Self-confessed crisp lover Ruth Alexander traces the story of the crisp or potato chip, starting with a tasting experience matching fine wines and “rubbish crisps” at a wine bar in the northern English city of Manchester.

With the help of journalist and crisp historian Natalie Whittle, Ruth finds out about the commercial beginnings of the potato chip in the fine dining rooms of nineteenth century New York. She meets the chef who travels the world searching for new taste sensations to develop into a packet of crisps for snack giant Frito-Lays. Can you guess which flavours nearly, but not quite, made it onto the shelves?

Ruth also talks to salty snack expert Jolene Ng of Mintel, who researches the role crisps play in modern life. And with Japan renowned for its unusual flavours, Ruth meets Makoto Ehara, the boss of one of the country’s biggest potato chip makers Calbee, who tells her about the threat climate change poses to the future of the potato chip industry.

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

Produced by Lexy O’Connor

Photo: A woman in a bright pink jumper is smiling as she pushes a supermarket trolley through the potato crisp aisle. Credit: dowell / getty images

High prices, busy lives and the rise of intermittent fasting mean more people are skipping breakfast. This week, Ruth Alexander speaks to three experts in nutrition about whether that matters. She finds out what it’s best to eat for your first meal of the day and when is best to have it.

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

Bottom trawling is one of the most widely used - and most destructive - fishing practices in the world. Dragging heavy nets across the seabed damages fragile ecosystems, depletes global fish supplies, and puts the livelihoods of small-scale fishers at risk.

In this episode of The Food Chain, Rumella Dasgupta speaks to John Worthington, one of the last remaining fishermen in Fleetwood, UK, who fears a proposed ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas could end his business. Fisheries economist Dr Rashid Sumaila of the University of British Columbia explains the global consequences of trawling, from overfishing to illegal and unregulated catches.

On the coast of West Africa, Aissata Daouda Dia, Head of Advocacy at Blue Ventures, tells us hom much coastal communities rely on local catch. Nana Kweigyah from the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana, describes how foreign industrial trawlers are devastating coastal communities. And in Malaysia, Adrian Poon of the Cinnamon Group explores the challenges of sourcing fish sustainably in a market dominated by cheaper, trawled seafood.

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

The quality of food in care homes for the elderly can be underwhelming. Ruth Alexander talks to the people highlighting the issue and finding ways to bring nutrition and comfort back on the menu.

Dr Lisa Portner, a medical doctor and researcher at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charite, outlines the inadequate diet offered by three nursing homes she studied in Germany.

Australian restaurateur and food writer Maggie Beer tells how she came to set up the Maggie Beer Foundation, which aims to research the issues, raise awareness and offer culinary training.

Ronald Marshall explains the simple ways he found to help carers understand the food preferences of his mum, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020.

And Navjot Gill-Chawla recounts the conversations she had with South-Asian Canadians living with dementia and their families, as a PhD Candidate in Public Health at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. When the subject of care homes came up, she says food was uppermost in their minds.

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

And if you'd like to try Maggie's brownie recipe featured in the show, you can find it in full on our website.

Producer: Beatrice Pickup

(Photo: Two cooks in a care home kitchen are smiling as they prepare a tray of brigh orange roast pumpkin. Credit: Sam Kroepsch)

From ancient Egyptian pyramid builders to French chefs, garlic has been prized, feared, and even used to ward off evil. In this episode, Rumella Dasgupta explores garlic’s journey through history and across cultures - from its medicinal roots and rich folklore to its starring role in kitchens worldwide. Featuring chefs, historians, and dietitians, we uncover how this pungent bulb became a global favourite - and ask the ultimate question: is garlic really good for us?

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

The World Health Organisation says close to 60 million people are living with dementia; and there are 10 million new cases every year. But could what we eat help to prevent it?

