The Food Programme

Scotch eggs may conjure memories of Summer picnics, school dinners or even Alan Partridge but the humble bar snack has been elevated to a culinary canvas on which chefs can make their own mark and feature on the menus of some of the UK's top restaurants. Food writer Joe Warwick invites you to the madness and mayhem of the Scotch Egg Challenge at which chefs and retailers compete with traditional and unconventional recipes for the glory of the title of winner. But with Thai, Peruvian and vegetarian versions on offer how far can you go before it's no longer a scotch egg? What are the key essentials and when have you gone too far? Joe digs into the history of this bundle of glory, hears from chefs as they prepare for the big night and finds out why a pub can get packed to the rafters by people clamouring to try a piece of scotch egg heaven. Presented by Joe Warwick Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie BullockiPlayer photo by Laurie Fletcher.

Trish Deseine may not be a household name in the UK. But in France, the home of gastronomy, her 12 cookbooks, all written in French, have sold hundreds and thousands of copies, and influenced a generation of chefs, food writers and home cooks. She has won international awards and in 2009, was named one of the 40 most influential women in France by French Vogue magazine.But don't let a surname deceive you. Trish was born and raised in Northern Ireland, and now, after spending more than 25 years in France, she has released her first book on Irish food, and is returning there to live and work. 'Home: Recipes from Ireland' was released at the start of October and is already up for an Irish Book Award. Trish fronts a TV series on BBC Northern Ireland starting this week.In this programme, Trish speaks to Sheila about her life and career, and the people and food that have shaped it. They meet in Paris, Trish's home for most of her time in France, and she shares the food, flavours, and fresh produce which will always remind her of the city. Sheila asks Paris-based chef Stéphane Reynaud and the owner of the largest cookbook shop in the world, Déborah Dupont-Daguet, about the impact that Trish's writing has had in France. And asks why, after all these years, Trish is returning home to Ireland. Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced by Clare Salisbury.

For many of us, a disappointing experience with an unripe or tasteless pear has coloured our opinion of what was once thought of as a superior fruit: "gold to the apple's silver".Sheila Dillon travels to Kent to meet Dr Joan Morgan, who is just publishing 'The Book of Pears - The Definitive History and Guide to over 500 Varieties', the product of years of research into and fascination with this fruit and all its manifestations.Joan shows Sheila the pear orchard at the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, one of the biggest fruit collections in the world, revealing the secrets of this unique collection - some 500 varieties of pear growing in one place.Domestic production is falling, imports are rising, and just one variety of pear, the conference, dominates the UK market.The once-prized varieties of cooking pear have been almost completely forgtten. Sheila invites cook and writer Nigel Slater to share his passion for what this fruit can do and how to look after it, and visits fruit farmer Clive Baxter who has invested in new technologies around storing and ripening. Dan Saladino tracks down the Gloucestershire-based distiller and cheesemaker Charles Martell, who has become enchanted by the intricacies and joys of the perry pear and the drinks it can make. As Sheila discovers, some people are working hard to restore a sense of enthusiasm around this ancient fruit, its flavours and its possibilities.Presenter: Sheila Dillon Producer: Rich Ward.

When was the last time you drank a simple glass of milk? Perhaps you view it more as an ingredient for cooking or to splash in your tea rather than a product of beauty with its own strengths and qualities? When the retailers slashed milk prices to lure in customers, treating it as a loss leader may have made the consumer also view it as a commodity and devalue it too. Is it simply the 'white stuff'?Dairy UK figures show an 18% decline in the average consumption of milk and milk products over the last 20 years. In the last year while volumes of milk sold on the market have increased slightly the value has declined. This Summer saw many dairy farmers protesting at supermarket depots, taking cows into stores and buying up all the supplies on the shelves in some branches.Meanwhile sales of many milk alternatives are rising despite costing more. Sheila Dillon explores how these milks are made and can be used, what they give us compared to cow's milk and why they've become so popular.Dutch 'milk addict and sommelier' Bas de Groot invites her for a tasting of milks, along with public health nutritionist Dr Helen Crawley and Professor Peter Atkins who's written about the history of milk. They discuss what could make us value the product more highly, what makes a variety distinctive and if it's possible to taste the 'terroir' of your pinta.

As a race, we humans owe a fair amount to the chicken. Throughout time it has been a religious deity, a medicine source as well as being a food. It's travelled the world alongside explorers, inspired scientific revelations and of course been the nub of the world's most famous joke.Today, chicken is the second biggest supply of meat protein in the world, and it's on the rise. More than four times as much chicken is now consumed in the USA than in the 1950s, and as new markets emerge in the Middle East and Asia, our hunger for chicken is only set to grow. To meet demand, the bird has become a valuable commodity, farmed and processed in a factory setting.In this programme Dan Saladino tracks the chicken from its roots in the Asian jungle, to its place on our dinner plates today with help from Andrew Lawler, author of 'Why Did The Chicken Cross The World'. He discovers how a competition in the 1950s had a radical impact on the type of chicken we eat and hears how genetics, cooking and art might have a role to play in preserving some almost forgotten breeds and tastes.Dan asks geneticist Professor Bill Muir where will we take the chicken next?Presented by Dan Saladino Produced by Clare SalisburyNB. Correction. The Buckeye chicken was developed in the 1890s, not the 1820s as stated in the programme.

