The Food Programme

Dan Saladino travels on a new road in Albania that leads to an undiscovered cheese world.

In 2013, The School Food Plan was published aiming to revolutionise food in schools across England, and to show countries around the world what providing good food in schools could look like. Out of the policy came 'universal infant free school meals', dubbed by the Government as "good news" for any family with small children at infant school. A £600 million commitment to giving children a hot mea...

Dan Saladino outlines the big food issues we're facing because of Brexit. From the impact of a devalued pound to longer term questions over the future of how we farm, produce, buy and sell food. Dan goes on the road in search of answers. The podcast of this programme is a special extended edition featuring Angela Hartnett. Producer: Rich Ward. Photo: Artur Melez Tixiliski.

Dan Saladino returns to the world of the gut microbiota, the vast array of microbes within us all. From the Amazon Basin to East Africa to the life underneath our feet; food will never be quite the same again. Featuring Tim Spector, author of The Diet Myth, Jeff Leach, co-founder of the American Gut Project, microbiome scientist Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, food professor and author Ken Albala, a...

Dan Saladino reports on food, survival and fishing from the Faroe Islands. From fermented sheep's head to whale blubber he finds out how people eat on the remote archipelago. For many generations many of these traditonal foods were only eaten in family homes, often having associations with poverty and difficult times. Things are changing however and dishes from the past are now helping to drive a...

Dan Saladino discovers the world of the gut microbiota, the vast array of microbes within us all. From East Africa to the White House, it's a story that'll change the way you eat. Dan is joined by Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London, and author of The Diet Myth - The Real Science Behind What We Eat. Tim tells the story of how he became fascinated by the gut micr...

In the British Library there is an archive of life story sound recordings which tells the true story of how our food has changed over the past century. Until now, this collection has been accessible only by visiting the British Library. Now, for the first time, the 'National Life Stories project' is being made public online. Featuring hundreds of voices, and thousands of hours of interviews, it is...

Food writer Diana Henry has just collected a James Beard Award in America for her latest book 'A Bird in the Hand'. Straight from the plane she joined Sheila Dillon at the Bristol Food Connections Festival. In Part 1 of the interview she shared about growing up in Antrim, how a revelatory French exchange fuelled her excitement about cooking and starting out in TV. She shared works by Naguib Mahfou...

Part two of a road trip which took BBC Food & Farming Awards judges Yotam Ottolenghi and Sheila Dillon from the Outer Hebrides, to Cheshire's pastures and on to South west Wales. Which is where they met the winners of this year's award. They are Charcutier Ltd. A young couple producing bacons, hams, cured and smoked products and charcuterie. In this programme, Sheila and Yotam visit Felin y Gl...

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sheila Dillon meet BBC Food and Farming Awards's best food producers.

Sheila Dillon presents the 2016 BBC Food & Farming Awards in this extended online special. At the ceremony in Bristol, Sheila and three co-hosts - Yotam Ottolenghi, Angela Hartnett and Stefan Gates - guide us through the stories of the finalists and reveal this year's winners. This full-length edition, available to download and listen online, also features an extended version of the Derek Coop...

Sheila Dillon and Genevive Taylor explore why Bristol has such a strong food scene.

Food in the most extreme cooking environment, space. Dan Saladino tries menus for Mars.

Continuing our series of programmes on cooking and eating in challenging conditions in remote places: The Royal Navy's submarines make their own air and water so food is the one factor limiting how long they can remain at sea. Sheila Dillon explores life, and the role food plays in it, on board HMS Artful- a nuclear-powered but not nuclear-armed submarine. More than simply for nutrition, food acts...

Across all of the world, weather doesn't get more extreme than the Antarctic winter. The continent is plunged into 24 hour darkness from from March to October with strong polar winds and temperatures that can dip to minus 50. But for the staff of the Halley Research station, work and life goes on. In 2014 experienced Antarctic chef Gerard Baker joined the base for the cold Antarctic winter to cook...

From the guerilla gardener Ron Finley in South Central LA fighting the law to grow vegetables to the project training children in Brazilian favelas to train as chefs, Dan Saladino has shared some inspiring and life changing food projects shared at the MAD symposium in Copenhagen in 2014. But what's happened since then? He wants to hear what those projects have gone on to achieve. MAD (the word for...

Dan Saladino charts the rise, fall and rise of traditional Neapolitan pizza. He's joined by Daniel Young whose "Where to Eat Pizza" lists 1700 great pizzerias around the world. A common theme in the book, Daniel argues, is that after decades of competition from less authentic rivals, the Neapolitan style pizza is making an impact on restaurant scenes across Europe, Asia and north America. Professo...

Fermentation is one of our oldest methods for preserving food. All around the world people have been transforming food with the help of microbes for thousands of years. The problem is, this simple method has had an identity crisis. We tend either see it as a fashionable fad, or a strange science. But there are people who want things to change. So in this programme Sheila Dillon meets 'The fermente...

Sheila Dillon unveils the list of this year's BBC Food & Farming Awards finalists. Presenter: Sheila Dillon Producer: Rich Ward.

If your experience of sake has been limited to simply 'a hot cup of alcohol after a meal' like Sheila Dillon it's time to listen without prejudice. With thousands of breweries each producing dozens of varieties there is more range than most of us understand. After a slump in sales in Japan young people are now returning to sake and in the UK interest is growing rapidly with top restaurants listing...

Dan Saladino explores the fierce debate over how 1.2bn people will be fed in the future.

In her new book, First Bite - How We Learn To Eat, Bee Wilson takes a deep and reflective look at how food choices and habits are shaped, and how they can be changed. Sheila Dillon is joined by Bee Wilson and special guests to discuss the book's surprising findings, and how to make positive changes where positive change is needed. Sheila and Bee are joined by Rosie Boycott, who advises the Mayor o...

Ultra-marathon champ and vegan Scott Jurek tells Dan Saladino how to eat and run 100 miles. Fermented food and Paleo diets are also put to the test in Food and Running Part 2.

Dan Saladino meets the people working to improve the food future of Newcastle.

Welcome to Cardiff, Croeso i Caerdydd. The capital of Wales and the fastest growing urban population in the UK. For centuries, people have come to the city to live from Wales, and from far beyond the country's borders, attracted by the prospect of a life between the sea and the hills. It's a city with, at once an international community and a strong Welsh identity. In this programme Sheila Dillon...