The Food Programme

Sheila Dillon looks at changes to the UK's egg supply following the EU's ban on battery cages and how the food industry is dealing with shortages and escalating prices. Although there may still be enough eggs on the shelves of our supermarkets, the programme discovers that egg products used in some of our most popular dishes are in ever shorter supply and some may even be replaced with egg substitute produced by the dairy industry. Three different food producers explain how the use eggs on a large scale and the impact the EU changes have made on their access to supplies of whole, liquid and frozen products.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

From barrel ageing beer to sourcing intensely bitter hops, Dan Saladino reports on the latest trends in American brewing that are starting to influence British beer styles.The US "craft beer" scene started to take shape 30 years ago. Prohibition in the 1920s and post-war industrialisation brought an end to one of the world's most diverse brewing cultures.In 1979 President Jimmy Carter made home brewing legal again, and soon after, a network of adventurous brewers started to emerge. Known as craft brewers, they operate on a small scale and use traditional brewing techniques but also place great emphasis on experimentation and innovation.American brewer and editor of The Oxford Companion to Beer, Garrett Oliver puts their quest for new flavours down to the US losing its own brewing culture and so being free to explore all others. Now a young generation of brewers in the UK are looking at these new US styles and discovering techniques like barrel aging as well embarking on experiments with new, intensely flavoured, hop varieties.

Since ancient times humans have harnessed the power of microbes to preserve food and enhance its flavours. Rich and complex food cultures have developed that use this power in a process called fermentation - making pickles, breads, wines and much, much more.Sheila Dillon joins Sandor Katz - author and 'fermentation revivalist' - to find out more about the wonders of fermentation as well as our very relationship with these microbes.Producer: Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon looks at the spiritual and therapeutic value many place on breadmaking. She meets a group of refugees who've experienced torture, all using baking in their recovery.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Simon Parkes takes a look behind the scenes of Britain's favourite snack, the biscuit and as he discovers major change is underway to some of our most famous food brands.Our most popular biscuits, including the digestive and the Bourbon became firm fixtures of British life in the 19th century. The snacks were produced in their millions in places like Reading and York and exported all over the world. Today, we spend more than 2.5 billion pounds eating our way through an ever increasing range of biscuits.It's a world that's now having to adapt to a number of powerful trends. Firstly, as we're being encouraged to eat more healthy foods, millions of pounds are being invested by manufacturers with the aim of "reformulating" some of the most valuable recipes in the food industry. Secondly, with the rise of global food brands, more and more of these iconic snacks are being bought up by a small number of companies.What does all this mean for a British food institution? Simon Parkes takes a close look at the pleasures and the profits behind the biscuit.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Tim Hayward is not alone in his passion for stock, but there must be few culinary adventurers who take things to the level of his highly developed home routine.Glasses still steamy from several simmering stockpots, Tim sets off on a journey into the world of stock. On his travels he'll share precious stock secrets, learn from the masters, tell tales of nineteenth-century Uruguay and peek behind the doors of stock-cube heaven.Producer: Rich Ward.

There's been a huge growth in the range of 'free from' foods over the last decade. Sheila Dillon asks whether this is due to more people being diagnosed with food allergies, or whether retailers and manufacturers are finding their own ways to grow consumer interest in dairy and gluten free foods.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Richard Johnson reports from Japan on the impact of the Fukushima disaster on food. How has the threat of contamination changed attitudes to the nation's prized food culture?A year ago, Japan was hit by the catastrophic Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. In the days that followed, reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima nuclear power station experienced full meltdown. The fears of catastrophic radioactivite contamination led to a 20 km-radius evacuation around the plant, while engineers risked their lives to stabilise the reactors. It was the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, but that wasn't the end of the story. A longer-term food story started to emerge. A testing regime was introduced to monitor radiation levels in the food supply chain. The World Health Organisation is also carrying out its own tests to ensure that absorption of caesium through food, over decades to come, doesn't become a major threat to public health.But as Richard Johnson discovers, confusion and lack of information in the early weeks of the crisis has led to suspicion and mistrust among large sections of the Japanese population. For this reason, the disaster is likely to not just change Japan's relationship with its politicians, but also its food culture. Producer: Dan Saladino.