Dan Saladino hunts down that flavour we call 'bitter', and asks if bitterness is disappearing from our food and drink - and why this matters.Bitter tastes are found all over the planet; wild leaves, fruits, vegetables and more. Bitterness is also charged with cultural and culinary meaning. It can be revered, sought after - but it is also a sign of toxicity, and is, it seems, increasingly being shunned.Dan Saladino talks to Jennifer McLagan, author of the James Beard Award-winning book "Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavour", who begun her epic journey into bitter following a conversation about grapefruits. Journalist and science writer Marta Zaraska has been tracking the de-bittering of our food, and reveals her findings, including the 'holy grail' of the assault on bitter. He also seeks out bitterness in the wild with forager and wild food specialist Miles Irving, and discovers the secrets of the bitter gourd (also known as bitter melon or karela) within a food culture that still deeply values bitterness, in the company of food writer and cookery teacher Monisha Bharadwaj.As Dan delves into the world of bitter flavours, he shares a bitter brew with Professor Peter Barham - author of "The Science of Cooking" - and visits the drinks laboratory run by cocktail experts Tony Conigliaro and Max Venning. Tasting bitter leaves, crystals, digestifs and more along the way, Dan asks what we stand to lose if we lose the taste for bitter.Presenter: Dan Saladino Producer: Rich Ward.

The continuing conflict in Syria has caused millions of people to flee the country. Images of men, women and children living in camps, walking vast distances and even risking perilous journeys by boat or stowed away on trucks have been shown around the world. Life in many regions for those who remain is also in turmoil. While seeking safety, many also face a challenge to survive. Dan Saladino asks how those from Syria - the world's biggest producer of both internally displaced people and refugees - manage to eat and feed their families and the cost and long-term effects of both the conflict and displacement.Syria has an ancient food culture and was once a bread basket for the Middle East but conflict has damaged agriculture and food supplies to many areas. The World Food Programme explain how they manage to transport food through territory occupied by so-called 'Islamic State' and also how they feed the thousands in refugee camps in bordering countries like Jordan.Dan hears from one refugee who paid traffickers to get him to Europe after he was threatened by IS and the Assad regime. He explains how he survived and ate when on an extended and dangerous journey. Now in the UK he shows Dan what he buys to cook and eat. Ingredients for Syrian dishes can be hard to come by or out of budget so he shows how he's adjusting to make it work.From daily bread to the loss of an ancient food culture, hear how the the conflict and displacement of Syrians means for the long-term rebuilding of infrastucture and tradition in the place they call home.Music used in programme: Qoum Ya Nadim by Zein Al JundiPresented by Dan Saladino Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

This is a race against time. Earlier this year The Food Programme set out to record stories of foods around the world facing extinction, a project that has provided dramatic accounts from the depths of Anatolian caves to the heights of Indonesian rainforest canopies. In this episode Jamie Oliver, Thomasina Miers and chef Paula McIntyre talk about the tastes, flavours and ingredients which are facing extinction.The gathered stories all come from the Ark of Taste; an ever-growing list of endangered foods from 100 different countries across the world. Created by the International Slow Food movement, the food NGO founded in Italy 30 years ago, the Ark of Taste is backed by the United Nations as well as the European Union. As the biblical reference indicates, this Ark is on a mission to prevent extinction and protect biodiversity.The Food Programme is about to start a new mini series of stories found within the Ark of Taste. Each week - in Monday's edition of The Food Programme - listeners can hear about an ingredient or recipe, find out why it is disappearing and why it is important to save. But before he unveils a new batch of forgotten flavours, Dan Saladino plays out some of his favourite stories from our last series.Produced by Becky Ripley.

Jam. Think sticky apricot and saccharine strawberry? Think again. Our British love affair with jam goes back to the sweet-toothed 17th century. But now our interest seems to be waning. Shop sales of jam are down amid concerns over the amount of sugar we consume. And anyway, who has time for preserving pans and pretty pots?But there is another way. In fact there are many. In this programme, 'queen of preserving' and author of 'Salt Sugar Smoke, how to preserve fruit, vegetables and fish' Diana Henry, meets the people thinking differently about jam. She finds out how to use some of this year's gluts of fruit with Mary Longford, the woman behind Absolute Preserves in Somerset, discovers a beloved but forgotten fruit with gardener and food writer Mark Diacono; And speaks to Fraser Doherty, the man whose healthier jams have made him an international icon with an MBE to boot. With advice from American preserves blogger for 'Food in Jars' Marisa McClellan, Diana hosts a canning (or jamming) party and explores culinary traditions of jam making from Scandinavia, Ukraine and beyond with food writers Olia Hercules and Camilla Plum. Recipes from around Europe which won't require shiny new kit.Diana Henry wants you to rise up, and make jam.Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Dan Saladino finds out how farms confiscated from Sicily's mafia are providing food and wine, helping to fight crime and providing a future for a new generation on the island.The project, a not for profit farming operation called "Libera Terra" (which translates as "Free Land"), was made possible by an Italian member of Parliament killed by the mafia in 1982, Pio La Torre. He was a Sicilian and communist who believed the best way of taking on Cosa Nostra was by seizing its assets, including its farm land. Decades later that law is the way in which thousands of acres of citrus groves, wheat fields and vineyards have been placed in the hands of farming co-operatives. Libera Terra is the main organisation helping to turn this seized land into a food and wine business, create jobs and give young Sicilians a way of improving the island's future.As John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College London, and author of Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia, food and agricultural provided the conditions necessary for the mafia's birth in 19th century Sicily. By the 1860's the lemon groves around Palermo were among the most profitable agricultural land in Europe, that combined with the weak political and legal framework in place after the unification of Italy, provided the conditions for what became the world's most successful criminal organisation.In the 1940's, when efforts were made to instigate land reform and give more access to farmland to Sicily's peasants, the mafia would often intervene and exert its control over this valuable resource. Dozens of peasant leaders and trade unionists were killed in the years following the second world war simply because they tried to implement these new laws.It's this backdrop that gives the Libera Terra project added significance, but it's more than just a noble cause. As Italian wine expert and writer for www.jancisRobinson.com Walter Speller explains, some of the confiscated land is in territory that has the perfect conditions for excellent wines. Land seized from the former "boss of all bosses" Toto Rinna, is now producing excellent Nero d'Avola wine that also tell a powerful story of Sicily and its fight against the mafia.Dan also visits people farming this land despite experience of mafia intimidation in the past, young farmers who say they want to build a future in Sicily free from the influence of organised crime.Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

