The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

Cooking is chemistry Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Why do we cook? To create flavour, to aid digestion and to release nutrients from our food.

Every time we fry, steam, boil, or bake a series of chemical reactions take place that are key to a dish’s success.

In this programme Ruth Alexander puts questions from the BBC World Service audience to Dr Stuart Farrimond in the UK, author of ‘The Science of Cooking’. Susannah and Aaron Rickard in Australia tell Ruth about the chemical reactions they discovered when researching their cookbook ‘Cooking with Alcohol’. And Krish Ashok in India, author of ‘Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking’, explains the science behind the culinary wisdom of your parents and grandparents.

If you’d like to contact the programme email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: two young girls wearing goggles and aprons conducting a science experiment. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

'Happy' cafes Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

Of the tens of millions of people around the world with autism or down syndrome, only a tiny fraction is in paid employment.

But cooking, making drinks and waiting tables is work where people with learning disabilities can shine.

John Laurenson takes us to a Café Joyeux (Happy Café) in Paris, one of a fast-growing chain of cafe-restaurants where most of the staff have autism or down syndrome and where the croque monsieur comes with a smile.

We also hear from a cafe in Mumbai launched by the mother whose daughter has autism and, in Turkey, the KFCs with a difference.

Find out how café work can transform the lives of employees and owners.

Presenter/Producer: John Laurenson

(Image: Louis, Laura, Anne-France and Arnaud. Credit: BBC)

Your taste is unique Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

Taste, it turns out, is not a matter of opinion. Scientists have discovered that your perception of taste is informed by your genetics.

When we eat or drink something, we may be having an entirely different experience to the person we’re sharing a meal with, or the chef who has prepared it, or the critic who has recommended it.

In this programme Ruth Alexander explores her likes and dislikes and how they might be informed by biology.

Ruth meets Laura Kent of the Yorkshire Wine School in the UK who helps her learn about her sensitivity to acidic and bitter flavours. Ruth speaks to Anne Fadiman, writer and Professor of creative writing at Yale University in the US, who dislikes wine, despite her wine critic father loving it. Danielle Reed, Chief Science Officer at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, US, explains the science. Tim Hanni, Master of Wine, and author of ‘Why You Like The Wine You Like’ argues that the wine industry is not paying enough attention to individual tastes. Where does this new science leave wine competitions? David Kermode, judge at the IWSC, International Wine and Spirits Competition, makes the case for the experts.

If you'd like to contact the programme, please contact thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.

Presented by Ruth Alexander. Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: three people tasting wine. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

How safe is the soil in our cities? Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

More of us are living in cities and urban farming is on the rise. Can you be sure the city soil you’re growing in is clean enough?

Industry and traffic can contaminate land, but there are ways to deal with the problem.

Ruth Alexander finds out how to test soil, how to clean it, and which fruit and vegetables are the safest to grow on former industrial and commercial sites.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: A garden trowel with some soil on it)

Producer: Hannah Bewley

Food double-acts: Couples Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

What’s it like spending 24 hours a day together? Ruth Alexander speaks to couples who run restaurants. She hears how they met, what they argue about and why being a couple might be good for business.

Ruth visits Andrea Follador and Jazz Navin at ‘The Perfect Match’ restaurant in Sale, in the North West of England. Jazz is the chef and Andrea is the sommelier, the two met working at Gordan Ramsay’s ‘The Savoy Grill’ in London. Ruth speaks to Francisco Araya and Fernanda Guerrero, chefs who have lived and worked together in their native Chile, China, and now Singapore where they run fine dining ‘Araya’ restaurant. Rita Sodi and wife Jody Williams ran a restaurant each, and then decided to open one together, 'Via Carota' in New York, United States. Today they run five bars and restaurants together in the city.

If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: Andrea Follador and Jazz Navin who run ‘The Perfect Match’ restaurant together in North West England. Credit: BBC)

The bakers Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

In a world where ingredients cost more due to war and inflation how is easy is it to make and sell our daily bread?

Ruth Alexander speaks to three bakers about how they started in the industry, the highs and lows and economic pressures in their part of the world.