We are going through an unprecedented change in how we eat. Developing countries are moving away from traditional diets, and all over the world new types of foodstuffs are edging out foods that have been consumed for centuries. Is this a change for the better, what is driving this change, and how well do we understand what the implications are?Two influential thinkers - Michael Pollan in the USA and Joanna Blythman in Britain - have written books that, at a time when food choices and dietary advice seem ever more complicated, offer a cry for simplicity. The most populous nation on the planet - China - is undergoing its own rapid transition. Could the glamour of the western diet really threaten such an ancient and unique food culture?Sheila talks to Michael, Joanna and the food writer and expert on Chinese food, Fuchsia Dunlop, about the food that we eat.Producer: Rich Ward.

Who makes sure our food is safe and how? A report on Britain's food safety net. The Food Standards Agency is reviewing who makes sure our food is safe and how that work is carried out. Currently the UK's 434 local authorities employ 2800 people to police our food. With with austerity measures underway there's now less money to spend on those services and budgets for Environmental Health, Trading Standards and public analysis are coming under pressure.It's resulted in food sampling rates and the number of inspections on businesses coming down. Professor Erik Millstone, an expert on the UK's food safety system, believes this could result in an increase in risk from food borne illness. Already rates of Campylobacter, a bacterial form of food poisoning, are on the rise and so any future safety regime will have that as one of its main priorities. Sheila Dillon interviews Tim Smith, Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency, about the cuts, the FSA's review and if economic pressures could lead to an increase in risk to our health.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Sheila Dillon looks at how people are clubbing together to buy budget and luxury food.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

In these uncomfortable times, Sheila Dillon asks what role does food play in giving comfort? Producer: Sara Parker.

Meat-free cooking is in the spotlight. High-profile food writers are devoting books to delicious meatless food, and there are established restaurants, street-food vendors and new eateries offering vegetarian and vegan fare to diners of all stripes. Is it time for all restaurants and cafes to offer fantastic vegetarian food that doesn't feel like an 'add-on' to the menu?In this edition of the Food Programme, Sheila Dillon asks if the British public are increasingly opening their minds to the possibilities of a complete plate of food with no meat? The Food Programme's Carnivore-in-Chief Tim Hayward embarks on a mission to experience what vegetable, pulse and grain can offer.Along the way meet Yotam Ottolenghi, Denis Cotter and encounter a flower-strewn van, some perplexed football fans and 'pasta' made from radishes.Producer: Rich Ward.

The trouble with chocolate. Sheila Dillon explains why supplies of cocoa around the world are facing a challenging future. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Generation Food. The Food Programme hears from the people coming up with new ideas and fresh thinking about how and where we produce food for the UK's future.From computer programmers creating networks for people trading food locally through to community supported market gardens, Sheila Dillon finds out how a new generation is coming up with radical models for growing, buying and selling food. Producer: Dan Saladino.

Food and the Olympics. Guest presenter John Inverdale looks ahead to London 2012 and explores the history of food and athletics from the first London Games of 1948.Presenter: John Inverdale Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Sheila Dillon reports on the major developments in the big food stories of 2011.Producer: Rich Ward.

Tim Hayward and The Food Quiz team juggle more food history, trivia and recipe knowledge in pursuit of fun and gastronomic curiosity.Recorded in front of a live audience at The Abergavenny Food Festival this special edition of the Radio 4 Food Quiz features panellists comedian Chris Neill, food writer Richard Johnson, television presenter Gizzi Erskine and restaurant insider Thomas Blythe.This week's quiz categories include, "beer or racehorse" and "what's cookin'" as well as more from inside "the museum of brands". Producer: Dan Saladino.