Wendell Berry has been described as 'An American Hero' but his work and teaching have inspired and influenced leaders, writers and campaigners around the world. Ella McSweeney had no hesitation in choosing him as her 'Food Hero' and travels to meet him at his farm in Kentucky. She explains why his work affected her so profoundly, even thousands of miles away in Ireland.As a leading and respected farmer, writer, campaigner, philosopher and poet, he wrote that "Eating is an agricultural act" yet argues we have become disconnected from the land by the industrialisation of the food chain, that the growth of agribusiness has driven many small farms out of business with a loss of their 'moral fibre and wisdom' and is destroying rural communities. He argues we must acknowledge the impact of agriculture to society.Yet despite his widespread influence he lives at a different pace to the majority - using horses to work the land and refusing to get a computer.For those unfamiliar with his work Ella will explain just how significant he's been on politicians and game-changers and, for those who know him already, a chance to hear his thoughts on how to feed ourselves without destroying the land and plant we have.Ella also visits the city of Louisville to see how people are putting his thoughts into action in projects that provide access to fresh food and but also unite communities otherwise divided. Presented by Ella McSweeney Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Dan Saladino retraces his Sicilian food roots and goes in search of a great expert on the island's cuisine, Mary Taylor Simeti. She left America in the early 1960's and has now lived in Sicily for 50 years.Sicily has one of the oldest, continuous, food cultures in western Europe. Invasions, conquests and Mediterranean trade led to influences being exerted by the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and French. That combined with an abundance of sun and fertile soil has given it one of the most important and delicious food stories to tell.With a Sicilian father, and extended family, Dan spent a lot of his childhood staying with his grandmother, watching home cooks in action, visiting markets and eating in espresso fuelled bars. For many years traditional Sicilian foods like caponata, cannoli, arancini and pasta con le sarde, were enjoyed but not fully understood. Sicily remained a mysterious place with an equally mysterious array of foods.In the last in the series in which presenters meet their food heroes Dan meets Mary Taylor Simeti at her home and farm on the outskirts of Palermo. Her series of books on Sicily and its food provided the first detailed insights into this ancient cuisine in the English language.She started to write in the early 1980's, "On Persephone's Island" is a personal account of life on a family farm and of life lived near Palermo. It was a violent time in the city's history, a period now known as the "second mafia war". The book weaves in snapshots of that side of Sicily, but also captures the changing seasons on the farm, olive and grape harvests, religious festivals that feature food rituals and first-hand accounts of traditional lives lived on the land and producing ingredients.It was followed by "Pomp and Sustenance: 25 Centuries of Sicilian Food", a book that explores the island's cuisine from the classical world right up to her own experiences of food among family and friends. A third book, "Bitter Almonds" told the story of Maria Grammatico, who grew up as an orphan in a convent, trained to make intricate biscuits, cakes and sculpted almond paste. The book explains how from a Dickensian childhood she'd produce the most skilfully made and delicious foods.Mary Taylor Simeti's work not only helped Dan make sense of all the food, cooking and festivals he saw around him, but also helped chefs including Giorgio Locatelli have a better understanding of Italian food. Mary explains how she left a life in Manhattan that seemed destined for an academic career to life on a Sicilian farm documenting one of the world's most colourful food stories. Presented and produced by Dan Saladino.

In the second of a special series of food heroes, Sheila Dillon meets one of the most influential writers on international hunger and social justice in recent times. Susan George published her first book 'How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger' almost 40 years ago. It was a book that, at the time, offered a radically different perspective on famine in the developing world. In 1985, as pictures of East African drought and hunger started appearing on our TV screens, Susan George published 'Ill Fares The Land' a collection of essays which didn't shy away from criticising International aid efforts, and demanded a different approach to trade and development. She wrote 'A more just society is a better-fed society'. It would become a seminal text. Now, aged 81, and continuing to speak at conferences around the world, Susan George speaks to Sheila Dillon about her career, the predictions she made 30 years ago, and the problems we still face in feeding our growing global population.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Tim Hayward meets the man who changed the whole way he approached food. Someone who inspired Tim, and many others, to look at food and the techniques of cooking in a completely new way.A surprising food figure perhaps, he is a best-selling author, writer of "The IPCRESS File", creator of Harry Palmer (played by Michael Caine). He is also an illustrator, and pioneering food writer. He rarely gives interviews. He is Len Deighton.Leonard Cyril Deighton - now 86 - has had a fascinating life - and as he explains, food has always been at its heart. His vivid and extraordinary story takes in post-war London with double agents and off-ration cooking, to a newly opened-up world of international air travel, and into the swinging sixties.Len Deighton created the totally unique "cookstrips", fusing his skills at illustrating and writing with his cooking knowledge. For a young Tim Hayward, once he had seen these things would never be the same again.Photograph by David Rose.Presented by Tim Hayward Produced by Rich Ward and Dan Saladino.

