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BBC World Service


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


The Food Chain

For millions of us around the world, the day hasn't begun until we've had our first cup of coffee. 

Ruth Alexander traces our love affair with coffee back through history, to the wilds of Ethiopia where it was first discovered. She experiences some of the ancient traditions built around coffee which still endure today and asks why this bitter drink has always had such a hold over us. 

And does it matter if we enjoy a coffee or three every day? Ruth finds out what's it doing to our brains and bodies, and whether we really need to worry about kicking this ancient habit. 

Produced by Lexy O'Connor 

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Image: Three roasted coffee beans float on a light green background. Credit: Getty/Jose A. Bernat Bacete

The coffee habit: Why do we love it so much?

Pepper is ubiquitous at the dining table, but arguably most of us don’t know much about it. 

In this programme John Laurenson finds out about the pepper plant – how it is grown and harvested and the range of flavours it can offer. He learns about the history of this spice and why it was once so revered, and the ways in which you can use it today to make your food not just tastier, but also healthier. 

If you’d like to contact the programme you can email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.

Produced and presented by John Laurenson.

Image: a cartoon wooden pepper mill with specks of ground pepper coming out of it, floats on a blue background. (Credit: Getty/yurumarukko)

The power of pepper

How confident would you feel about complaining if a restaurant meal was not up to scratch? 

Restaurateurs in the UK, South Africa and the United States compare stories of the most outrageous complaints they’ve received, and how they were dealt with. 

They tell Ruth Alexander how increasing numbers of customers are "weaponising" the threat of negative online reviews. 

And if you’re someone who struggles to complain when things go wrong, there’s advice on how to make your voice heard calmly and assertively. 

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 

Produced by Lexy O'Connor

Image: A young woman is arguing with a waiter in a cafe. She has a pastry on her plate and is holding a cup of coffee. Credit: Getty/Wavebreak Media

How (not) to complain

How much food is the “right” amount - and why is it so hard to work that out?

Ruth Alexander explores the world of portion sizes, starting with the rise of “portion distortion” in the United States, where supersized sodas and giant restaurant plates became the norm. Nutritionist Lisa Young explains how this shift happened, and what it’s meant for public health.

In São Paulo, dietitian Marle Alvarenga shares new research comparing Brazil, France, and the US, revealing how culture and globalisation shape what feels like a normal portion. Why are French plates so much smaller - and meals so much slower - than in Brazil or America?

And psychologist Lenny Vartanian in Sydney explains the powerful pull of portion size on our behaviour: why bigger servings make us eat more, even when we know better, and why education alone isn’t enough to change our habits.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

Photo: Three spoons showing different portion sizes (credit: getty)

Portion size: How much should you eat?

Listeners to BBC World Service told us they hate it when fellow diners chew noisily or talk with their mouth full. But what is polite at mealtimes can vary wildly according to where in the world you are and who you are with.

Ruth Alexander visits London's City of Westminster College to meet some of its teenage students, to find out about their different backgrounds and what good manners mean to them. She visits an exclusive private members club in the heart of London's West end to talk to Rupert Wesson, a director and coach at the British etiquette institution Debrett’s. And she hears from Japanese language tutor Chika Nakagawa about the rules that govern mealtimes in Japan.

Plus what if you are thrown into a world you weren't prepared for? After tough beginnings and through sheer determination Reggie Nelson built a career in finance. He tells Ruth about his extraordinary path to success and how he got through his first formal business dinner.

And what about when a restaurant meal brings out the worst in a customer? Mo Abedin, owner of Sticky Rice Thai restaurants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi talks about how he and his staff deal with the nightmare diners who have forgotten their manners.

Producer: Lexy O'Connor

(Image: A bearded man in a shirt and tie is eating a meal in front of a red background. He is shovelling a big fork full of noodles into his mouth whilst staring at his mobile phone. Credit: Getty Images/Group4 Studio)

Dining etiquette: What really matters?

Have you tried Dubai chocolate, hot honey or the fruit sando? They’re just a few examples of viral food trends which got everyone talking on social media. 

Rumella Dasgupta talks to creators and product developer to find out how much work goes into creating the next big thing in food. She hears how there’s often years of work behind the product that seems to suddenly be the latest craze. 

It might look as though some food trends go viral overnight, but entrepreneur Mike Kurtz explains how creating his brand Mike’s Hot Honey took years of hard work. Product developers Katie McDaid and Robert Craggs tell Rumella how their jobs involve travelling the world to find the next big thing in food. Plus chef and food writer Pierre Thiam, explains how he’s been working tirelessly for decades to bring the ancient West African grain Fonio to worldwide attention. 

We’d love to hear about the viral foods you’ve tried and what you thought of them. You can email the team at thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 

Producer: Lexy O’Connor

How to set a food trend

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: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 

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

Flavour: The potato chip story

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. 
 
Experts Courtney Peterson, a researcher in intermittent fasting and associate professor at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in the United States.. Professor Alexandra Johnstone, a nutrition scientist based at The Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland snd Marianella Herrera, an associate professor in public health nutrition at Central University of Venezuela and visiting lecturer at Framingham State University in the US, share their insights. 
 
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 

Producer: Izzy Greenfield
Image: A bowl full of cereal and a spoon (credit: Getty)

Should I eat breakfast?

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 
Image: Getty

Bottom trawling and the future of global fish supplies

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: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

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)

Making care home food better

A deeper look at the global network of commerce that comes with the flavouring of our food. Marnie Chesterton visits the UK's Kew Gardens, and gets a better understanding of the horticulture behind many of the world’s most popular spice plants. Simon Jack tries to understand the appeal of competitive eating when it comes to heat, sampling some hot sauce made with the Naga Viper chilli. 

Plus, we hear about the business behind growing the world’s hottest chilli pepper. And, Polly Russell of The British Library reads through one of the oldest recipe scrolls in modern English to show us how spices were used in the courts of kings.

Spice and Status

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