The Food Chain

By BBC World Service

What's The Food Chain about?

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

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The Food Chain episodes:

04.24.2024
To salt or not to salt?
Do you know how much salt you should be eating? And if I tell you it’s less than 5 grams a day, do you know how much that is? Ruth Alexander explores the wonder of salt and...
04.17.2024
Hungry at sea
Over two million people work in the international shipping trade, and they are often at sea for months at a time. That’s a lot of meals being made by the cook on board, and their work is crucial...
04.10.2024
Food double-acts: TV chefs
What’s the secret behind the on-screen chemistry shared by some TV chef duos? The recent death of Dave Myers, one half of ‘The Hairy Bikers’ with Si King, has prompted this programme celebrating successful food friendships. Dave and Si...
04.03.2024
How to run a restaurant
These are tough times for restaurants. If the pandemic's rolling lockdowns were not bad enough, independent eateries now find themselves caught on a conveyor belt of crises: inflation, labour shortages and high rents. That is without mentioning the post-Covid agoraphobic...
03.28.2024
The real Willy Wonkas
Step inside the chocolate factory to hear the secrets of what it’s like to invent sweet treats for a living. Find out why chocolatiers think the raw material is like a “needy child”, but can also bring great...
03.21.2024
Fasting and feasting
Fasting has been a religious and cultural practice for thousands of years, why do people do it? What happens to your body when you fast? The Food Chain speaks to a British family breaking their fast during Ramadan, a woman...
03.14.2024
Why we love dumplings
Dumplings feature prominently in cuisines around the world. Some, like the Ghanaian kenkey, or the Irish dumpling, are balls of dough. But in many countries they’re filled with other ingredients. From the Russian pelmeni, to the Japanese...
03.07.2024
The fifth taste
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and... umami. Have you heard of the fifth taste? Umami, meaning ‘delicious flavour’ in Japanese, was discovered by a chemist in Japan in 1908 but it took nearly 100 years for it to be recognised...
02.29.2024
The school cooks
Three school chefs tell Ruth Alexander what it’s like serving up canteen food every day. Find out how they manage hundreds of hungry child customers, what pro tips they have for making vegetables seem delicious, and why they...
02.22.2024
Is this ultra processed?
Have you heard of ultra processed food? In 2010 a group of Brazilian scientists said we should be focusing less on the nutritional content of food, and more on the form of processing it undergoes. They created the Nova...
02.15.2024
Table talk
What do you and your family chat about at dinner? We eavesdrop on conversations over food all over the world, hearing about poetry, politics, what is on TV and how Morag’s leg is recovering. Whether you gossip or...
02.08.2024
Detroit's urban farmers
The city of Detroit in the United States has a lot of vacant space – as much as a quarter of residential, commercial and industrial sites lie unused today. In this programme Ruth Alexander meets the people who...
02.01.2024
Rebuilding Turkey’s food culture
In February 2023, two earthquakes devastated parts of Turkey. The disaster claimed the lives of nearly 60,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria. In this programme Victoria Craig travels to the city of Antakya, part of Hatay Province,...
01.25.2024
Is Chinese food the best in the world?
Chinese food is popular and successful around the world. But is it afforded the respect it deserves? In some countries Chinese food has been seen as something tasty, but ultimately cheap and not very healthy, despite it being a...
01.18.2024
How to invent an apple
Have you ever wondered why the apple you bite in to is so crisp and juicy? And why it’s available all year round? Apples originated in the mountains of Central Asia, and made their way along trade routes...
01.11.2024
The preservers
Humans have preserved food to make it last longer for thousands of years. In this programme Ruth Alexander learns about different methods of food preservation used around the world, including pickling, dehydrating and canning. Food historian and writer...
12.28.2023
Another year away from home
Ruth Alexander talks to two families displaced by the war in Ukraine, as they reflect on their second year away from home. They discuss the difficulties of being away from loved ones and the solace home cooking can...
12.21.2023
Festive food stories
We take a trip around the world with BBC World Service presenters and listeners, finding out which are their favourite foods when a celebration is in order. A porridge which is hidden around the house to ward off...
12.14.2023
Feed your brain
Our brains require 20% of our body’s energy intake, despite making up, on average, only 2% of our body weight. There are nutrients that are needed for brain health and development, yet many of us don’t think about specifically...
12.07.2023
How to stop cooking killing
It’s estimated that more than 2 billion people use polluting stoves - with severe consequences for their health. The World Health Organisation says 3.2 million people die each year as a result of the household air pollution they cause....
11.30.2023
Pesticide exports
Many countries allow the manufacture and export of pesticides that are banned for use in their own countries. Recently France and Belgium have introduced laws preventing the export of such agrochemicals if their use is banned in...
11.23.2023
Food for new mums
Seaweed soup, aniseed sprinkles on toast, pig trotter soup and fried chicken. In this episode Ruth Alexander learns about what your body needs postpartum, and hears different food traditions for that time, from around the world. Chinese-American author...
11.16.2023
Eco scores on food labels
The European Union wants to introduce one system for scoring the sustainability of food products. The new requirements are likely to be introduced in 2024. Currently there are a number of different labels and symbols used on food packaging...
11.09.2023
How to read a menu
Pan fried, artisanal, gourmet: there's a fashion for foodie words. Why? In this episode, Ruth Alexander finds out how restaurants use language, psychology and behavioural economics to whet your appetite and increase their profits. Linguist Dr Keri...
11.02.2023
Cooking in extreme places
Wherever humans go, whatever we do, we need to eat. In this programme, we meet the people cooking at the extremes. We hear about the chefs serving up three-course meals on Africa’s highest peak; the elaborate puddings created...
