The Food Chain

Epizódy

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  What do chefs eat? 09.09.2026 26min

  Ever wondered what the chef is eating? Snacking on the finest produce or surviving on thin air and caffeine? In this episode Ruth Alexander speaks to three chefs about how they get through the day, and the importance of the ‘family’ or staff meal. She’s joined by Juliette Feller, a Swiss chef working in London, Marisha Shukla a pastry chef in Bengaluru India, and Sam Grainger, an exec chef and restaurateur in Manchester in England. You can contact the programme by emailing [email protected]. (Image: from left to right, Juliette Feller wearing a pinstripe blazer, Marisha Shukla wearing a white shirt and Sam Grainger wearing a blue denim apron. Credit: Fin Nichols, Victoire Terrade, Sam Grainger)
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  The regulars 19.08.2026 26min

  Do you have a local cafe, restaurant or bar that you go to all the time? Maybe the staff recognise you or know you by name, perhaps you even get special treatment. In this programme Rumella Dasgupta finds out why people like to return to the same place, and the commercial value to a business of having regular customers. You can contact the programme by emailing [email protected]. Produced by Izzy Greenfield. (Image: a man sat at a bar chatting to a barman who is wearing an apron and cleaning a glass. Credit: Getty Images)
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  Leaving home 12.08.2026 26min

  Moving out of the family home can be a big first step at whatever age you do it. Paying bills, budgeting, shopping, and importantly cooking for yourself. In this programme Rumella Dasgupta asks what dishes you should be able to cook when you leave home for the first time. Rumella meets chef and food writer Claire Thomson and her daughter Grace Williamson in their kitchen in Bristol, England. Claire's latest cookbook, 'Dear Grace: Recipes from Your Mother for the Next Chapter in Life', was written when Grace left home for university a year ago. At Salford Youth Zone, a youth centre in the North of England, Rumella talks to teenagers about how confident they feel in the kitchen. Shahpar Salim in Bangladesh talks about the challenges of leaving home for a new country when she came to the UK for her studies. Food writer and editor Yeonjoo Jung explains why young people often live at home throughout their twenties in South Korea. And mothers in the United States tell us how mealtimes changed once faced with the so-called 'empty nest'. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] by Beatrice Pickup. (Image: a young woman standing in a green open doorway holding a suitcase and looking hopeful. Credit: Getty Images)
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  What can food tell us about the past? 05.08.2026 26min

  What can food reveal about the people who came before us? From ancient meals and family recipes to the chemical traces left behind in bones and teeth, food offers remarkable clues about how people lived, travelled and survived.In this episode, Ruth Alexander explores how historians, archaeologists and old cookbooks are helping us piece together the story of our past.Historian Professor Peter Scholliers explains how something as ordinary as the changing price of food can reveal shifts in society, politics and everyday life. In India, author and historian Tarana Khan takes us inside a remarkable collection of two-hundred-year-old cookbooks from Rampur, uncovering forgotten recipes that reveal changing tastes, cultures and identities. And in Scotland, archaeologist Dr Sam Leggett explains how scientific analysis of ancient bones and teeth can reconstruct diets, migrations and even challenge long-held assumptions about the lives of people in the past.They explore how food can reveal trade routes, social class, cultural exchange, climate change, migration and the choices people made around the dinner table centuries ago.From old recipe books to archaeological discoveries, we discover how food helps us understand not only where we've come from, but how our relationship with food continues to shape the world today.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]: Beatrice Pickup Sound engineer: Hal Haines Picture: Getty
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  Should I cut down on carbs? 29.07.2026 26min

  Have you ever asked yourself: should I do Keto? Is white rice good for me? Am I eating too many carbohydrates? If so, then this episode of The Food Chain is for you. Carbohydrate-rich foods are everywhere and they’re delicious. But are they good for us? Carbs have a reputation for spiking our blood sugar and making us fat. But is that reputation deserved? Ruth Alexander talks to Javier Gonzalez, Professor of Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Bath in England and US-based dietitian Julie Stefanski from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to find out whether we’ve been approaching carbohydrates all wrong. Plus: are there some populations who need to think more carefully about carbs than others? Dr Nelum Dharmapriya thinks so. She’s an Australian family doctor with a special interest in metabolic health in South Asian populations. She advises her patients to make some tweaks to the traditional South Asian carbohydrate-rich diet and says it can be done without losing heritage and identity.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] by Lexy O'Connor and Beatrice Pickup.(Image: A woman stares over her sunglasses as she slurps pasta from a fork in a sunlit garden.Credit: Getty images/BBC)
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  When should I eat my evening meal? 22.07.2026 26min

