The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

Can you eat your way to 100? Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

What if you could reach a great age through your dietary choices? Imagine – that the food you eat has a direct effect on how long you live. An appealing concept, but can it be backed up by research?

In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores the dietary habits of centenarians, to find out if there are any similarities in what they eat and whether their diets have had a bearing on their longevity.

She speaks to 100-year-old Betty Webb, to find out how much food has played a role in reaching a century, and discovers more about “Blue Zones” – geographical areas where some researchers claim people live longer than average lifespans.

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

(Picture: An older woman holding a slice of watermelon. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Bonnie Garmus: My life in five dishes Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

Bonnie Garmus, author of the bestselling novel Lessons in Chemistry, shares the story of her life through five dishes.

Ruth Alexander meets Bonnie in her London home, to talk about the food influences in her debut novel about a female chemist turned TV cookery show host in the 1950s and 60s.

She’ll hear about Bonnie’s childhood growing up in California, her own personal experiences of sexism in the workplace, the adoption of her Chinese daughters and her relationship with her husband David.

Bonnie will bake a dish that features in her novel, ‘desperation brownies’.

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: Bonnie Garmus in her London home with a brownie that she has baked. Credit: BBC)

What's in a national dish? Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

Many dishes have become famous national symbols both at home and abroad, for example Italian pizza, or British fish and chips.

Whilst such dishes can create a sense of unity and identity, they can also be used to fuel nationalism, or to push a political agenda.

In this edition of The Food Chain, Izzy Greenfield hears the stories behind some of the most famous national foods, some based more on myth or marketing than historical fact.

She speaks to Anya Von Bremzen, author of 'National Dish', in which Anya investigates the origins of foods such as Italian pizza, Japanese noodles, Spanish tapas and Mexican tortillas. The Secretary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO, Tim Curtis, explains why some dishes are recognised for the community practices that surround them. Andrew Crook, President of the National Federation of Fish Fryers in the UK, and food historian Professor Panikos Panayi from DeMontfort University in Leicester, England, explain the complex history behind fish and chips.

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

Presented by Izzy Greenfield. Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image:takeaway fish and chips with a union jack flag on a cocktail stick. Credit: BBC)

The taste test Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

Consumers have the buying power but how much are they considered when a brand decides to make a change?

In this edition of The Food Chain Ruth Alexander takes a look at what goes into developing some of the products we know and love.

We travel to the northwest of England to a consumer taste testing facility, Wirral Sensory Services. Such businesses would have been few and far between just decades ago but now they’re a big part of the research process when brands look to launch new products or make changes to existing ones.

Consumer expert Dr Sara Jaeger tells us about the benefits and the limitations of these tests and business consultant Samuel West talks us through some of the most well know failures in food.

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

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producer: Hannah Mullane

(Image: a woman blindfolded, sat in front of a pizza. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

The art of food diplomacy Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

As India welcomes the world’s biggest economies for the G20 meeting this September, we look at the role that food might play in top level discussions.

Food diplomacy is increasingly seen as a form of ‘soft power’ that can help build bridges and find common ground.

In this programme Devina Gupta speaks to chef Arun Sundaraj, who is leading the catering teams at the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi which is hosting many of the G20 delegates. She visits the Colombian embassy in London to hear from the country’s ambassador about the role food played during vital peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC. Devina also travels to Glasgow in Scotland to share a plate of haggis with Scotland’s national chef, Gary Maclean and Lauren Bernstein, founder and CEO of The Culinary Diplomacy Project in the United States, explains why governments are looking to hire culinary experts to aid in diplomacy.

Presented by Devina Gupta.

Produced by Rumella Dasgupta.

(Image: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden raise two wine glasses in a toast. Credit: Getty Images/ The Washington Post/ BBC).

Feeding baby Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

Weaning refers to the process of introducing your baby to solid foods, alongside breast milk or formula. In the UK, the NHS suggests this normally happens at around six months old.

In this programme Rick Kelsey starts the weaning journey with his baby boy Albie, and finds out about some of the different approaches including ‘spoon fed’ and ‘baby led’ weaning. He also gets advice on how to deal with allergies and choking.