Staying sober on a night out can be a limiting experience with the soft drinks choice on offer in many places. But with an increasing number of 16-24 year olds staying teetotal, demand is increasing for more interesting, varied and healthier choices. Dan Saladino explores the traditional, quirky and novel drinks putting some fizz back into the market.Reports say a resistance to heavy sugar and artificial sweeteners has seen soda sales drop off in the USA. 'Craft sodas' are making a play for some of the market by offering alternative flavours and drinks flavoured with cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Tristan Donovan heads on a mission to scour the soda fountains of the US and find some of the wackiest drinks available. How about a lactart or phosphate?But in the UK too those with brewing skills are applying their knowledge to create soft drinks low on sugar and strong on flavour. Dan looks into the future of fizzy pop to see what the future might hold for those who still sparkle at the thought of a refreshing glass of pop.Presented by Dan Saladino Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Scotland has a problem with food. For all the salmon, whisky and summer berries celebrated in this year of Scottish Food & Drink, the Government says its spending billions fighting an obesity crisis, and when it comes to groceries, the supermarket is king.But for the last five years, a small community run bakery on the Scottish borders has been quietly gaining momentum, aiming to change the way Scotland thinks about food, and more specifically, about bread.In this programme, Sheila Dillon visits the family behind Breadshare, now based in Portobello in Edinburgh. In the city's first community run bakery, husband and wife team Debra Riddell and Geoff Crowe, along with their son and a host of bakers and volunteers, sell bread, made with simple ingredients, and teach people how to make it. Could involving local people be the key to reconnecting Scottish people with Scottish food?Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

With a new "living wage" announced Sheila Dillon explores the world of fast food workers. In the U.S. a campaign over low pay, started in 2012, has now gone global. Saying they could no longer live on the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 the workers called for a salary based on $15.00 an hour. The protests spread to more than 200 cities and inspired workers in other parts of the world to stand up for better pay. The campaign received the backing of President Barack Obama and cities including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have now increased the minimum wage. Sheila hears from one fast food work in New York's Bronx, Flavia Cabrell. She holds down two jobs including one at a McDonalds' restaurant and low pay led her to take action and join the protests. She explains why she's motivated by wanting to change the future for her children.Meanwhile low pay was one of the main targets in Chancellor George Osborne's summer budget. Changes to tax credits and the introduction of a "national living wage" was the outcome. But some workers say the changes will still mean they live a precarious financial existence with zero hours contracts still a dominant model in the food industry and the living wage only applicable to over 25's. Producer: Dan Saladino.

There's a revolution happening in the world of wine. While tradition once dictated the way things were done, a new generation of wine drinkers are shaking things up - in the way it's sold, consumed and written about - with the intention of shaking off the fustiness and perceived snobbery. Not only is there a new attitude about what's deemed good but there's an openness to alternative production methods and artisanal producers. Sheila Dillon asks if the underground movement we saw towards craft beers and ciders and specialist coffees is now being witnessed in the world of wine. Dan Keeling of Noble Rot magazine argues this movement echoes indie labels in the music scene in which he started before immersing himself in wine writing. Award-winning sommelier Charlotte Sager-Wilde explains how trying to train up on wines while earning a small salary working in hospitality led her and her husband to a new model of wine bar - selling good wines by the glass rather than the bottle and training staff to share ideas with the curious rather than look down their noses. Meanwhile Peter Honegger has started his own wine store - while still a student - selling Austrian wines from niche producers who weren't being stocked elsewhere. Meanwhile we hear about the new tech which is enabling wine enthusiasts to gen up on wines and form their own opinions and ask is branding is putting style over substance. Sheila Dillon asks if the slow moving world of wine is seeing its own revolution and if these new ideas can open the world of wine to more enthusiasts. Presented by Sheila Dillon, Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Lunch to Lights outThe Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most historic food operations in the world.In the second part of this edition, we hear how dining in Parliament is under new pressures.Presented by Sheila Dillon & produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Breakfast to Brunch. The Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most historic food operations in the world.In the first part of this edition, we discover the incredible history of dining in Parliament and meet the people who feed Westminster's 14 thousand pass holders. 8 thousand food transactions can be made here on any working day, and we recorded on one of the busiest - Prime Minister's Questions, one of the first under the new Government. Presented by Sheila Dillon & produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Close your eyes and think for a moment about the books you read as a child and those that talked about food. A vivid description of a flavour can spark the imagination and the taste buds but a secret midnight feast at Malory Towers, the elaborate Hogwarts feasts in Harry Potter or picnics in Wind in the Willows can instil an air of excitement about food that lasts into adulthood. Sheila Dillon asks why some scenes can be so powerful they remain with us for decades. She meets those who changed their careers due to the power of the stories they read, she travels to a secret restaurant fantasy land and meets the schoolchildren for whom taste is being brought alive through descriptions of food and flavour. Presented by Sheila Dillon and Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Cook and writer Simon Hopkinson was at the height of his powers in the kitchen of Bibendum in London in the early 1990s, but he'd walk away from professional cooking to focus on his food writing.In the second part of this interview with Sheila Dillon he explains why he left restaurant cooking behind, focus on writing that led to the "most useful cookbook of all time".Simon describes life as chef at Bibendum restaurant, which counted among its loyal customers Elizabeth David, Dirk Bogarde and Alec Guinness. In 1994, aged only 40, he decided to move on.For a decade there would be modest sales of his first book, Roast Chicken and Other Stories, and then a magazine poll in 2005 brought it to public attention and soon after, at one point it would be outselling copies of Harry Potter.Sheila Dillon explores Simon's lifelong fascination with food and cooking and finds out why he no longer wanted to focus on life as a head chef.