  When should you eat your evening meal? Is it really better to eat earlier, or does it depend on when you go to bed? And if you do have to eat late, is there anything you can do to reduce the impact on your health?In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores what science says about the timing of dinner. From our internal body clocks to the food on our plates, we examine how the evening meal affects our metabolism, digestion and overall health, and separate the evidence from the myths.Circadian rhythm researcher Dr Emily Manoogian, from the Salk Institute in California, explains what happens inside the body as the day progresses, why eating close to bedtime can affect the way we process food, and whether biology cares more about the clock or our own sleep schedule.Nutrition scientist Professor Sarah Berry from King's College London shares practical advice on what a healthy evening meal should look like. Around the world, however, people eat dinner at vastly different times. Food historian Professor Jeffrey Pilcher from the University of Toronto explains why meal times vary so much between cultures, how work, family life and history have shaped the evening meal, and why there has never been one universal way to organise dinner.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]: Izzy Greenfield Sound engineer: Hal Haines Picture: Getty (plate of food indicating the time)
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  The rise of eating alone 15.07.2026 26min

  Listener Melanie wrote into The Food Chain to ask us to make a programme about the rising numbers of people who eat alone. She told us she often dines solo and sometimes finds the experience daunting. So today Ruth Alexander hears from Melanie and from other solo diners – some who find peace and joy in a table for one, and others who would much rather not be alone.With the help of Sociologist Professor Eric Klinenberg from New York University, Ruth looks at what’s behind the global rise in single-person households.And she hears how another Food Chain listener, Malvina from California, brought her friends together around the table, over a video call and how Nishi Singh, determined to enjoy a solo dining experience in Delhi, has turned it into a social media phenomenon.(Photo: A woman holds a spoon up to her mouth as she eats from a bowl. She is sitting at a sunlit table next to a window, with large, leafy indoor plants behind her. She has long brown hair and wears a blue, ribbed, jumper and a silver necklace. Credit: Getty Images)If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]: Lexy O'Connor Sound engineer: Andrew Mills
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  What do World Cup footballers eat? 08.07.2026 26min

  Elite footballers are among the world's most finely tuned athletes. Every meal is carefully planned to fuel training, maximise recovery and prepare for the next match. But it wasn't always this way.In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores how football's relationship with food has changed, from the days of steak and beef before a game to today's highly personalised nutrition plans.Sports historian Professor Matthew Taylor traces the evolution of football's food culture, explaining why clubs once left players to fend for themselves and how attitudes began to shift.Former Denmark international goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel reflects on how nutrition changed during his own career, and what modern players understand about food that previous generations didn't.Mona Nemmer, former Head of Nutrition at Liverpool FC and a nutritionist with the German national team, explains what elite footballers actually eat before, during and after matches, how meals are tailored to individual players, and why feeding a squad is about far more than calories alone.At major tournaments, those carefully designed nutrition plans have to work on the move. Giulio Caccamo, who was chef for the US Men's National Team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, takes us behind the scenes of feeding an international squad. From planning menus months in advance to serving players in hotels, training grounds and on flights, he reveals the logistical operation behind every meal, and why food can be as important for morale as it is for performance.From pre-match pasta to post-match burgers, from sports science to supply chains, this episode explores what it really takes to feed footballers at the highest level.(Photo: Erling Haaland looks up as eats a snack. His blonde hair is tied back. Credit: Getty Images)If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]: Izzy Greenfield Sound engineer: Jack Wilfan
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  How to order a restaurant meal like a pro 01.07.2026 26min

