarotti – share the secrets of the relationship between singing

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27:34

Chefs who changed course

The Food Chain ·

2023/01/05

Working as a chef can be creative and rewarding when people love your food, but it can also be demanding, requiring long and antisocial hours. In this programme we hear about the highs and lows of working in some of the world’s best kitchens, and why it ultimately isn’t right for everyone. Ruth Alexander speaks to three chefs who chose to leave the profession. Former head chef Philip Barantini in the UK is now a TV and film director, his film Boiling Point, released in 2021 is about a chef

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27:40

Cooking with love

The Food Chain ·

2022/12/29

Why hold on to an old clay pot, a worn-out metal spoon, or a plain glass bowl? Earlier this year, we made a programme celebrating old and cherished cookware and received a huge response from World Service listeners. So, in this edition, Ruth Alexander hears your stories of the poignance that can be found in the most unassuming kitchen utensil, and explores a few other tales we’ve uncovered of cooking with love. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email:

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31:04

A Ukrainian table at Christmas

The Food Chain ·

2022/12/22

Ukrainian cookbook writer Olia Hercules reflects on why it's important to mark this festive season, and the traditional dishes she’ll be serving at the Christmas table in London this year. Ruth Alexander speaks to Olia and her Russian born friend and fellow food writer, Alissa Timoshkina, to discuss how these food traditions have developed and how relatives and friends will be marking Christmas in the war-torn country, ten months on from Russia’s invasion. Ruth also sits down with a Ukrainian

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29:30

Hard to swallow

The Food Chain ·

2022/12/15

Can you imagine what you would miss if you lost the ability to eat? Swallowing is something most of us take for granted, but around 8% of the general population are believed to experience some difficulty swallowing – known as dysphagia. In this programme, Ruth Alexander talks to one of the estimated hundreds of millions of people who have struggled with swallowing food and drink, and to those who are trying to make the condition better understood. She speaks to California-based Sonia Blue, who lost

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27:22

Why does Africa import a lot of food?

The Food Chain ·

2022/12/08

2022 has seen record food prices. Many African countries have been badly hit because they import their staples – wheat, rice and oil. A lack of infrastructure and capacity in some countries means that food grown in Africa is often not processed into packaged food products, instead those items are imported from outside of the continent. In this programme we speak to two women who run food businesses in Zambia and Ghana, to talk about the impact of rising food costs, and whether this year’s food

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26:59

Eggonomics

The Food Chain ·

2022/12/01

Eggs – a nutritious and affordable source of protein. Or they were. The cost of a box of eggs has been rocketing around the world. And in some places, where it’s long been common to start the day on an egg – supplies are under pressure. In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores the challenges egg producers are facing - including what can be done about the seemingly ever-present threat of avian influenza. She speaks to Amanda Mdodana, a poultry farmer in Mpumalanga, South Africa; Phillip Crawley, a

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28:34

Samuel Ikua: Global Youth Champion 2022

The Food Chain ·

2022/11/24

Samuel Ikua is championing urban farming in his city, Nairobi in Kenya. Samuel undertook an urban farming course in 2015, run by a local NGO called the Mazingira Institute. Seven years later Samuel is the project coordinator at the institute, training other members of his community in urban farming skills. In this programme Ruth Alexander hears about the challenges Samuel faces, a lack of space and land, and local attitudes to farming in a big city. Samuel’s commitment to food security in Nairobi

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27:38

Food as rehabilitation

The Food Chain ·

2022/11/17

Food behind bars is not intended to be a Michelin-starred affair. But prison food reformers claim some of it is so bad that it could be hampering the rehabilitation of inmates. Nutritious and tasty meals, they argue, can improve the physical and mental health of those serving prison sentences and therefore cut reoffending rates. And food skills; like cookery, baking and farming, could help in the rehabilitation process too. In this programme, Ruth Alexander speaks to three people with detailed

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