Cook and food writer Simon Hopkinson shares his culinary life story with Sheila Dillon. In a food career spanning four decades he's been an influential chef, television cook and author of the "most useful cookbook of all time".In this first of two special editions, Simon covers his early food memories to his time as a chef, at the height of his powers, in the kitchens of Hilaire and Bibendum restaurants.Born in Lancashire, Simon Hopkinson was influenced by his parents home cooking and their regular trips to Bury Market. Early memories include the smell of his mother's jugged hare to the sight of black puddings and cheeses on busy market stalls.In his teens he was committed to a future career in a restaurant kitchen and found work in the nearby Normandie restaurant under the gifted and demanding chef Yves Champea.By 20 he'd opened his own restaurant and would soon receive awards and high praise from respected guides. In the years that followed he'd work as a restaurant inspector for Egon Ronay and then spend time as a private chef.By the late 1980's he was back in the restaurant world and one of London's most influential chefs. Sheila Dillon finds out what motivated him throughout and why he was so confident that his life would be one spent in kitchens.

From the 'slow and low' tradition of the American south to the village of Llantwit Major in South Wales, Dan Saladino explores the revival of one of the food world's most misunderstood words; barbecue. A world away from the burnt burgers and charred sausages of the British barbecue experience, the 'barbecue belt' of the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee to Texas captures a story that goes beyond food. From politics and class to race and gender: barbecue has become a vital American institution.A cooking technique requiring endless patience, effort and care, Dan Saladino talks to some of barbecue's biggest enthusiasts about how their modern approach is shaping our oldest form of cooking.Producer: Anna Miles.

In this second part of a two-programme special, Rick Stein continues in conversation with Sheila Dillon talking about how he was discovered for TV by Keith Floyd's Director, David Pritchard thirty years ago. Despite being naturally introverted his style as an 'ordinary guy' made him popular with the public - sometimes going wrong, the odd injury and working up a real sweat. The partnership with David has continued to the present day taking them travelling and filming around the world. His new series 'From Venice to Istanbul' will air later this year. Rick talks about why their dynamic works well but also how a shared love of wine can also cause a few spats while filming. We hear from the fishermen, colleagues and his ex-wife and business partner about why he's been such a success. He talks about who in particular has inspired him while on his travels and what he hopes to do next. The programme was recorded earlier this month in front of a studio audience as part of the Bristol Food Connections Festival. Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Highly regarded for its health benefits, people living by the shore have been eating seaweed for millennia. In Ireland, it was part of a prehistoric diet, and taken to ward off illness. In New Zealand, seaweed was a Maori delicacy. In Iceland, it was served daily, dried with fish, butter and bread. And seaweeds in many forms continue to be a major part of day to day cooking in China, Japan and Korea.According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, the harvesting of seaweed for food is worth upwards of 5 billion US dollars every year.Yet many of us still associate the greens with Asian food, or experiments in haute cuisine.But now a new generation of wild food entrepreneurs, are asking us to change our habits, and to rethink seaweed as something that can be enjoyed in every meal, for every occasion.Sheila Dillon hears stories of finding food from the sea. People harvesting and cooking with seaweed. And as seaweed enters the mainstream, she hears how age old harvesting traditions, could be under threat.This programme includes the fifth instalment from the Ark of Taste series.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

This is more than a story about chicken tikka masala. The UK's palette is changing with a demand for far more spice and pizzazz in our menus and larders. The UK currently imports almost double what it did in the year 2000. Much of that demand has been attributed to the UK's changing and diverse population - not only in home cooking but introducing recipes and dishes to a wider market. Travellers exploring exotic countries have also returned with a taste for spice blends. However spice is more than a simple ingredient - it can also be part of a story about identity, health, family and life. Cyrus Todiwala travels to Easton in Bristol for the Spice Festival to meet those for whom spice is part of their lives. For him spices have been used for health as well as to bring flavour to his dishes while cooking in India and opening restaurants in the UK. He meets the man whose family fled Uganda while under the rule of Idi Amin, losing everything but their love and knowledge of spices led his father to source and share ingredients, eventually serving food and is now an 'Aladdin's cave' of exotic spices and ingredients for individuals and restaurants across the South West. He meets the chai wallahs who now sell on street corners of Bristol as well as Bombay and hears about the backpacker whose craving for the Indian snacks he tasted led him to set up his own business with over 300 products and blends. Get some fire in your belly and hear how spice plays a role in commuity, culture and culinary delights. Presented by Cyrus Todiwala and Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Jane Grigson was a unique and pioneering voice in food writing; a self-taught cook whose books and journalism changed British food culture. Twenty-five years after her death, Sheila Dillon is joined by three special guests to explore her life, food and legacy.This is part one of a special two-part edition of The Food Programme, recorded in front of an audience at Bristol Food Connections festival on the 4th of May.On stage with Sheila is Geraldene Holt, food writer, author of 'Diary of a French Herb Garden' and Chair of the Jane Grigson Trust, the award-winning chef Shaun Hill who has cooked his way through Jane's books and also cooked for her, as well James Beard-nominated author, Telegraph food columnist and cook Diana Henry.From 'The Fruit Book' to 'Good Things' to 'Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery', to her long running articles for The Observer, Sheila Dillon and her guests explore a voice that, despite gradually becoming less familiar, really does still matter today.Readings by Kerry Elkins.Presenter: Sheila Dillon Producer: Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon reports on how 15 years of the BBC Food and Farming Awards have captured the revolution in the streetfood business, witnessed the rise of a new generation of brewers and distillers, chronicled the rise of new types of food markets and marked major changes in the supermarket supply chain. Over the last decade and a half, through receiving thousands of nominations, the judges have been able to spot early on new ideas and changes in the UK's food culture. Sheila talks to judges past and present and former finalists and winners to describe the big shifts as seen through the awards.Retail analyst and former judge Robert Clark and Policy Director of Sustain, Kath Dalmeny join Sheila to talk about key stories and innovative ideas they've encountered through the awards.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Rich Ward.

