The Food Programme

With digital publishing evolving at a blistering pace, Sheila Dillon investigates the future of the printed cookery book. Andrew Webb is a food journalist whose work spans the online and printed worlds. He is the author of 'Food Britannia', which just scooped the Guild of Food Writers award for Food Book of the Year, and also edits a food website. To find out where things are moving in the world o...

Sheila Dillon meets Jan Matthews head of the UK's biggest catering job, organising food for the Olympics, London 2012 to ask how successful she's been with the "Olympic Food Vision" that promised to showcase the best of British food. She also meets the Chair of London Food, Rosie Boycott to hear the latest on the city's growing initiative that aims to be part of the Olympic food legacy. Producer:...

In this special programme Sheila Dillon launches the search for this year's winners of the BBC Food & Farming Awards. Sheila is joined by Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett to catch up with some of the recent winners and nominees. With insights from last year's winners of the Best Food Producer award - Loch Arthur Creamery - to the Best Market - Bolton - we hear why the awards make a real d...

Sheila Dillon explores the world of the modern British tomato. Great improvements have been made in variety, flavour and quality over the last decade thanks to some technological breakthroughs including computer controlled glasshouses and use of micro-environments, green energy and smart water use. Now many more varieties can be trialled, grown and marketed in the UK. But with the emphasis on qual...

Simon Parkes reports from the London International Wine fair to discover the latest trends in the wine industry. Simon meets wine producers from emerging wine producing countries such as India and Brazil to taste the wines that could soon be hitting the supermarket shelves in the UK. He also samples wines with a lower alcohol strength to discover if it is possible to produce wines that taste good...

Tim Hayward offers his reflections on the past, present and future of the British breakfast. Has the first meal of the day become a problem to solve rather than a pleasure? Joined by food writer and breakfast historian Seb Emina, Tim finds out how the great British breakfast became the envy of the world. With its origins dating back to aristocratic Edwardian country houses, the cooked breakfast sp...

For many years the symbol of stodgy service station fare, the humble pie is enjoying a renaissance as chefs and public alike discover the joys of a lovingly made pastry containing top quality ingredients. The Food Programme meets piemakers and connoisseurs at the annual British Pie Awards and hears why top chefs and food writers are extolling the virtues of the pie Producer: Maggie Ayre.

What's the future for one of the world's most successful and controversial crops, soya? It has become one of the main ingredients in feed for livestock, so crucial in meat production, and it's a major source of edible oil used in food processing and cooking, but have we become too dependent on the soya bean? This year supplies of soya have tightened and the world price is approaching a record high...

Despite a long history of use in coastal areas of the British Isles, and with a well-established role in folklore and traditional medicine - seaweed is not an ingredient currently found in many British kitchen cupboards. The raw ingredient is something of an acquired taste, and knowledge of different seaweeds and their uses is not widespread. However, as Sheila Dillon discovers in this edition of...

Sheila Dillon looks at changes to the UK's egg supply following the EU's ban on battery cages and how the food industry is dealing with shortages and escalating prices. Although there may still be enough eggs on the shelves of our supermarkets, the programme discovers that egg products used in some of our most popular dishes are in ever shorter supply and some may even be replaced with egg substit...

From barrel ageing beer to sourcing intensely bitter hops, Dan Saladino reports on the latest trends in American brewing that are starting to influence British beer styles. The US "craft beer" scene started to take shape 30 years ago. Prohibition in the 1920s and post-war industrialisation brought an end to one of the world's most diverse brewing cultures. In 1979 President Jimmy Carter made home...

Since ancient times humans have harnessed the power of microbes to preserve food and enhance its flavours. Rich and complex food cultures have developed that use this power in a process called fermentation - making pickles, breads, wines and much, much more. Sheila Dillon joins Sandor Katz - author and 'fermentation revivalist' - to find out more about the wonders of fermentation as well as our ve...

Sheila Dillon looks at the spiritual and therapeutic value many place on breadmaking. She meets a group of refugees who've experienced torture, all using baking in their recovery. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Simon Parkes takes a look behind the scenes of Britain's favourite snack, the biscuit and as he discovers major change is underway to some of our most famous food brands. Our most popular biscuits, including the digestive and the Bourbon became firm fixtures of British life in the 19th century. The snacks were produced in their millions in places like Reading and York and exported all over the wor...

Tim Hayward is not alone in his passion for stock, but there must be few culinary adventurers who take things to the level of his highly developed home routine. Glasses still steamy from several simmering stockpots, Tim sets off on a journey into the world of stock. On his travels he'll share precious stock secrets, learn from the masters, tell tales of nineteenth-century Uruguay and peek behind t...

There's been a huge growth in the range of 'free from' foods over the last decade. Sheila Dillon asks whether this is due to more people being diagnosed with food allergies, or whether retailers and manufacturers are finding their own ways to grow consumer interest in dairy and gluten free foods. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Richard Johnson reports from Japan on the impact of the Fukushima disaster on food. How has the threat of contamination changed attitudes to the nation's prized food culture? A year ago, Japan was hit by the catastrophic Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. In the days that followed, reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima nuclear power station experienced full meltdown. The fears of catastrophic radioacti...

We are going through an unprecedented change in how we eat. Developing countries are moving away from traditional diets, and all over the world new types of foodstuffs are edging out foods that have been consumed for centuries. Is this a change for the better, what is driving this change, and how well do we understand what the implications are? Two influential thinkers - Michael Pollan in the USA...

Who makes sure our food is safe and how? A report on Britain's food safety net. The Food Standards Agency is reviewing who makes sure our food is safe and how that work is carried out. Currently the UK's 434 local authorities employ 2800 people to police our food. With with austerity measures underway there's now less money to spend on those services and budgets for Environmental Health, Trading S...

Sheila Dillon looks at how people are clubbing together to buy budget and luxury food. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

In these uncomfortable times, Sheila Dillon asks what role does food play in giving comfort? Producer: Sara Parker.

Meat-free cooking is in the spotlight. High-profile food writers are devoting books to delicious meatless food, and there are established restaurants, street-food vendors and new eateries offering vegetarian and vegan fare to diners of all stripes. Is it time for all restaurants and cafes to offer fantastic vegetarian food that doesn't feel like an 'add-on' to the menu? In this edition of the Food...

The trouble with chocolate. Sheila Dillon explains why supplies of cocoa around the world are facing a challenging future. Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Generation Food. The Food Programme hears from the people coming up with new ideas and fresh thinking about how and where we produce food for the UK's future. From computer programmers creating networks for people trading food locally through to community supported market gardens, Sheila Dillon finds out how a new generation is coming up with radical models for growing, buying and selling food. Pr...

Food and the Olympics. Guest presenter John Inverdale looks ahead to London 2012 and explores the history of food and athletics from the first London Games of 1948. Presenter: John Inverdale Producer: Maggie Ayre.