Nowhere else will you find a programme that juggles Elvis Presley's culinary history, questions over the origins of a 1970's crisp brand, references to Elizabeth David and some of the world's most unusual food sounds. Food writer Tim Hayward performs this feat in a special Christmas Day edition of The Food Quiz. Panellists Allegra McEvady, Richard Johnson and Chris Neill pit their gastronomic knowledge, grasp of food trivia and culinary history against each other. Categories include the devious "Into the Museum of Brands", a cult cookbook round as well as "What's Cookin'?" in which the teams have to identify a classic dish from the archives.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Dan Saladino explores the past, present and future of the most British of drinks, gin. And hears how a new generation of distillers is testing the boundaries of an old and familiar flavour. For decades vodka was the spirit of choice, not just for James Bond, but also for bartenders and mixologists (a recent term for the people who develop new drink recipes and cocktails). But more recently people have been reaching out for more interesting and complex flavours to replace the neutral taste of vodka. Gin was perfect.From as far back as the 12th century apothecaries had used juniper and its coniferous flavours in spirits to heal and revive. By the 17th century the Dutch had given us Geneva or Holland Gin, a rough, whisky like spirit with juniper at its base. As distilling techniques developed in the 19th century it became the refined gin we know today with juniper flavours being delicately mixed with botanicals like coriander, cinnamon, ginger and Orris.It's the challenge of blending and experimenting with these flavours that has attracted a new generation of gin distillers. Dan Saladino explains the history that has made this 21st century gin craze possible and finds out what is now drawing people to what was once Britain's most notorious drink.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Dan Saladino exlores how higher food prices are changing what we buy and how we eat. From increases in food related crime to shortages of ingredients, what else is in store?

Sheila Dillon talks to Food Award judges Jeremy Lee and Kath Dalmeny about some of the exciting grassroots developments in local markets around the country, focusing on the three outstanding examples of community food retailing which are transforming their communities in different and imaginative ways.

Sheila Dillon reports on the winners and finalists of The BBC Food & Farming Awards 2011.

Mark Bittman is a high-profile figure in the United States. He's the chief food writer for the New York Times, a broadcaster, and a bestselling author.Keen to understand the differences between the British and American food systems, one day he made a call out of the blue to Sheila Dillon. Once in London, he fixed up meetings with Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Arthur Potts Dawson.The Food Programme joins Mark on his personal journey into the world of the campaigning chef.Produced by Rich Ward.

Simon Parkes meets the people trying to come up with food ideas for the future. Will techniques used by experimental chefs become mainstream in the 21st century?Producer: Dan Saladino.

Sheila Dillon looks at the world of the commercial forager. As chefs become increasingly interested in sourcing wild ingredients, who are the people turning it into a profession? Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Used increasingly by the food industry in a wide array of products from chocolate, crisps, ready meals to sweets, palm oil is both a controversial ingredient and, for many, an unknown one.Used for centuries as a cooking oil in West Africa, palm oil has properties that make it a highly desirable and affordable component in food production. It is also used widely in animal feed, and in ever-larger quantities in South-East Asia as a cooking oil.The target of several high-profile campaigns highlighting environmental damage caused by the rapid unchecked spread of palm plantations, it currently does not have to be labelled as palm oil, only 'vegetable fat' or 'vegetable oil'.Dan Saladino goes on a journey to find out why the global use of this oil is growing so fast, and speaks to some of the key players in the palm oil world.Tim Hayward meets Lloyd Mensah from Ghanaian street-food caterers Jollof Pot to discover palm oil's use in traditional West-Africa cuisine.Dan follows the trail of this infamous and ubiquitous substance, ending at the Liverpool refinery of New Britain Palm Oil. Despite all the difficulties that the industry faces he asks if palm oil - actually an incredibly efficient, high-yielding crop - is the future for food?Produced by Dan Saladino and Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon asks if the calorie is an outdated way of controlling diet and reducing obesity.

Sheila Dillon looks at some of the ingenious ways we have developed of preserving food through the ages, and enjoys some autumn foraging for fruits and berries with Jill Mason of the School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire.Elderberry and Apple ChutneyIngredients:425g Elderberries 425g Bramley Apples (peeled and cored)1 Large onion (chopped)50g sultanas 150g soft light brown sugar150ml red wine vinegar½ tablespoon cayenne pepper½ tablespoon mixed spiceMethod In a large pan place the elderberries, apples, onion, sultanas, spices and half the vinegar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the fruit is softAdd the remaing vinegar and sugar whilst still simmering and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to simmer until the chutney has thickened. Ladle the chutney into sterilised jars and seal. Store for three months before eating.

