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 UK - share anecdotes about demanding guests, make-shift hillside kitchens and emergency trips to hospital.  Warning: if you’re a bride- or groom-to-be, this programme might just give you a case of the jitters.  You can share your tales of wedding banquet triumphs and disasters by emailing thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  (Picture: Bride and groom blowing out a candle on a cake. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)  
Presenter: Ruth Alexander 
Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

What the wedding caterer is really thinking

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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Why eat with your hands?  Many food cultures around the world eat using hands, and most of us use our hands some of the time.  Do we really need cutlery or chopsticks to eat a salad, peas or rice? And if you were to tackle soup or stew with your hands, how would you go about it?  Michael Kaloki reports from Nairobi, Kenya, where the staple dish ugali, made from maize flour, is traditionally eaten by hand. Michael has observed that people increasingly use cutlery to eat the dish, and he speaks to restaurateurs and customers about why that might be, and what might be lost.   Ruth Alexander learns about the etiquette of eating by hand with food writer and consultant Karen Anand in India. And Ruth explores whether food might be more enjoyable, and even taste better, when eaten by hand. Psychologist Professor Charles Spence from Oxford University, and chef Jozef Youssef of Kitchen Theory in the UK share their research.   If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  Presented by Ruth Alexander.  Produced by Beatrice Pickup.  Reporting by Michael Kaloki in Nairobi, Kenya.  (Image: a man’s hands, pulling apart a sweet cake wrapped in dough, with sauce on his hands. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)

Eat with your hands

Stunning cakes, colourful salads and intricate garnishes use flowers to entice customers, but there’s more to this trend than just beautiful social media pictures.   Many cultures around the world have eaten flowers for centuries, and some of them pack a serious punch.   Devina Gupta explores the history of edible flowers and visits a site in the UK where they’re grown all year round. She gets quite a shock when trying one particular variety.   We find out why flowers are used on food nowadays, and how generations of knowledge about their use and properties were lost when they were brought to Western countries.   If you would like to get in touch with the programme, email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.    Presented by Devina Gupta  Produced by Julia Paul and Beatrice Pickup  (Image: A nasturtium flower growing. Credit: BBC)

Can I eat this flower?

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 why chefs think their job would be pointless without it and why the impact it’s having on the food might surprise you.   Professor Paul Breslin tells us about the “magical” chemical reaction happening on your tongue when you eat salt, and why your brain responds to that.   We hear about what eating too much salt can do to you from an expert in Australia, as well as a mother in Kazakhstan who cut out salt almost completely – in a country which has one of the highest consumptions in the world.   If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  Presented by Ruth Alexander Produced by Hannah Bewley    (Image: A chef sprinkles salt on a pan of food. Credit: BBC)

To salt or not to salt?

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 for keeping the crew happy.  Ruth Alexander hears from seafarers about why that makes “cookie” the most important person on board a ship and why, in some cases, crew members are going hungry.    A former captain of merchant vessels tells us how food is used for so-called “facilitation payments” to corrupt officials, and why crews can sometimes be powerless to stop port officials filling up suitcases with food from the ship’s stores.  We also hear about international efforts to try to tackle corruption in ports and increase welfare standards for seafarers.  If you would like to share your own experience, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk  Presenter: Ruth Alexander  Producers: Izzy Greenfield and Hannah Bewley  (Image: A container ship at sea. Credit: Getty Images)

Hungry at sea

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 made food shows and cookbooks that took their fans all over the world, and off-screen they were close friends.   In this programme Ruth Alexander speaks to two chefs who have found success in food with a good friend.  Ruth Rogers, co-founder of The River Cafe restaurant in London, talks about her partnership with the late Rose Gray, who died in 2010. Together they presented ‘The Italian Kitchen’ for Channel 4 in the UK in 1998.   Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo talks about his long friendship and work with the late chef Antonio Carluccio, and the TV series they made together for the BBC, ‘Two Greedy Italians’ in 2011 and 2012. Gennaro also talks about his friendship with the chef Jamie Oliver to whom he’s been a mentor.   Presented by Ruth Alexander.   Produced by Beatrice Pickup.  (Image: Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray plating dishes at The River Cafe restaurant in London. Credit: Maurice ROUGEMONT/Getty Images/ BBC)

What the wedding caterer is really thinking

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