The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

Chinatown Nov 21, 2015

Show notes

Nearly every major city in the world has one- a district where Chinese immigrants have settled to live, work and eat. This week in a collaboration with BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Food Programme’, Dan Saladino takes you on a tour of Chinatowns around the world. From one of the oldest, in Manila, to one of the newest, in Johannesburg- Chinatowns create a global trail of economic and culinary influence. And the food that they serve reflects not only the tastes of home, but of the adopted countries. In this programme we ask how these urban communities reflect not only the history of Chinese immigration, but the changing role of China as a global power. Including visits to Havana, to look at the legacy of communism in a Chinatown that rarely serves Chinese food, and Shanghai, where the fortune cookie - a westernized version of Chinese cuisine is finding a new market at home.

Featuring:

Fuchsia Dunlop Jennifer 8. Lee Peter Kwong Chan Chow Wah Gerry Choo-ah James Wong

With reporting from:

Vivienne Nunis Celia Hatton and Maria Byrne Victoria Phenethi Will Grant

Photo: Gates of Chinatown, Credit: Thinkstock

Back of House Nov 14, 2015

Show notes

It can be a tough life in the pressure cooker of the professional kitchen. A restaurant is a crucible of creativity, heat, and long hours. Low entry level wages often twinned with culinary college debt can make it hard for would-be cooks to stand the financial heat. In London, Simon Jack sits down with four chefs - all at different stages in their career - to discuss the most pressing issues of the culinary age. We put everything on the table, from the current chef shortage to the changing dynamic between a restaurant's cooking staff and its serving staff, and the pressures of staying on top of the fine dining game.

(Photo: Restaurant kitchen and two staff)

Food Far From Home Oct 31, 2015

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The biggest refugee crisis since World War Two continues to intensify and once the treacherous journey to physical safety is complete, refugees have to contend with the next imperative for survival: how to get their next meal. We hear tales from the front line - from the informal efforts of volunteers on the Greek island of Lesbos to the more formally run Zaatari camp in Jordan. In Greece, newly arrived refugees tell how they were too scared to eat on the boat journey from Turkey. We hear how the humble banana has become a symbol of salvation and the source of a mounting rubbish problem. Then to Zaatari – arguably Jordan’s fourth largest city- where world agencies are trying to feed each person on about $30 a month and the question of future funding looms. And from Damascus to Bogotá - how a mother and son share their recipes over the phone in order to stay connected.

Food of War Sep 12, 2015

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What are the challenges of finding the next meal in times of war? Feeding an army is a giant exercise in logistics, and it is also a testing ground for the food business. We hear how the food technology developed for soldiers in the field has made its way to our plates today. We speak to a soldier who has lived through three generations of military rations about how the type of food issued to troops can indicate the mission in store for them. Plus, we hear first-hand stories from people working in conflict zones, from aid workers struggling to get emergency rations into war-torn Syria, to our own BBC correspondents.

(Photo: Members of Royal Air Force Three Mobile Catering Squadron)

India: How to Feed a Nation Sep 05, 2015

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Can the world’s largest democracy guarantee its citizens the right to their next meal? As part of the BBC India season, The Food Chain takes a deeper look at the challenges and changes within the Indian food system. The population is set to become the world’s largest by 2022, surpassing China. But many obstacles to food remain, falling along the entire spectrum of development. From severe malnourishment in children to the race to get food off the farm before it rots, Anu Anand explores several aspects of a nation trying to keep up with the appetites of a rapidly changing society.

Photo Credit: Handing out food in India, Getty Images

India: Faith, Food, and Politics Aug 29, 2015

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How food, identity, religion, and politics are changing the way India eats. Anu Anand visits Mumbai’s biggest slaughterhouse to assess the economic impact of a total ban on beef and explores the right of an individual to choose what they eat in the world's largest democracy. Plus, we visit a holy town that is seeking to become fully vegetarian, leaving some of its residents feeling unwelcome.

Food of Love Aug 15, 2015

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From a baby’s first cry to the funeral feast: food as the language of love. This week, the Food Chain examines the link between our food and our feelings. Why, in times of high emotion do we tend to give and receive food? And why is the compulsion to care for others through preparing and sharing food a part of all cultures? We look at the science behind craving childhood comfort foods and hear your personal stories. Plus can all that generosity pose a physical risk to our well-being?

Featured voices: Elisabeth Mahoney: Baker Jeni Barnett: Broadcaster Hewete Haileselassie: BBC Africa Lizzie Mabbot: author of China Town Kitchen Peymane Adab: Professor of Public Health at the University of Birmingham Carol Landau: Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Brown University. John S. Allen: author of The Omnivorous Mind Colm O'Regan: Comedian

(Photo: Heart-shaped strawberry. Credit: Thinkstock)

Chicken: Too Much of a Good Thing? Aug 14, 2015

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We explore one of the world’s most important foods - the chicken. It is set to become the world’s most popular protein in four years time, surpassing pork. But does our taste for our favourite bird put our lives at risk? We discuss how poultry farmers are becoming increasingly embattled as highly contagious strains of avian flu continue to spread across the world. And we explore the genetic journey the a jungle bird from south east Asia took to our universal plate- via an American supermarket contest.

Featured voices:

Andrew Lawler: author Why the Chicken Crossed the World

John Oxford: Emeritus Professor of Virology at the University of London

Abou Simbel Ouattara: Egg farmer, Burkina Faso

Lee Perry-Gal: University of Haifa

Wesley Batista, CEO JBS S.A

(Photo: Chickens being farmed. Credit: Thinkstock)

How to (Not) Grow Your Food Business Jun 20, 2015

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Do you have a family recipe that friends say you should bottle and sell? Simon Jack looks at how you can grow a food business from scratch, how to choose an investor wisely, and how to ready your kitchen-cooked product to sell to the masses. Is growth in the food business simple economics - supply and demand - or is it something more intangible? We ask if a food business can stay small and still survive. As a company begins to supply more food to a wider market, how can you keep their commitment to quality, without having to sacrifice quantity. Plus, we look at how micro-brews are a microcosm of buying and selling on the bigger market.

(Photo: Conveyor belt of bottled beer. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sexual Politics in the Kitchen Jun 13, 2015

Show notes

How does our gender affect our relationship with food? Does it determine what we want to eat, how we cook or what we buy? And as gender roles change, how too are the traditional roles for men and women changing when it comes to food? We speak to renowned food campaigner and feminist Susie Orbach, retailer Andrew Opie and chef turned whole-food campaigner Michel Nischan about how food is marketed to women and about the gender stereotypes still prevalent.

We talk to two Michelin starred female chefs about sexism in the professional kitchen. We visit Mauritania to hear about traditional gender roles in the fishing industry there and we get an insight into the 1970s idea of what constitutes 'masculine' food by taking a glance back at Playboy, with food historian Polly Russell.

(Photo: Michelin-starred French chef Helene Darroze in the kitchen. Credit: Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images)