  With dining out becoming an increasingly expensive luxury, we find out how to order the perfect restaurant meal with top tips from a panel of seasoned pros. The Irish Times food critic, Corinna Hardgrave, veteran server and podcast host Brittany Felton and chef and hospitality advisor James Knight-Pacheco join Ruth Alexander to discuss how to make the most of a well-deserved meal from your hard-earned money. They cover everything from sharing dishes, whether to trust a waiter’s recommendations and if it’s best to stick to what you know – or try something more adventurous when visiting a restaurant with friends or family. We get the inside track from the diner’s table to the wait staff and of course the kitchen. Brittany Felton explains how her 15-year career as a server means she can quickly assess a table’s needs, even to the extent of working out what kind of meal and evening the diners would like to have. Corinna Hardgrave shares advice from her 20-plus years as a professional restaurant critic, including how to stay in control if you experience pushy or impatient wait staff when eating out. And chef James Knight-Pacheco shares his insight on when is the best time to order the special – and when to avoid certain dishes on a menu. Producer: Sam Clack and Niamh McDermott Sound engineer: Hal Haines(Image: Waitress taking the order of a group of friends eating at a restaurant - stock photo. Credit: Getty Images)
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  What to eat for a better night's sleep 24.06.2026 26min

  Many of us have our own theories about sleep. Perhaps it's avoiding coffee after lunch, drinking chamomile tea before bed, or having a warm glass of milk. But what does the science actually say?In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores the relationship between food and sleep, asking whether changing what we eat and drink can help us get a better night's rest.Professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia University, explains what decades of research have revealed about the links between diet and sleep quality. She discusses why poor sleep can change our food choices, how certain dietary patterns are associated with better sleep, and why scientists are increasingly interested in nutrients such as fibre and tryptophan.Sleep physician Dr Allie Hare, President of the British Sleep Society, brings the perspective of the clinic. She explains the questions patients ask most often, from caffeine and alcohol to herbal remedies and sleep supplements, and discusses some of the biggest misconceptions people have about improving their sleep.Together, they discuss whether there really are "sleep foods", what role meal timing might play, and how social media trends and expensive supplements can distract us from the basics.Along the way, they answer listeners' questions and share practical, evidence-based advice on the changes you can make today to improve your chance of a good night's sleep tonight.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]: Izzy Greenfield Sound engineer: Hal Haines(Image: A woman with brown hair, holding an orange cushion, yawns while standing next to an open fridge full of food. Credit: Getty Images)
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  Why do we love smoky flavours so much? 17.06.2026 26min

  The history of smoking foods stretches back many years, but when did what began purely for preservation become a highly sought-after flavour? In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores the origins of smoked foods and finds out why their flavours are so appealing to so many people around the world. She visits a smokehouse run by Michael Price in the port city of Lancaster in north-west England, where he explains the techniques used to flavour a variety of fish, as well as some of the more unusual demands he’s received from chefs. We learn about the science behind smoked flavours from Professor Heather Smyth, a flavour chemist and sensory scientist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. And food historian, Professor Ken Albala, walks us through thousands of years of history via a meal prepared using his own home smoker in Stockton, California. We also investigate the impact of EU legislation with the European Food Safety Authority, following a European ban on several smoke flavour additives, and ask what this might mean for the future of smoked foods.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email [email protected]: Sam Clack and Izzy Greenfield Sound engineers: Jack Wilfan and Hal Haines(Image description: racks of fish fillets inside a smoker)
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  Can music change the way food tastes? 11.06.2026 26min

  Music is part of the backdrop to millions of meals every day. But what if it is doing more than simply creating atmosphere?In this episode of The Food Chain, Rumella Dasgupta explores the growing evidence that sound can shape the way we experience food and drink. From scientists studying how the brain combines hearing and taste, to chefs designing dishes around playlists, we ask whether music has become an ingredient in its own right.Chef Gaggan Anand explains why music sits at the centre of his restaurant in Bangkok, where sound, lighting and food are carefully choreographed into a single experience. Cognitive neuroscientist Ophelia Deroy shares research showing how music can influence our perception of sweetness, bitterness and texture, and explains why flavour is far more than what happens on the tongue.We also hear from Ola Sars, founder of the business music platform Soundtrack, whose company helps restaurants, cafés and hotels tailor the music they play. He shares research suggesting that the right soundtrack can influence customer behaviour and even affect sales.But not everyone is convinced. Dan Keeling, co-owner of London's Noble Rot restaurants and a former music industry executive who signed artists including Coldplay and Lily Allen, explains why he has chosen not to play music in his dining rooms at all.From silent restaurants to carefully curated playlists, from neuroscience labs to commercial dining rooms, we explore the increasingly important role sound plays in the way we eat.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]
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  Can I save the family restaurant? 03.06.2026 26min