In the UK, there are 3.2 million people who are living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and a further 600,000 who have Type 2 but just don't know it yet. And those numbers continue to rise.In the first few months of this year, the charity Diabetes UK received over 300 calls from newly diagnosed diabetics asking what they can and can't eat. It seems there's plenty of confusion about what foods need to be eaten to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and a misconception that a diabetes diagnosis means never eating sugar again.This week, Felicity Evans is discussing some of the issues surrounding diet and diabetes. Her guests in the studio are; G.P, author and broadcaster, Dr Hilary Jones, dietician, Azmina Govindji, Simon O'Neill from Diabetes UK and Saturday Live's J.P Devlin, a Type 1 diabetic for more than 30 years.They will offer practical tips on some of the best food choices, debunk a few myths and look at how it can change someone's life. Plus what does the latest research say about the type of diet diabetics should be eating.Presented by Felicity Evans and produced in Bristol by Julia Hayball.

Ten years on from 'Jamie's School Dinners', Sheila Dillon is joined by children's food campaigner and former dinner lady Jeanette Orrey and Co-Author of the School Food Plan, Henry Dimbleby to look at the state of school food and discuss how new international relationships could make British school food better.It's also 10 years since Sheila visited Sweden to see a free school meals system known for nutritious food, where students and teachers dine together. This spring, Tony Mulgrew, Catering manager at Ravenscliffe High School in Halifax and 2014 winner of Best Cook at the BBC Food and Farming Awards, set up an exchange with Lyndon McLeod, school chef in Gislavedin Sweden. Their aim? To bring together school chefs around the world and share ideas on improving school food online.Our panel also hear from the Copenhagen 'House of Food', an innovative centre that's creating a school food culture in the city where there used to be none.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Dan Saladino meets the people working to save foods and flavours at risk of extinction. A global project called the Ark of Taste is now attempting to catalogue traditional ingredients in more than 100 countries. It was started in the 1990s when a group of Italian Slow Food campaigners realised the flavour of a traditional street food snack had changed. The reason was that chefs could no longer source a local variety of pepper. It's led to thousands of people all over the world submitting their local traditional varieties of fruits and vegetables, rare breeds of livestock, cheeses and other products into the Ark. As the leader of the project Serana Milano explains it's not just a list. Once an ingredient is placed in the catalogue work begins to find ways of saving it. An early example was a traditional cheese that was being made by one elderly producer. The Ark project led to a group of young producers learning how to make the cheese and so the recipe and technique has been kept alive.Slow Food is now working with the European Commission, United Nations and Google to record the stories from the Ark of Taste and support projects to keep food diversity thriving around the world.As Dan explains earlier examples of this work can be found across the UK going back more than a century. Writers including Florence White (Good Things In England), Dorothy Hartley (Food in England) and F. Marian McNeill (The Scots Kitchen) and researchers such as Minwell Tibbott (Welsh Folk Museum) made records of how we produced food and cooked in earlier times.Presented and produced by Dan Saladino.

We were once told 'Go to work on an egg' but health warnings later saw us cut the number we eat. As the US Dietary Advisory Committee drops its advice on restricting egg consumption Sheila Dillon asks if we're falling back in love with the egg. Similar limits in the UK were lifted several years ago after evidence suggested their cholesterol did not have a significant effect on our blood cholesterol after all.The amount we eat in the UK is now continuing to rise and the trend for keeping hens at home or in community projects has seen many people collecting their own too. Sheila Dillon asks if the humble egg is breaking free of a tarnished reputation and proving itself to be a versatile protein provider worth celebrating. She hears reports from US where yolk-dodgers have demanded white-only 'heart healthy omelettes' and similar concoctions while in Silicon Valley a 'solution' to the egg has been created in a plant protein based alternative which they claim can mimic many of the egg's functions. But back in the UK she finds a more celebratory atmosphere - a major retailer has begun supplying guaranteed double yolkers, Neil Rankin, founder of 'Bad Egg' Restaurant has kept his supplier in steady business while Genevieve Taylor found her hens laid so many she had to create new recipes to use them all. Has the egg been given too much of a bad rap and is now breaking free and what does the future hold? Presented by Sheila Dillon and Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.