10.25.2023
Why is food so expensive in Ghana?
Ghana’s inflation rate is one of the highest in the world, much of it driven by rising food prices. In this programme Ruth Alexander asks how Ghana went from being the world’s fastest growing economy in 2019, to financial...
10.18.2023
The rise of private chefs
This week, Ruth Alexander is exploring the growing market for professional home cooking and asking whether you’re guaranteed the luxury experience you’re paying for. She speaks to private chef Juliana White, also known as Plate in Progress, about what...
10.11.2023
How to feed a city
More than half of us globally now live in cities. The United Nations estimates that by 2050, that number will be closer to seven out of ten of us. How can growing cities feed their populations? ...
10.05.2023
Can you eat your way to 100?
What if you could reach a great age through your dietary choices? Imagine – that the food you eat has a direct effect on how long you live. An appealing concept, but can it be backed up by research? ...
09.27.2023
Bonnie Garmus: My life in five dishes
Bonnie Garmus, author of the bestselling novel Lessons in Chemistry, shares the story of her life through five dishes. Ruth Alexander meets Bonnie in her London home, to talk about the food influences in her debut novel about...
09.20.2023
What's in a national dish?
Many dishes have become famous national symbols both at home and abroad, for example Italian pizza, or British fish and chips. Whilst such dishes can create a sense of unity and identity, they can also be used to fuel...
09.13.2023
The taste test
Consumers have the buying power but how much are they considered when a brand decides to make a change? In this edition of The Food Chain Ruth Alexander takes a look at what goes into developing some of...
09.06.2023
The art of food diplomacy
As India welcomes the world’s biggest economies for the G20 meeting this September, we look at the role that food might play in top level discussions. Food diplomacy is increasingly seen as a form of ‘soft power’ that...
08.30.2023
Feeding baby
Weaning refers to the process of introducing your baby to solid foods, alongside breast milk or formula. In the UK, the NHS suggests this normally happens at around six months old. In this programme Rick Kelsey starts the...
08.23.2023
Stop chewing like that!
Imagine not being able to sit and eat at the dinner table with your family without feeling furious. The little-known condition of Misophonia, often called “sound rage”, is a lower tolerance to certain sounds. Although sufferers can...
08.16.2023
Banh mi: A sandwich with a story
The banh mi is a staple street food in Vietnam and increasingly popular around the world. But how did it come to be a global sensation? In this edition of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander discovers how the signature...
08.09.2023
The Little Italy story
Italian food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, but how did it first make its way out of Italy? In this edition of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander uncovers stories of migration, food culture and...
08.02.2023
This kid cooks
At what age should you start teaching children to cook, and why should you? In this programme, Ruth Alexander meets children and young people who are talented in the kitchen, making the case for why it might be worth...
07.26.2023
Immersive dining
Immersive dining has become something of a culinary craze in recent years. As well as serving food, restaurants are providing multi-sensory experiences for customers; transforming their dining spaces into places where people can escape. In this edition...
07.19.2023
Africa's forgotten foods
The African continent is seeing one of the fastest rates of urbanisation in the world. As people move to cities, and lifestyles change, so do diets. Many indigenous ingredients and dishes become hard to source and prepare. Others...
07.12.2023
What the wedding caterer is really thinking
Going to a wedding this year? Spare a thought for the caterers - expected to put on ever-more elaborate feasts in ever-more challenging conditions. In this episode, three wedding caterers - in India, the US and the...
07.05.2023
How I learnt to cook
Out of necessity, in adversity, or for the fun of it - how, and why did you learn to cook? Ruth Alexander hears the stories behind people’s kitchen skills - the highs, the lows, the challenges overcome, and...
06.28.2023
How did salt get so gourmet?
Salt has been a staple ingredient in cooking and preserving food for thousands of years. It adds flavour to food, preserves it, and keeps our bodies functioning. In recent years, gourmet brands have emerged and some consumers have...
06.21.2023
Can you feed a city from its rooftops?
Could our office, apartment and public buildings also be farms? In this programme, Ruth Alexander meets the pioneers of rooftop farming, turning concrete into green spaces where fruit and vegetables are grown. We find out about the...
06.14.2023
The power of heritage brands
Tabasco sauce, Lea and Perrins, Angostura Bitters. Those are a few of a very select number of sauces, condiments and tipples that have weathered changing tastes and trends over the years, even outliving their founders. How do some brands manage...
06.07.2023
How did TV cooking competitions get so big?
Television cookery competitions are big business – drawing audiences in their millions over multiple series. How did they become such a successful format? In this programme we go behind the scenes with competitors and judges. Ruth Alexander speaks...
05.31.2023
Let’s take a lunch break!
A lunch break can tell you quite a lot about a country’s work culture; ranging from two-hour, luxuriant pauses in some parts of the world, to a couple of minutes, snack-in-hand at a desk, in others. For decades,...
05.24.2023
Teaching tomorrow's chefs
Why go to culinary school when you could learn on the job? Three trained chefs-turned teachers make the case for learning the basics and getting a qualification that could open doors in a competitive world. In this...
05.17.2023
Is the food you’re eating what you think it is?
How can you be sure you’re eating what you think you’re eating? In most cases, food fraud won’t make you ill, but you won’t be getting quite what you’re paying for. In this programme, Ruth Alexander hears why high...
05.10.2023
Should we farm octopus?
The world’s first octopus farm is being planned by a Spanish seafood multinational. The intelligent creatures are difficult to rear in captivity, but numerous companies around the world have been trying and Nueva Pescanova has announced it’s close to...

