Two of the country's largest wholesale markets are on the brink of closure. The City of London Corporation has decided to shut the historic meat market at Smithfield and the fish market at Billingsgate, bringing to an end centuries of food history. Sheila Dillon is given a tour of Smithfield market by the historian Matthew Green who describes how Smithfield features in the work of Charles Dickens and was once described as the "kitchen of the universe" by the writer Ned Ward in 1702. The programm...
Mar 07, 2025•43 min
It's a term used by the smallest farmers and the world's biggest food businesses. But what does 'regenerative agriculture' mean? Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Feb 28, 2025•42 min
Sheila Dillon revisits the idea of our grannies’ cooking and how it shapes us, hearing from listeners who sent in their own stories. Why does learning to cook from your granny seem to be such a powerful experience? What about those grannies who leapt at the chance technology offered to escape the endless cycle of cooking from scratch? And – for those of us who feel we’re relying too much on processed food - can we find a granny substitute to help us put down the takeaway menu and pick up a peele...
Feb 14, 2025•41 min
It's 2025, and the same old questions are still being asked about food and health—how do we get people eating better, reduce obesity, improve health, and ease pressure on the NHS? Despite decades of policies and campaigns, the challenge remains. In this episode, Sheila Dillon is joined in the studio by three people whose work is dedicated to finding answers: Dr Dolly Van Tulleken, a visiting researcher at Cambridge University's MRC Epidemiology Unit, who has examined UK government obesity policy...
Feb 07, 2025•43 min
What's behind the rise and rise of low alcohol and alcohol free drinks? The sector grew by a quarter last year alone, fuelled by our changing relationship with alcohol. More than fifteen million people are thought to have considered taking part in Dry January this year and younger drinkers in particular are turning away from alcohol and embracing alcohol-free versions of beer, wine and spirits or entirely new drinks coming onto the market. In this programme Jaega Wise considers the changes in th...
Jan 31, 2025•42 min
Want to lose weight? How much can you achieve through exercise? Dan Saladino investigates with the help of Mike Keen, a chef and Arctic explorer. Mike has had numerous adventures in Greenland, including kayaking thousands of miles, and sometimes doing nothing at all. What happened to his weight on this trips has left him puzzled. They enlist the help three experts, Chris Van Tulleken, author of Ultra Processed People; Nigel Smith of the UK Sports Institute and Andrew Jenkinson, surgeon and autho...
Jan 23, 2025•42 min
Emulsifiers are among the most common food additives found in ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a much-discussed category of foods commonly defined as those made using manufactured ingredients. They are often packaged and have a long shelf life. Research examining the impact of diets high in UPFs suggests higher rates of obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. However, discussions about labeling these foods as "ultra-processed" have also sparked debates about whether...
Jan 17, 2025•43 min
How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform the food industry? Experts say it's already having an effect - whether through self-service checkouts or the algorithms that determine which recipes you see online or the way supermarkets are using it to predict the next big food trend. Jaega Wise heads to the Waitrose Headquarters in Berkshire to find out how their product development team is using AI to inform which ingredients they stock on the shelves. She also talks to the firm Tastewise which...
Jan 10, 2025•42 min
In the year 2000 there were barely any food banks in the UK but today there are nearly three thousand. So what's behind the sharp rise and how did it get to a point where the government says we have "a mass dependence" on food banks? In this episode Jaega Wise tells the story of the food bank. She hears from those using the Bristol North West food bank. They talk openly about how the food bank helped turn their lives around. She also visits a "social supermarket" in south London where people on ...
Jan 03, 2025•42 min
Dan Saladino explores the impact a Christmas Carol and other Charles Dickens novels have had on festive eating, with food historian Ivan Day and food writer Penelope Vogler. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Dec 27, 2024•42 min
Christmas is a time for giving, and for many charities, that often means food. Jaega Wise explores the tradition and looks into the planning that goes into festive food donations. Food historian Carwyn Graves explains how the custom of giving food at Christmas has evolved over the centuries, and why the season inspires so many to give back to their communities. In Aberdare, we meet the team behind Company at Christmas, who host a festive feast for anyone who doesn’t want to spend Christmas Day a...
Dec 20, 2024•43 min
Restaurant businesses say it's getting tougher to survive? So what does it take to thrive? Dan Saladino speaks to leading chefs, some successful, others less so. Featuring Mark Hix, Cyrus Todiwala, Imogen and Kieron Waite, Julian Dunkerton, Simon Rogan and Hugh Corcoran. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Dec 13, 2024•42 min
Join Sheila Dillon at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow for the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2024. The awards honour those who have done most to promote the cause of good food and drink. Our judging panel this year is chaired by chef and broadcaster Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Robin Markwell for BBC Audio in Bristol.
Dec 06, 2024•42 min
Sheila Dillon explores how our grannies' cooking can shape who we are—and asks what we lose if we let go of those traditions. Guests include: Vicky Bennison, founder of YouTube channel Pasta Grannies. Food Writer Clare Finney, and her Grandma Joan Fox. Chet Sharma, chef patron of Bibi, a restaurant named in honour of his grandmothers. Dr Fiona Lavelle from Kings College London, who is researching cooking skills and how they're passed on. and Pauline Crosby, a grandma from Norfolk who is shortlis...
Nov 29, 2024•43 min
Whether it's Turkish Delight, chocolate cake or ginger beer - some of our earliest food memories are shaped by the books we read. In this episode Sheila Dillon goes down the rabbit-hole of children's fiction to discover why young readers find descriptions of food so compelling. She hears from bestselling children's author Katherine Rundell who insists on eating the food she features in her books. Katherine reveals what it's like to sample a tarantula in the name of fiction. Professor of Children...