Richard Johnson travels to Los Angeles, a city where many of the world's food trends begin. With the US economy in crisis LA's "food truck" scene is growing. People who have lost jobs are finding new careers by serving street food from trucks with relatively small start up costs. These new businesses work well in LA because generations of immigration have created a diverse food culture and it's so close to one of the biggest farming regions in the United States. Richard Johnson meets these street food pioneers, tastes a "cheese trilogy" and asks the city's most famous chefs and food writers what else the food future might hold. Producer: Dan Saladino.

Britain is a brewing nation, with a long tradition of creating incredible beers to be enjoyed in any number of taverns, inns and pubs.Pete Brown - beer blogger and author - believes that Britain should be truly proud of its remarkable brewing heritage and charts the ups and downs of beer in the UK from Burton-on-Trent's special water via Lloyd George's unsuccessful attempt at Prohibition through to the importance of the glass that we sip our beer from.On October the 1st new taxes came into effect that lower the tax on beer with less than 2.8% alcohol by volume (abv), and raise it on brews with more than 7.5% abv.With concerns across the UK about problem drinking, and debates about minimum unit pricing and glass sizes, Sheila Dillon asks if it is time to re-evaluate our relationship with beer, or can it be part of the solution?Dan Saladino visits the second largest brewing company in the world - SABMiller - at their new research laboratory in Nottingham to see how their research into a new generation of low-alcohol beers is going.The programme also features Mark Hunter, CEO of Molson Coors UK and Ireland (Britain's biggest brewer), Dr Vivienne Nathanson of the British Medical Association, Dr John Holmes of the University of Sheffield, and the BBC's Scotland Correspondent Colin Blane.Producer: Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon explores the issue of advertising junk food to children, and how companies have changed their marketing since the banning of the showing of food advertisements during children's television programmes four years ago.

Honey, prized since ancient times, is today shipped all over the planet. It is used as a pure foodstuff, a sweetening agent, in food manufacturing as well as in pharmaceuticals and more.In this edition of The Food Programme, Sheila Dillon looks at the business of honey.The story starts in rural Oxfordshire, where Rich Ward goes on a production site tour with Patrick Robinson - factory manager at Rowse, the biggest honey packer in the UK. The company brings honey in from all over the world for use in its own-label honeys and in honeys that it packs for its many customers. Rowse also blends honeys - matching the exact specifications of customers, including most of the major supermarkets.Sheila meets Thomas Heck, a honey trader based in the City of London. His company procures large quantities of honeys from many countries that are shipped in large metal drums.Hattie Ellis, author of 'Sweetness & Light: The Mysterious History of the Honeybee' joins Sheila to talk honey history and adulteration.Journalist Andrew Schneider discusses his recent article about 'honey laundering' that sent shockwaves around the USA, portraying a situation in which mislabelled honey and fake honeys are finding their way on to the shelves.Tony Spacey, the founder of Littleover Apiaries in Derbyshire, explains why his company has the need for an on-site laboratory.The highest court in the EU has just issued a ruling concerning GM pollen and honey, which will have far-reaching implications both for the honey trade and beyond. As global demand grows year on year, could the EU be facing a honey shortage?Produced by Rich Ward.

Across the UK, people are going hungry and not getting enough of the foods that they need. Every week, new food banks - where food is given out for free to those in need - are opening their doors, and established food banks are reporting a sharp rise in demand.In this edition of The Food Programme, Simon Parkes looks at food banks and asks if this is the only way. The Trussell Trust is a charity that oversees a nationwide network of food banks in the UK. Simon journeys to Salisbury to the Trust's headquarters where he sees how food boxes are packed, meets those who use the food bank and volunteer there- and talks to Executive Chairman of the Trust Chris Mould about the organisation and its relationship with Government.In New York City, Rich Ward visits the Union Square Greenmarket and talks to Jan Poppendieck, author of the groundbreaking book Sweet Charity which asked difficult questions about the role of the charitable sector in US domestic food aid in the nineties. Martin Caraher, Professor of Food and Health Policy at London's City University, discusses what the UK can learn from North America, what the role of the State is, and shares his thoughts on why in a country in which there is enough food to feed everybody, there is this rise in demand for charitable food aid?Produced by Rich Ward.

