The Food Chain

Latest Episodes:

Why we love noodles Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

What makes a noodle? Is it the shape? The ingredients?

In this programme Devina Gupta explores the history of noodles, tracing their origin back to Third-Century China. She finds out how they came to be eaten in so many different ways in so many different places.

Devina enjoys a Tibetan-influenced noodle dish in Delhi’s Monastery Market, a long-time home of Tibetan restaurants and businesses in India. She hears how noodles were one of many foods to travel the silk trading routes in the region.

Jen Lin-Liu, author of ‘On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome with Love and Pasta’, tells Devina about the earliest mention of noodles in historical documents. Frank Striegl in Tokyo, who runs the blog ‘5AM Ramen’ picks up the story, explaining how noodles travelled from China to Japan and became ramen – one of Japan’s iconic dishes today.

In 1958 dried instant noodles were invented in Japan. Devina speaks to Varun Oberoi of Nissin India, to hear about the opportunities and challenges facing the instant noodle company today.

Presented by Devina Gupta.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: noodles dangling from chopsticks above a bowl. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

Bouillon: The story of stock Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

John Laurenson explores the enduring appeal of stock. A century and a half ago, a butcher at the big Parisian food market Les Halles started selling beef broth – ‘bouillon’ in French - to the people who worked there. In a few years this had developed into what was perhaps the world’s first restaurant chain. By the end of the Nineteenth Century there were hundreds of ‘bouillons’ in Paris.

Today, with inflation making traditional French restaurants too expensive for many people, these big, affordable eateries are making a comeback.

The French aren’t, of course, the only people to discover the delights of this simple, warming, nourishing food. John learns how bouillon influenced Vietnam’s iconic dish, pho, as a result of the French colonial presence in the region in the 1800 and 1900s.

Producer/presenter: John Laurenson

(Image: A dish of stock with chicken and herbs with a ladle sticking out of it. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Masters of the craft Feb 20, 2025

Show notes

What motivates someone to dedicate years of their life to learning one skill?

Ruth Alexander finds out what it takes to master a craft, the exacting standards one must meet, and why it's all worth it.

Sushi chef Eddie Chow tells us how it took more than ten years to achieve the title of 'master sushi chef', and the pain of getting there.

What does it take to become an illustrious master butcher in Germany? Claus Bobel explains the importance of tradition, and his daughter Yulia tells us why she's following in his footsteps.

And 'Lady of the Ham' Cati Gomez describes the process of becoming a cartadora, and why ham carving is getting more and more popular around the world.

How to make a TV cooking show Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

We find out the secret recipe that goes into some of the TV food shows watched by millions around the world.

From hiring snake wranglers in South Africa to fending off flies in Sweden, three top producers lift the lid on what it takes to serve up a feast of culinary entertainment.

Seasoned professionals Avril Beaven (Great British Menu), Irene Wong (Man Fire Food) and Jane Kennedy (Masterchef South Africa and My Kitchen Rules South Africa) explain the people skills needed to manage big personalities. And open up about the gruelling schedule that goes into creating televised cooking shows.

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

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producers: Sam Clack and Hannah Bewley

(Image: Jane Kennedy, Irene Wong and Avril Beaven)

The world's oldest restaurants Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

People have been eating out in restaurants and bars for hundreds of years, and some of those early establishments are still open today.

This week Ruth Alexander meets the people running some of the world’s oldest restaurants. When so many close within the first 12 months of opening, what’s the secret to centuries-old success?

Antonio Gonzales Gomez runs Botin, in the Spanish capital Madrid. The restaurant is judged as the oldest by the Guinness World Records, and he tells us how he and his family have kept it going for so long.

Ruth heads to the east of England to Nottingham, where the battle to claim the title of 'world's oldest pub' is fierce. Buildings archaeologist Dr James Wright explains what evidence he's found to declare the winner.

We hear how a 200-year-old tavern in Missouri, in the United States, has been battling to stay open, and the man who runs the "oldest sausage restaurant in the world" tells us why being located of an historic German town boosts business.

Crunch! Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

Why do we enjoy foods that crunch?

Listener Sheila Harris contacted The Food Chain with that question and asked us to find out if the food texture has any benefits.

Ruth Alexander speaks to Danielle Reed, Chief Science Officer at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, US, who says that crunchy foods signal freshness and help our brains decide if a food is safe to eat.

Paediatric dentist Ashley Lerman in New York, US says crunchy fruit and vegetables can act as a natural tooth cleaner.