Three guests who've been exploring the potential for diet to help prevent dementia tell Ruth Alexander about their findings. We hear from Professor Christy Tangney of Rush University System for Health in the United States – she co-created the MIND diet; Anne-Marie Minihane, Professor of Nutrition and Genetics or Nutrigenetics as it’s known, at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia in the UK; and Dr Lizette Kuhn, a dietitian in Pretoria, South Africa.

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

Produced by Izzy Greenfield and Alistair Kleebauer

(Image: two sides of a brain; one made up of fruits and vegetables, and the other a sketch. Credit: Getty Images)

Dementia is a syndrome associated with a decline of brain function that can affect memory, thought processes and behaviour. In some cases this can impact people’s ability to shop, cook and eat a meal. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease.

In this programme Ruth Alexander meets people living with dementia and their families, to hear about the ways in which a diagnosis can impact mealtimes.

Ruth meets Alan and Amy Lambert in Manchester, England. Alan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2024 and his daughter Amy lives with him. They share some of the techniques they’ve developed at home to support Alan.

For Ruby Qureshi in Canada, cooking was a huge part of her life before being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020. Ruth hears how her husband Pasha Qureshi has joined her in the kitchen in a supporting role.

Jo Bonser in Nottingham, UK shares her experiences of supporting her mother who lived with vascular dementia and in 2016 stopped eating and drinking. Jo has gone on to set up a company, Dignified Dining that offers training in this area.

And Aideen McGuinness is a registered dietitian working in the Memory Assessment and Support Service in Country Wexford Ireland, and co-author of a guide on dementia and nutrition.

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

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: Alan and Amy Lambert sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of soup and plate of toast. Credit: BBC)

Something as simple as sharing a meal or utensils can carry social stigma for the millions born into the bottom of India’s caste system, a social structure that divides people into different groups.

In this programme Devina Gupta explores the foods of the Dalit community, historically considered at the very bottom of the caste system. She hears how many dishes evolved from necessity, due to low incomes and lack of available food and speaks to people looking to record and share these dishes with future generations.

Devina meets people who identify as Dalit to talk about the discrimination they have experienced in their communities and workplaces as a result of their family’s social status, and how it can be particularly hard to find work in the food industry.

If you’d like to contact the programme you can email [email protected].

Producer Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: some foraged green leaves being washed in a bowl of water. Credit: BBC)

What’s at stake when a child has their first meal in a new home?

For children entering care, especially those who have faced food insecurity, that first plate of food can be a big moment.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores how food and mealtimes can help children feel safe and give them a sense of belonging.

She meets Jessica-Rae Williamson, a 21 year old care leaver from Manchester, England, who still remembers the first meal she ate with her foster family, aged 13.

In Wrexham, Wales, Ruth meets long-term foster carers John and Viv, Cath and Neil and Rosemary, who have opened their homes to dozens of children through Foster Wales. They discuss their strategies for dealing with picky eating and hoarding.

Dr Katja Rowell, feeding expert and author of the book “Love Me, Feed Me: The Foster and Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Responsive Feeding”, gives her counter-intuitive tips for avoiding mealtimes becoming a battleground.

And Melissa Guida-Richards, author of the book “What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption”, shares her experience of being adopted from Colombia by Italian and Portuguese parents living in the US and her subsequent search for her Colombian heritage through food.

This programme contains discussion of food poverty and insecurity, and disordered eating. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised and need support, speak to a health professional.

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

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: a partly eaten plate of spaghetti bolognese sat on a child's knee.Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Protein is a health and fitness buzzword – plastered on packaging, prioritised in diets and praised by fitness influencers. But is our preoccupation with protein overshadowing another nutritional essential – fibre? Ruth Alexander explores the science, and marketing, behind protein’s popularity with expert guests Dr Emma Beckett, a food and nutrition scientist and communicator in Australia, and author of You Are More Than What You Eat; physician and social media creator Dr Karan Rajan, who is the author of This Book May Save Your Life; Scott Dicker from SPINS market research company in Chicago; Paul Kita, deputy editor of Men’s Health Magazine in the US.

Producer: Izzy Greenfield