The nutritional debate over sugar doesn't seem to be putting off a new generation of sweet makers in this country. Sweets sales seem stable, and new treats are being created and exported all over the world.Sheila speaks to sweet makers Freya Sykes and Steven Bletsoe who are giving new life to a forgotten sweet and an old family recipe. She looks at the state of the confectionery market today with help from The Grocer magazine, and Jeremy Dee, Managing Director of family sweets firm Swizzels. And sweets historian Tim Richardson shares a bag of sweets with Sheila that cast light on a long history of sweetness in the UK.Sheila asks what's still driving our love affair with sweeties - young and old, old and new.Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Dan Saladino hears three stories of how three very different individuals are reimagining food waste - solving problems, discovering flavours, and changing lives.Chido Govera grew up in rural Zimbabwe, and was orphaned aged seven. She suffered abuse and struggled to find enough food for herself and her younger brother. But she found a way out of her situation - through the power of mushrooms - becoming an acknowledged specialist in growing edible fungi using food and agri-waste.Chido is now teaching hundreds of orphans and other vulnerable people in Zimbabwe and beyond how to break the cycle of poverty and abuse, and delicious mushrooms are at the heart of it all.Isabel Soares, an engineer from Portugal, set up Fruta Feia (or ugly fruit) to deliver perfectly good fruit and veg that were being discarded by the big retailers, to a willing community. Its community co-operative model is now wildly successful in Lisbon.John Greany Sørensen is a scientist by day, chef by night, who in his lab at the University of Copenhagen stumbled accidentally on a way of creating something truly extraordinary from rejected vegetables - veg crystals.Presenter: Dan Saladino Producer: Rich Ward.

In a special edition Sheila Dillon reveals the finalists for this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards.At the beginning of the year Radio 4 listeners were asked to nominate their favourite producers, farmers and retailers. The response was huge, and from over four thousand nominations the judges have decided on their shortlist.The categories include Best Street Food or Takeaway, You and Your's Retailer of the Year, BBC Cook of the Year, Countryfile's Farming Hero and the Food Game Changer. On 30 April in Bristol at the annual Awards ceremony we'll find out which of these finalists go on to become the winners. Producer: Toby Field.

Oysters are receiving renewed attention around the world, with new ideas for producing more, and eating more. Dan Saladino finds out what's driving this oyster enthusiasm.As Drew Smith, author of Oyster: A World History explains, "the oyster is older than us, they're older than grass, they go back into pre-history and it's quite mind boggling how we've forgotten we really survive on this planet because of oysters".From discoveries of middens (piles of oyster shells left by our ancestors) through to tales of the Victorian Britain's enormous appetite for the oyster, Dan hears the evidence of why we used to have a much more intimate relationship with the bivalve.Overfishing, disease and parasites turned something that was abundant into a rarity a century ago, but now people around the world are making an effort to bring the oyster back into mainstream.In Denmark, where there still is an abundance of oysters in their waters, a national park along the Wadden Sea, on the north west coast of Denmark has started to encourage people to wade in the water and gather as many oysters as they can carry and eat. It's hoped the experience will help people understand the oyster more and also fight to protect the environment it lives in.Meanwhile on the British Isles the oyster is seeing interest from brewers and shellfish farmers alike, all convinced we need to reconsider how delicious and import the animal has been in our food culture.In New York, the most ambitious oyster mission of all is underway, the "billion oyster project", an effort to return the oyster to New York City's harbour, once a breeding ground for trillions of oysters.Listen to the programme and hear why these efforts are underway, and why a gold speckled jar of marmite could be the oysters' best friend.Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

For over a decade consumers have become finely attuned to E-numbers, flavourings, colourings and additives in our food. Food manufacturers have changed the way they do things in pursuit of 'clean label' - a more natural sounding ingredients list. But do we fully understand the new processes involved, the terms used and how safe they really are?Sheila Dillon talks to Joanna Blythman, in her first broadcast interview about her new book 'Swallow This' in which she investigates some of the processes involved in making products taste and look good and last longer and her concerns about the ingredients and the secrecy that often surrounds them. We hear reports from food development teams about how they find new ways to produce food and ask the regulators if we can be sure they're safe.Photo by Alan Peebles.

Sheila goes behind bars to visit the most popular restaurant in Cardiff, The Clink, which is run by prisoners. Ten years ago Al Crisci was a winner at the BBC Food and Farming Awards for his work at High Down prison. At the ceremony he announced that he was going to open a restaurant in the prison which would be run by inmates and would serve high end food to the paying public. Now there are currently three prison restaurants across the country, with a fourth about to open in HMP Styal. Sheila visits The Clink Restaurant on the site of HMP Cardiff which has recently been voted the top restaurant in the city by Tripadvisor. She speaks with inmates and ex-prisoners about working in a restaurant and whether this model can help reduce prison re-offender rates.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Emma Weatherill.

With one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe, many parents in the UK feed their babies formula milk. But what's actually in it? Sheila Dillon discovers why it's an industry steeped in science and secrecy as well as controversy. Journalist Ella McSweeney reports from a lab to explain how its made and why formula is at the heart of Ireland's ambition to become a powerful global food player. Producer: Ruth Sanderson.

