Corner shop, mom and pop store or konbini, whatever you call them, most of us have a local business that sells convenience.

Rising food costs mean many are struggling to make a profit, one solution is to improve the fresh food and beverage offering which can have better margins.

Ruth Alexander visits a convenience store in Morley in West Yorkshire in the UK, where owner Ajay Singh has introduced cocktails and street food alongside the traditional offering of bread and milk. Retail analyst Rob Wilson from L.E.K. Consulting explains why the US is looking to Japan for inspiration. Reporter Phoebe Amoroso reports from Tokyo, visiting some of the biggest chain convenience stores in the country and finding out what has made them so successful.

And author Ann Y.K. Choi tells Ruth what it takes to run a convenience store, reflecting on her family’s experiences running such businesses in Toronto after moving there from Korea in 1975.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Image: from left to right, Jazz Singh, Ajay Singh and Suki Singh who run Premier Morley convenience store in the UK. Credit: BBC)

What’s the purpose of restaurant reviews?

The Food Chain looks at who is qualified to write a review, how helpful they are today and the impact they can have on a business.

In this programme Ruth Alexander speaks to Giles Coren, restaurant critic for The Times newspaper in the UK, Opeyemi Famakin, online reviewer and influencer in Nigeria, and Ana Roš, chef and owner of the Hiša Franko restaurant in Slovenia which holds three Michelin stars.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presenter by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup and Bisi Adebayo.

(Image: from left to right, Giles Coren, Opeyemi Famakin and Ana Roš. Credits: BBC, Opeyemi Famakin and Suzan Gabrijan)

Saffron - the world's most expensive spice - is treasured for its rich aroma, vibrant colour, and unique flavour. But why does it command such a high price?

In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander uncovers the story of saffron from crocus flower to kitchen, finds out about the labour-intensive harvesting process, and learns about the innovations in lab-grown saffron that could change the industry forever.

Iranian chef and author Najmieh Batmanglij shares saffron's culinary and cultural significance. Saffron trader Mehrdad Rowhani offers insight into the complex global market and the problem of fraud, and agricultural scientist Dr Ardalan Ghilavizadeh tells us about why more countries are investing in lab-grown saffron, taking the harvest from traditional fields and into indoor units.

To get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

Why do brands have such power over us?

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

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

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

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

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

Presented by Devina Gupta.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

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

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

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

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

Producer/presenter: John Laurenson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you would like to get in touch with the programme, email [email protected].

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producers: Sam Clack and Hannah Bewley

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why do we enjoy foods that crunch?

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you have a question for The Food Chain email [email protected]

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

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