Alex Oke is the owner of XO Boutique Bakery in Lagos, Nigeria, Tracey Muzzolini is the owner of Christies Mayfair Bakery in Saskatoon, Canada and Samer Chamoun is the owner of The Lebanese Bakery, a chain of 12 branches including Beirut, Cairo and London.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Rumella Dasgupta.

(Image: Alex Oke holding a loaf of Nigerian agege bread and Tracey Muzzolini holding a loaf of sourdough bread. Credit: Donna Martins/Chelsea Walton/BBC)

Taking weight-loss drugs Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Ruth Alexander speaks to patients about their experiences of weight-loss drugs.

The new class of drugs impact appetite, making you feel full sooner, and slowing the rate at which your stomach empties. Known as GLP-1 medications, studies suggest that patients can lose 10% or even up to 25% of their body weight depending on which drug they use. For many who have struggled with obesity and obesity related disease the drugs have the potential to transform their health.

However some patients have struggled with the side effects of the drugs and the manufacturers’ own studies indicate that if people stopping taking them, much of the weight lost is regained, making them drugs for life for some.

Ruth Alexander speaks to Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine, Naveed Sattar, at Glasgow University who is Chair of the UK government’s obesity mission. He explains how these drugs work and the potentials costs and savings for the National Health Service, or NHS. Adrienne Bitar, historian at Cornell University in New York, is the author of ‘Diet and the Disease of Civilization’, a study of diet books of the 20th century. She explains the ideas diet culture is built on. And Ruth asks Gary Foster, Chief Scientific Officer at WeightWatchers, what these weight-loss drugs will mean for the multi-billion-dollar diet industry.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

Image: Michelle Herum in Denmark who currently uses a weight loss drug. Credit: Hanne Juul/BBC)

Eating in the heat May 29, 2024

Show notes

Devina Gupta takes a food tour of her home city of Delhi to see how people are adapting to rising summer temperatures.

In May this year the city saw a record temperature of almost 50C, and knowing what to eat in such heat can be a challenge.

The changing climate is sparking innovative recipes in restaurant kitchens and bringing traditional practices back to people’s kitchens.

Devina tries old favourites at street markets, a modern twist on a classic drink at a high end restaurant and is (almost) convinced that a vegetable she has hated since childhood might work wonders in the heat.

She hears from public health expert Dr Samar Husayn about why the cold, sweet treats you might reach for on a hot day aren’t always the best.

And she sees the difference between how those who have air-conditioned homes and those who don’t are coping.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Image: A bowl of gourd dip with restaurant workers in the heat in the background. Credit: BBC)

The burrito story May 22, 2024

Show notes

Ruth Alexander explores the origins and evolution of the humble grab-and-go food the burrito, which started life in northern Mexico, before crossing over into the US and becoming a hit around the world.

Versions of the spicy wrap can be enjoyed in restaurants, street food shacks and supermarket home meal kits all over the world.

We explore the burrito’s contested origins, find out why some Mexican food purists dislike the popular menu item and ask what the future holds for it, and the cuisine more broadly.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: a burrito in a restaurant in Juarez, Mexico. Credit: Vianey Alderete Contreras/BBC)

Presented by Ruth Alexander. Produced by Sam Clack. Additional reporting by Vianey Alderete Contreras in Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, United States.

Can beef be carbon neutral? May 15, 2024

Show notes

Cows emit greenhouse gases when they eat, which contributes to global warming. But is it possible to produce meat in a climate-friendly way?

Grace Livingstone visits a carbon neutral certified ranch in Uruguay, where farm manager Sebastian Olaso shows her around. She also meets Javier Secadas, a small farmer who raises cattle on natural grasslands, and agronomist Ignacio Paparamborda, from the University of the Republic in Montevideo.

Grace hears from Pete Smith, Professor of Soils and Global Change at the University of Aberdeen, and Dominik Wisser, Livestock Policy Officer, from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.

She tries to find out if it is possible to produce meat in a way that is both good for nature and the climate. Or whether we need to stop eating meat to cut emissions.

Presenter/Producer: Grace Livingstone (Image: Cows grazing in Uruguay. Credit: Getty Images)

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