Rick Kelsey is joined by Katie Shelton from ‘Scrummy Tummies’, Dr Sarika Kapoor who posts online as ‘The Weaning GP’, and Rachel Childs, nutritionist at First Steps Nutrition Trust, a public health charity in the UK.

Produced and presented by Rick Kelsey.

You can contact the programme by emailing thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Image: a baby being spoon fed, with food around its mouth. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

This edition was updated on 02/10/2023.

Stop chewing like that! Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Imagine not being able to sit and eat at the dinner table with your family without feeling furious.

The little-known condition of Misophonia, often called “sound rage”, is a lower tolerance to certain sounds. Although sufferers can react to several types of repetitive noises, many are particularly triggered by eating sounds.

Misophonia has not been classified as a clinical disorder, and there have only been a few studies into it, which means many doctors have never heard of the condition.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander meets three people with Misophonia who are trying to raise awareness: Dr Jane Gregory, a doctoral research fellow at Oxford University; Adeel Ahmad, the host of a misophonia-themed podcast in the US, and Olana Tansley-Hancock, a clinical researcher based in the UK.

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

(Image: Young man and woman next to each other, woman biting into apple. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Produced by Julia Paul

Banh mi: A sandwich with a story Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

The banh mi is a staple street food in Vietnam and increasingly popular around the world. But how did it come to be a global sensation?

In this edition of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander discovers how the signature sandwich - invented during the French occupation of Vietnam in the 1950s - went on to become popular around the world after the end of the Vietnam war.

Ruth explores the traces of French history and politics found in the sandwich ingredients with former French diplomat to Vietnam Dr Bertrand Hartingh; and she discovers how it’s made at Manchester restaurant, Pho Cue.

And as Dr Quan Tran of Yale University explains, it's a tale of ingenuity, adaptation and family love.

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

(Picture: A banh mi sandwich)

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producers: Sam Clack and Rumella Dasgupta

The Little Italy story Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

Italian food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, but how did it first make its way out of Italy?

In this edition of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander uncovers stories of migration, food culture and legacy in the Italian diaspora.

Academic Donna Gabaccia explains why millions of Italians left their home country in the 1800s, creating new communities around the world that came to be known as ‘Little Italy’.

Ruth visits one of them, in London’s Clerkenwell, to discover its history and how a delicatessen founded in the late 1800s – still busy today – sparked a love for Italian cuisine.

We hear from an Italian restaurant owner in Buenos Aires, whose Genoese ancestors put their stamp on the local food scene more than 90 years ago.

And reporter Kizzy Cox takes a trip around some eateries in the world-famous Little Italy in New York City to see how the local community is moving with the times.

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

(Picture: Five contributors in the programme, from left to right: Lou di Palo, Luca Fadda, Hugo Banchero, Giorgia Fadda and Nico Paganelli, in front of a Little Italy sign. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Elisabeth Mahy Reporter: Kizzy Cox Additional production: Veronica Smink and Matías Zibell Garcia

This kid cooks Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

At what age should you start teaching children to cook, and why should you?

In this programme, Ruth Alexander meets children and young people who are talented in the kitchen, making the case for why it might be worth the time and the mess to trust them to make dinner.

We travel to the north-west of England to Sefton Carers Centre to meet Paige Jones, aged nine, who cares and cooks for her mum, Rachel, who has a health condition.

Food writer Jenny Chandler, who has authored two cookbooks for children, gives Ruth some tips about how she can get her three-year-old son engaged in the kitchen.

And Ruth meets the young cooking enthusiasts sharing their skills with others: Keffa Liona in Nairobi, Kenya, makes cooking videos with his younger brother, Kisali, which they post online; and Julian Frederick in Texas, United States, is - aged 15 - the CEO of Stepstool Chef, which provides video tutorials presented by children for children.

Presented by Ruth Alexander Produced by Beatrice Pickup

(Image: Child stood on a stool in a kitchen, making houmous.)