  Running a restaurant is hard. Long hours, tight margins and constant stress. In this week's programme Rumella Dasgupta travels to Edinburgh, Scotland, to meet Lisa He and her mum Sophie. Lisa has just put her life and acting career on hold, to try and help her mum save the family's restaurant, the China Star. A video she made documenting her attempt has gone viral, with more than fifteen million views. But is a viral video going to be enough to turn a failing business into a success? Lisa's got to fix the sprawling menu, digitise the paper ordering system and cut costs. Lisa and Rumella meet restaurant turnaround expert David Hopkins from the Fifteen Group in Canada, who's on hand to give advice and to explain why restaurants are such difficult businesses to run. Meanwhile the Mand family in Sydney Australia know only too well what Lisa and Sophie are going through. Last year, son Bhav documented his fight to save his dad's failing restaurant. So how's it doing now? And, in such a difficult industry, when is the right time to walk away? Rumella hears from Carleigh Bond, who made the tough decision to close her vegan fast-food restaurant Forked Up in October 2025. Producers: Lexy O'Connor and Beatrice Pickup. Sound Engineer: Andrew Mills Image description: Lisa He and mum Sophie in their restaurant, The China Star. Lisa is looking at mum and smiling. (Credit: BBC)
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  The business of food tours 27.05.2026 26min

  Food tours are becoming one of the fastest-growing parts of the travel industry, with tourists increasingly choosing to explore cities and cultures through what they eat.In this episode, Ruth Alexander explores the global rise of guided food experiences and the people building businesses around them.In Manchester, food tour guide Julia Fairburn takes Ruth through some of the city’s best-known food spots, explaining how successful tours combine local history, storytelling and carefully paced eating experiences designed to leave visitors with lasting memories.Eric Wolf, founder and executive director of the World Food Travel Association in Valencia, Spain, explains how food tourism has expanded worldwide into a multi-billion-dollar industry, as travellers increasingly seek authentic and immersive culinary experiences.We also hear from Judith von Prockel, who began creating holidays centred around food experiences more than two decades ago, long before culinary tourism became mainstream. She reflects on how attitudes towards food travel have changed and why people are increasingly planning trips around what they want to eat.And in Malaysia, Pauline Lee from Simply Enak describes the work involved in creating memorable food tours in a growing and increasingly competitive market, where guides must balance logistics, hospitality and cultural storytelling alongside the food itself.From hidden local gems to global tourism trends, we explore why food tours have become big business — and what travellers are really looking for when they book them.If you’d like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]: Izzy Greenfield Sound engineer: Andy Mills Picture: Simple Enak
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  The craft of the cocktail 20.05.2026 26min

  Making cocktails isn't just about flair - bottles spinning through the air as the bartender puts on a show. It's about precision, perfectionism and people skills.Ruth Alexander meets three world-class bartenders to hear stories about their most glamorous customers, the dangerous ones, and what it takes to make the perfect drink. Hear about the highs and lows; from the glamour of working on a movie set to the what happens when customers turn nasty. What's it like to make this challenging job your career?Plus of course: how to make the perfect martini! (The answer might surprise you!)Producers: Lexy O'Connor and Izzy Greenfield Sound Engineer: Andrew MillsImage description:
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  How to meal prep like a pro 13.05.2026 26min

  Meal prepping is supposed to save us time, money and stress. It is a huge trend on social media, but how can we make it work in our own real, messy lives? Ruth Alexander meets Hannah, a busy working mum who wants help to make meal times easier, quicker and more varied. Could batch cooking be the answer? On hand to offer advice and inspiration are Jess Rice from the US website Budget Bytes and Kevin Curry, who has around two million followers across his Fit Men Cook social media accounts. And if you have ever wondered whether those leftovers are safe to eat, or how long you should leave hot food cooling on the kitchen counter before you freeze it, there is advice from Natalie Stanton, who trains chefs in food safety. If you would like to get in touch with The Food Chain team, please email [email protected]: Lexy O'ConnorSound engineer: Hal Haines (Image: A food container with chicken and vegetables being opened by a woman's hands. Credit: Getty Images)
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  Don't underestimate the potato 06.05.2026 26min