Nov 22, 2024•42 min
Five seafood species make up 80% of what is consumed in the UK – while at the same time the vast majority of what is caught in UK waters gets exported. But is that trend beginning to shift? In this episode, Sheila Dillon hears how initiatives like the "Plymouth Fishfinger" are hoping to make more use of fish that has often been seen as ‘by-catch’, and how seafood festivals are working to connect the public with local seafood, and can even help regenerate coastal communities. She also hears how t...
Nov 16, 2024•43 min
Peter Frankopan, the author of Silk Roads and Earth Transformed, shares his insights with Dan Saladino on food, history and questions for our future. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Nov 15, 2024•41 min
In this exploration of backstage food, Jaega Wise meets actors and musicians to find out how they eat to fuel their performance. The journey begins backstage at the Criterion Theatre in the West End, to meet stars of the hit musical Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty. From there Jaega chats to baker Stacy Donnelly who’s provided thousands of real-life pies for Waitress the Musical on broadway, and gets advice from nutritionist and dietician Jasmine Challis on...
Nov 02, 2024•42 min
From the indigenous food of the USA to extraordinary cheeses from Ukraine, the wonders of fermentation to a revolutionary network of bakers, Dan Saladino shares stories of food and biodiversity at Slow Food's global gathering, Terra Madre. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Oct 25, 2024•42 min
Leyla Kazim explores how neurodivergence can affect the way people eat and experience food. The programme visits Aubergine Café in Cardiff, which is owned and run by autistic individuals, to meet the staff who explain why the café is needed and how it provides a better workplace for neurodivergent people. Leyla also speaks to expert dietitian David Rex, who supports children with autism facing eating challenges. She meets the parents of one of his patients, a four-year-old girl recently diagnose...
Oct 18, 2024•43 min
Jaega Wise travels the country to meet the three finalists in the Drinks Producer category in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards. Her journey takes her to Belfast and the Bullhouse Brewery which began life in a farm shed. Now thriving in an industrial estate, head brewer Will Mayne talks about his frustrations with the current alcohol licensing system in Northern Ireland which he says made it hard for him to open a pub and sell his beer. The controversial "Surrender Principle" means there's...
Oct 11, 2024•41 min
Dan Saladino looks at 10 potentially planet changing ideas for the future of food, from a farm out at sea to a pioneering rethink on how we can feed cities. Dan meets the scientists, entrepreneurs and risk-takers focused on transforming the health of the planet, and us. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Oct 04, 2024•42 min
Why does food do our heads in? This episode is a panel recording from 2024 Abergavenny Food Festival with a live audience. Sheila Dillon is joined by Chef Heston Blumenthal, who recently went public about his diagnosis of bi-polar, and having ADHD (Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder); chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson, the author of "Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis"; Natalie Hackett the Headteacher of New Lubbesthorpe Primary School in Leicesters...
Sep 27, 2024•42 min
Leyla Kazim traces the journey of this unassuming wonder food, from its health benefits to its origins. Nuts, which once would have been central to the diet of our ancestors, are now often treated as a nice-to-have health choice. It’s a food we need to reconnect with, and to do so, we can learn from both the latest science and other food cultures. Leyla hears from Professor Sarah Berry of King’s College London, who has studied how the form in which we eat nuts - whole, ground, in butters or milk...
Sep 20, 2024•42 min
Dan Saladino visits a unique collection of sourdough bread starters from around the world and explores a hidden world of grains, yeasts, bacteria and their influence on our health. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino
Sep 13, 2024•42 min
As MPs return to Westminster after the summer recess, The Food Programme catches up with three of the newer recruits to discuss future food policies. Sheila Dillon meets Dr Simon Opher MP (Labour), Aphra Brandreth MP (Conservative) and Sarah Dyke MP (Liberal Democrat) at the head office and kitchens of catering firm Social Pantry, who work with ex-prisoners on their zero-waste food offering. The questions come from some familiar voices to The Food Programme, including Dr Chris Van Tulleken, Asma...
Sep 06, 2024•42 min
Food waste isn't a new story. So why cover it again? Well, in the UK, we are still wasting over 10 million tonnes of food a year. That's food that could have been sold, eaten, cooked and enjoyed. Clearly this is a problem that isn't going away. But crucially, we have a new government who have said that a zero waste economy is one of their top priorities for the environment. What will this mean for food waste? And is it individuals, or businesses, who can really make a difference? In this program...
Aug 30, 2024•42 min
Food, identity, myths and reality. In a globalised world can a dish reflect who we are and where we live? Dan Saladino explores fascinating stories of food, music and tradition in an ever changing and fast moving world. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Aug 25, 2024•42 min
Sheila Dillon hears why some clinicians and researchers want the condition 'Ultra-Processed Food Addiction' to be recognised by groups such as The World Health Organisation. Earlier this year, Dr Jen Unwin (clinical psychologist) and some like-minded international colleagues, including Dr Chris Van Tulleken (scientist, author and broadcaster), came together in London to discuss why they believe Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF), as defined by the NOVA Food Classification system, are the most problemat...
Aug 16, 2024•43 min
Finland has once again topped the ranking for the happiest country in the world. But what has food got to do with it? In this programme, Sheila Dillon finds out whether what they eat, their food culture and unique food policies are helping Finns feel happy. What we could we learn from this enterprising Nordic nation? And what challenges are they still facing? In Helsinki, Sheila visits restaurateur and ‘happiness hacker’ Luka Balac, who in his spare time takes tourists through a day in the life ...
Aug 09, 2024•42 min