Simon Parkes tells the story and legacy of the legendary and maverick chef George Perry-Smith. In 1952 he opened The Hole in the Wall restaurant in Bath. He had no formal training, took inspiration from domestic cook books and changed the British restaurant scene forever.Producer: Dan Saladino.

A special edition with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen looking at the history of kitchen designs and the designers who have influenced the most important space in our homes.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

In a series looking at the people who've changed the way we eat, The Food Programme profiles the campaigner and cheese expert Major Patrick Rance.In the 1950s he set up a shop which offered a rare sight: row after row of British cheeses. By promoting and selling farmhouse cheeses he saved many from extinction.Later in the 1980s he became a prolific writer publishing The Great British Cheese Book in 1982. For the first time home-produced cheeses were documented and explained. He inspired a new generation of farmers, producers and retailers to bring a food culture back from the brink.Chef Richard Corrigan, writer Juliet Harbutt and cheese expert Randolph Hodgson all explain why Patrick Rance's legacy is still alive today.Producer: Dan Saladino.

The Food Programme looks at Scotland's first ever national food policy, introduced by the SNP, to try and join up every aspect of food production and health in the country. Presented by Sheila Dillon. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Sheila Dillon looks back at the life of Mario Cassandro - the man who helped re-invent the restaurant in Britain.Together with his business partner, Franco Lagattolla, Mario Cassandro helped make dining out in 1960s Britain a far more fun, informal and gastronomically pleasing experience. A former waiter from Naples he created Soho's Terrazza Restaurant. As well as attracting the like of Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and Princess Margaret it was a restaurant that brought together all layers of British society.They were all keen to experience a new look in restaurant design (care of Enzo Appicella, the man who went on to create the look of the early Pizza Express restaurants) as well carefully sourced and authentic ingredients.Mario Cassandro passed away this summer, former Good Food Restaurant Guide editor Tom Jaine described him as one of a small number of people who helped transform the restaurant industry in the UK. Tom joins Sheila to help tell his story.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Yeasts, mysterious members of the fungi kingdom, are an essential part of our food production. They play a critical role in baking, brewing, wine-making and much more.Dr Bill Simpson is the Managing Director of a company in Leatherhead that has hundreds of samples of yeasts, old and new, frozen in liquid nitrogen. By preserving different yeasts from around the world his team are able to recreate ales and lagers from the past.Vincent Talleu stumbled upon baking by chance but is now consumed by a passion for good, tasty, healthy bread. Working with a twenty-year-old Swedish yeast 'starter' in an artisan bakery in London, he believes that 'real bread' must be made as it used to be; slowly. This allows the yeast to work its magic.Andrew Whitley is a food educator who started the Village Bakery with a yeast sample he brought back to the UK from Russia. For Andrew, there is absolutely no reason why natural yeasts cannot be used much more widely in bread-making, so that loaves with no synthetic additives and longer production times can be available to all.John Downes pioneered the Australian sourdough revolution in the seventies, and is now working daily with yeasts, recreating the indigenous loaf of the British Isles: ale-barm bread.Producer: Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon follows two schools as they attempt to transform the way their pupils eat.

Sheila Dillon investigates how emergency foods are made for disasters, droughts and wars. Companies developing meals for the crisis in the Horn of Africa explain their latest work.Sheila also visits one of the biggest emergency food hubs in the world, The United Nations' World Food Programme base in Brindisi in Southern Italy. From one warehouse, food for hundreds of thousands of people can be stored and dispatched within a few hours of a crisis call coming in. In Rome teams of nutritionists are looking into the very latest foods that can be sent around the world for populations affected by drought, conflict and earthquakes. Producer: Dan Saladino.

Sheila Dillon investigates the issue of trans-fats in our food, and asks whether a voluntary agreement by the food industry to eliminate them by the end of the year is enough to prevent the kind of health problems associated with a diet heavy in industrial cooking fats.