  Potatoes are having a moment.Once dismissed as dull, stodgy or even unhealthy, they’re now back, appearing on restaurant menus, in food magazines and across social media feeds.But the story of the potato goes back much further.In this episode, Ruth Alexander traces the journey of one of the world’s most familiar foods. From its origins millions of years ago to its place in today’s global food system.AJ Shehata, senior sous chef at Fallow restaurant in London explains why the potato forces chefs to get creative.At the Natural History Museum, botanist Sandy Knapp explains how the potato may have been born from a chance encounter between two wild plants in the Andes, an event that made it possible for potatoes to grow underground and spread across new environments.We explore how the potato became a global food. Potatoes USA president Blair Richardson explains how demand continues to grow worldwide, and how the industry is working to reshape the potato’s image.We ask whether the potato’s reputation is deserved. Nutrition scientist Candida Rebello shares research suggesting potatoes may be far more beneficial, and more misunderstood, than many people think.And at the International Potato Center in Peru, scientist Julian Soto works with farmers to conserve thousands of native potato varieties. In the Andes, potatoes are not just a crop, they are part of culture, identity and family life.From ancient origins to modern revival, this is the story of how the potato conquered the world, fell out of favour, and is now being rediscovered, just as new challenges begin to emerge.If you’d like to get in touch with the programme, please email: [email protected]: Izzy Greenfield Sound engineer: Hal Haines Picture: Getty
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  The food writers 29.04.2026 26min

  Ever wondered how anyone gets a job writing about food? Ruth Alexander talks to Melissa Clark, recipe columnist and newsletter host for the New York Times; Laura Rowe food journalist and former content director of Olive and Delicious magazines in London, and Malin Turunen of MatMalin in Stockholm, formerly editor of Swedish food magazine, Allt om Mat.They discuss their first jobs, how their work shapes our tastes and why they think columns about cake matter more than you might think.If you would like to get in touch with The Food Chain team, please email [email protected]: Izzy Greenfield and Lexy O'ConnorSound engineer: Hal Haines(Photo: Woman writes in a notebook next to an open laptop and vegetables on a kitchen counter top. Credit: Getty Images)
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  Can we eat for exam success? 22.04.2026 26min

  It's exam season in many parts of the world and with her own daughter studying hard, Rumella Dasgupta began wondering how much food matters during this difficult and stressful time. Is there such a thing as a brain food and are there any foods in particular that we should be aiming to eat while studying hard? Rumella talks to students and experts about the role diet plays and what happens to our eating habits when we're under intense pressure. Plus are energy drinks ever a good idea before an exam, and what should we do when the junk food cravings hit? Featuring Professor Julia Rucklidge, director of Te Puna Toiora, the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and Lucy Upton, a UK based paediatric dietitian who supports her teenage clients to eat better during this stressful phase of their lives. Plus teenagers and university students in the US and India discuss what they like to eat and drink when studying. With special thanks to Zumix in Boston. Producer: Lexy O'Connor Sound engineer: Andrew Mills Image: a dark-haired teenage girl is sprawled on her bed. She has a biscuit in her mouth and is writing in an exercise book. Credit: Getty images. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]
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  How to eat more fibre and why you should! 15.04.2026 26min

  Food Chain presenter Ruth Alexander was confident that she was eating a healthy diet, in particular, a diet that included enough fibre. But it turns out, like many of us, her fibre intake has been falling short of the recommended amount. In fact all over the world most of us are failing to eat enough, despite the growing trend for so called "fibremaxxing" where people try to maximise their daily intake. So how can we boost our fibre intake? And does it really have to involve chia seeds? Ruth picks the brains of fibre expert Professor Joanne Slavin from the University of Minnesota and Fathima Abdoola, known as The Cultural Dietitian, based in Brisbane Australia. And psychologist Phillippa Lally from the University of Surrey in the UK, explains how we can make our well intentioned new habits stick. Producer: Lexy O’Connor Sound engineer: Andrew Mills (Image: A close up of a steaming bowl of Persian barley soup, in a blue bowl, with a woman’s hands holding it. Credit: Getty Images) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]