From a hearty warming bowl of chunky soup on a frosty Winter's day to the smooth comfort of home-made chicken soup when you're ill, the British, it seems, love soup. We spend £762million a year and the market's growing with trendy exotic flavours spicing up the choice on offer new gadgets to help make the dish and slimmers replacing juicing with 'souping', it's gaining pace. Tim Hayward is passionate that this dish is more than simply an appetiser and keen to stamp out memories of wishy-washy, tasteless broths. Past horrors had made it a laughing stock with 'Brown Windsor Soup' being the punchline of many jokes in the 50s and symbolic of austerity and low-quality catering. He searches out the roots of this much-mocked comic dish, alongside Turtle and Bombay duck varieties, and seeks to clear its name. Along the way he meets the man who made millions and revolutionised the market with fresh soups which are stealing our hearts from the old tins, gets top tips from the 'Soupsayer' and spins the colour wheel at the pub whose soup is always a mystery but 'never vegetarian'. Presented by Tim Hayward. Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

In a recent survey, the microwave was voted the kitchen gadget that people couldn't live without. 83% of all households in the UK have a microwave, yet many say they only use this hi tech device for re heating food. Sheila Dillon discovers how influences the way we eat, live and cook.The editor of BBC Good Food magazine Gillian Carter believes that there is an emerging sector who are using it to make full, nutritious dinners using new recipes tailored to their microwave.Microwaves were patented 60 years ago and hailed as the future of cookery. Helen Peavitt from the Science Museum in London explains how they went from hi tech war weapon to domestic every day item. Meanwhile self-proclaimed microwave hater food journalist Andrew Webb challenges himself to cook a full three course dinner entirely in the microwave.Presenter Sheila Dillon. Producer Ruth Sanderson.

As we prepare to tuck into our festive family meal, Sheila Dillon uncovers the food stories of those who won't be home for Christmas with the help of food writer Joe Warwick.

Wheat has, since the dawn of agriculture, been especially treasured amongst all of the food crops, and is now the most widely cultivated food plant on the planet. However, the relationship between humans and wheat has changed a great deal in recent times.With a high-profile documentary film, 'The Grain Divide', about to go on global release, Dan Saladino discovers a worldwide movement of farmers, bakers and breeders rethinking and rediscovering wheat - from long-lost varieties and flavours to re-imagining the future of our relationship with this grain.The film's Director, JD McLelland, explains how his film aims to change perceptions of wheat - and why this matters. Dan also talks to one of the stars of the film, chef Dan Barber - who's breeding a new variety of wheat named Barber Wheat, and is leading the charge to look again at the taste of wheat.On the archipelago of Svalbard, far north of the northernmost point of mainland Norway, is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Tunneled into the permafrost there lies a store of seeds like no other - which serves as a 'backup' facility, with samples from every country in the world. It houses the largest collection of wheat varieties on the planet. Dr Cary Fowler, who helped to set up the seed vault - reveals about the role wheat's past has to play in our future.Dan also meets Andy Forbes from Brockwell Bake, sourdough specialist Vanessa Kimbell and author of "Our Daily Bread - A History of the Cereals" - Professor Åsmund Bjørnstad... as well as Gotland farmer Curt Niklasson, whose life has been changed forever by the contents of a wooden treasure chest.Presenter: Dan Saladino Producer: Rich Ward.

Food markets have been the heart of our towns and cities for thousands of years. Now, with financial pressure on local authorities, and growing competition from a supermarkets price war, Sheila Dillon and guests discuss what a market needs to survive in 2015.Sheila is joined by award winning markets organiser Malcolm Veigas, Carolyn Steel architect and author of 'Hungry City' and market trader and BBC Food and Farming Awards 2015 judge in the Best Market category, Peter Gott.She also hears from a 'monstrously huge' and revolutionary new market development in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, from one of the UK's oldest established markets in Leicester and from the organiser of Iceland's first ever farmers market.Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Sheila Dillon unveils a new team of judges for the 2015 BBC Food and Farming Awards, including Giorgio Locatelli, Diana Henry and Cyrus Todiwala.Sheila catches up with previous nominees and winners, looks ahead to the big food stories of the coming year, and explains how you can send in your nominations.Producer: Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon is joined by Harold McGee to answer your food science questions.Harold McGee is fascinated by what we are actually doing to our food when we prepare and cook it. His research and writing have inspired many chefs, including Heston Blumenthal. Today he answers questions from listeners, food writers and chefs about the chemistry of food and cooking.Producer: Sarah Langan.

Redemption through food. Sheila Dillon brings you her selection of inspirational stories from The Food Programme in 2014.Ken Hom tells Sheila how food changed his life and his fortunes. Claudia Roden explains how food brought the Egyptian diaspora together. And we hear from a former drug addict who found a new life growing salad. Presented by Sheila Dillon produced by Emma Weatherill in Bristol.

Feeding Britain - The story of one shop in South Yorkshire which is changing the way we think about food waste and food poverty. A year ago the Community Shop opened in Goldthorpe. It takes food which would otherwise have gone to landfill and sells it at a heavily discounted price.Now the model is expanding. This Monday, 15th December, a new community shop is opening in Lambeth, South London. The aim is for dozens of these stores to be across the country.This week's Food Poverty Inquiry 'Feeding Britain' recommended more of these social supermarkets. But some people do not believe that the problem of food waste should solve the problem of food poverty.Presented by Dan Saladino and produced in Bristol by Emma Weatherill.

A review of cookbooks and food writing of 2014. Sheila Dillon is joined to discuss the year in books by Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly, investigative journalist Joanna Blythman and blogger Alex Ryder aka Gingey Bites.Sheila also hears from publisher Sarah Lavelle about this year's sales. And cookery writer Diana Henry talks about her addiction to cookbooks.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Emma Weatherill.