Ben Weatherall farms rare Blackface sheep and Galloway cattle on his remote hill farm near Dumfries, and aims to rear his animals with as little input as possible. He's one of a number of people working to keep food traditions alive in the Scottish Borders. Following the River Nith downhill, as the animals will be doing later in the year, Sheila Dillon also meets Jim Henderson who has overseen the transformation of this stretch of the river. Formerly polluted and with low fish stocks it is now clean and stocks are thriving. Jim also plays a key part in the ongoing battle with poachers.Ben's brother's farm is home to a rare herd of pedigree indigenous Ayrshire cattle. They're well known for their incredible cream and milk - but the raw (unpasteurised) milk is not allowed to be sold under Scottish law.Robbie Cowan, Tom Brown and Ronnie Clark practice the ancient Norse fishing technique known as Haaf Netting, a practice in harmony with fish stocks. They believe the survival of this method to be essential to preserving local heritage, yet it's not possible to make a living from it now as fish numbers are down.Producer: Rich Ward.

Food writer Tim Hayward investigates a new wave of food entrepreneurship started by professionals seeking a second career or life change, often due to redundancy. Can the food industry sustain this new creative bubble?

Cornish based chef Sanjay Kumar goes on a cooking mission to Italy to save the Cornish sardine. The pilchard and its young offspring the sardine used to be the basis of a thriving fishing and processing industry in Cornwall. In the late 19th century nearly 20 thousand tonnes of sardine was caught, salted, packed and sent to northern Italy where it was highly prized.By the end of the 20th century the fish had fallen out of favour. Supplies of the fish were still abundant but consumers had started to switch to more aspirational fish like cod and salmon. Sardines being landed fell below 10 tonnes. Fisherman gave up the profession, boats were destroyed and processing plants closed.Now with concerns over global stocks, one solution is for more of us to switch to "poorer" more abundant fish species like the sardine and pilchard. Chef Sanjay Kumar, born in Calcutta and now based in Cornwall, wants to help make that happen. He moved to the county five years ago, fell in love with Cornish food and its fishing traditions.In May Sanjay travelled to a bi-annual event held in Italy called Slow Fish. It brings together fishermen, chefs, policy experts and fish scientists, all keen to promote small scale, traditional and sustainable forms of fishing. His mission was to use the event to find new ideas to help revive Cornish fishing tradition.As well as cooking a traditional Italian sardine dish, meeting fellow campaigning chefs, Sanjay also gets to interview the European Union's Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki. Find out how Sanjay's trip can make a difference to how we all think about fish.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Since the National Trust began its campaign put food towards the top of its agenda, how far have its efforts to change the way we think about food progressed?

The burger is one of the world's most popular foods and it made meat eating affordable for millions, but it also became the food that symbolised many of the failings of the world's modern food system.Sheila Dillon looks at a new attempt to revive its reputation as a quality food. This new "burger scene" where immense care is taken with sourcing the meat and using the right cuts, reflects not only a shift in burger eating, but also in attitudes to meat eating itself.The highly respected food and farming writers Simon Fairlie and Colin Tudge both share the views on eating meat in the 21st century. Producer: Dan SaladinoPhotography: Paul-Winch Furness.

The Food Programme investigates whether the Great British food renaissance is over. With food prices rising and consumer confidence falling, has the UK's good food bubble burst?Sheila Dillon visits the Real Food Festival at Earls Court in London. It is a showcase for producers of fine food, and so a perfect indicator of how premium food products and sales are faring in the current economic downturn. Sheila meets chefs, farmers, producers and economists to discuss whether the British food renaissance is doomed, or in fact whether it ever even began.Presenter: Sheila Dillon, Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Sheila Dillon reveals the secrets behind some of the world's great vinegars.Traditionally, the home of balsamic vinegar is Modena in Italy. But now there is a new breed of British producers who are turning their hands to making this viscous dark brown condiment, as well as others who are producing a sumptuous array of fruit vinegars.Sheila Dillon hears from the producers, both in Italy and in the UK, discusses the process and the products - and samples the end results with foodwriter and critic, Charles Campion.Producer: Dilly Barlow.