What's The Food Chain about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Food Chain episodes:

To salt or not to salt?

Hungry at sea

Food double-acts: TV chefs

How to run a restaurant

The real Willy Wonkas

Fasting and feasting

Why we love dumplings

The fifth taste

The school cooks

Is this ultra processed?

Table talk

Detroit's urban farmers

Rebuilding Turkey’s food culture

Is Chinese food the best in the world?

How to invent an apple

The preservers

Another year away from home

Festive food stories

Feed your brain

How to stop cooking killing

Pesticide exports

Food for new mums

Eco scores on food labels

How to read a menu

Cooking in extreme places

Why is food so expensive in Ghana?

The rise of private chefs

How to feed a city

Can you eat your way to 100?

Bonnie Garmus: My life in five dishes

What's in a national dish?

The taste test

The art of food diplomacy

Feeding baby

Stop chewing like that!

Banh mi: A sandwich with a story

The Little Italy story

This kid cooks

Immersive dining

Africa's forgotten foods

What the wedding caterer is really thinking

How I learnt to cook

How did salt get so gourmet?

Can you feed a city from its rooftops?

The power of heritage brands

How did TV cooking competitions get so big?

Let’s take a lunch break!

Teaching tomorrow's chefs

Is the food you’re eating what you think it is?

Should we farm octopus?