Anthropologist Professor Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel at the University at Buffalo in New York, US says that the texture of our diets can impact the shape of our faces. Her work has studied how jaw shape has changed as humans switched from hunter gatherer to farming diets.

Ciarán Forde, Professor of Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour at Wageningen University in the Netherlands explains how crunchy and other hard textures could help us to eat more slowly and consume fewer calories.

And could crunch make foods more palatable? Chef Dulsie Fadzai Mudekwa in Zimbabwe says the texture is key to convincing people to try edible insects.

If you have a question for The Food Chain email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: a woman biting a stick of celery. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Is anyone following dietary guidelines? Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

Around 100 countries have official dietary guidelines, and more are on their way. But who is following them?

Ruth Alexander asks how realistic healthy-eating advice is as she explores how official recommendations are developed, what they’re trying to achieve, and the obstacles standing in our way.

We hear from Fatima Hachem, Senior Nutrition Officer at the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, about how her team offers support to countries designing dietary guidelines.

Chiza Kunwenda, senior lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Zambia, tells us how he and a team of others drew up the latest dietary guidelines for Zambia and other countries in Africa.

In Argentina, as well as advice, the government has issued black octagonal warning labels on foods high in salt sugar, saturated fats and calories. Are people taking notice?

And can people around the world afford to eat according to guidelines? Dr Anna Herforth co-directed the Food prices for Nutrition project at Tufts University in the United States, tells us what she found. We also hear from shoppers at a community food outlet in the North West of England, about how cost is barrier to healthy eating.

(Image: a plate of food showing suggested dietary guidelines. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

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

Producers: Hannah Bewley and Izzy Greenfield.

Should we eat less rice? Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

Rice is the main staple for over half the world’s population.

The crop has problems though – it is vulnerable to climate change, whether that’s drought or flooding. It’s also a crop that contributes to climate change, as it uses more water than other grain crops and is frequently grown in flooded conditions. Rice production is also a big source of methane emissions.

In this programme Ruth Alexander hears about the possible solutions to these problems. Dr Yvonne Pinto, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines talks about their work developing new varieties of rice, and new more sustainable farming techniques.

One rice company trialling these techniques is Tilda in the UK. General Manager Jean-Philippe Laborde explains what difference it’s made to water and fertiliser use as well as methane emissions.

Given the problems with rice, should we just eat less of it?

Jakob Klein, anthropologist at SOAS University of London explains the Chinese government’s attempts to convince people to eat more potato as a staple food.

And we talk about the cultural importance of rice with listeners in the Philippines and Bangladesh.

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

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: a steaming bowl of rice with chopsticks above it holding a mouthful of white rice grains. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

What's the point of cookbooks? Jan 09, 2025

Show notes

When there are so many recipes available for free online, why does anyone still buy cookbooks?

In this programme we look into the business of selling cookbooks, what future the format may have and hear about the treasured tomes you turn to time and time again.

Ruth Alexander visits Books for Cooks, a specialist cookbook shop in London, to chat to Eric Treuille who cooks lunch for his customers from a different cookbook each day.

She speaks to cookbook writers Mogau Seshoene in South Africa, author of ‘The Lazy Makoti’ books, and Joanne Molinaro in the US, author of ‘The Korean Vegan’.

Doris Cooper tells Ruth what a publisher is looking for in a cookbook. She tells Ruth about her big hits and misses as editor-in-chief of Simon Element, a division of Simon and Schuster in New York.

And listeners in Italy, Malta and the US tell us about their favourite cookbooks.

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

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: Ruth Alexander with her grandmother’s cookbook, which still holds her handwritten pastry recipe. Credit: BBC)

Has Christmas food gone mad? Dec 19, 2024

Show notes

Prosecco flavoured crisps? Eggnog chicken? Sticky toffee pudding trifle?

The innovation for novelty Christmas products seems endless, but is there the appetite?

Ruth Alexander lifts the lid on an industry churning out festive food hits, and flops, in the race for Christmas tastebuds.

She visits the Good Housekeeping Institute in London to take part in an opulent dessert testing event, deciding which puddings are the best on the shelves this year.

Eric Nummelin and Mike Vahabi from Hela Spice in Toronto, Canada, reveal the wacky inventions they have come up with for this year, and how inspiration can strike at any time.

A former buyer for a large European supermarket chain talks about how to “win” Christmas with headline-grabbing products, and what happens when shoppers try things once and don’t go back for more.

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

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Image: Colourful Christmas treats and biscuits. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

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