The Food Programme

Leona Kane, a Northern Irish farmer crafting infused rapeseed oils; Aoife Gould and Jake Sales, Skye crofters raising Hebridean sheep and Mangalitsa pigs; and Andrew Gillespie, founder of the Fresh Flour Company, showcase food production with purpose. Discover heritage wheat, resilient supply chains, biodiversity, crofting, regenerative farming, cold-pressed oils and ambitious plans for more sustainable local food systems.

Neda Meharavi, a historian of Iranian cuisine, explores a 14th-century cookbook for people in poverty. Russell Fielding, a geographer, traces breadfruit’s journey from the Pacific to Caribbean plantations. Zachary Nowak examines how Umbrian survival bread became trendy. Sue Davis challenges myths about poor families’ cooking skills, while Julian Baggini considers exploitation, affordability, and future food crises.

How did 1066 reshape the English table? Travel through Normandy and medieval England to uncover the origins of Britain’s cheese traditions, cider culture and rabbit warrens. Along the way, explore feasting in the Bayeux Tapestry, monastic food production, changing appetites for meat and spices, and the curious Calvados tradition known as the “Norman hole.”

Andrew Cowan, Bury Council’s former chef and school catering manager, serves 10,000 meals daily across more than 50 schools. Sean Ruffell, co-founder of organic supplier Organic North, explains the journey from growers to school kitchens. Follow a day of fresh cooking, local suppliers, organic potatoes, student-shaped menus and the push to replace processed food with seasonal meals.

Rachel Church, freelance curator and writer who handled the travelling cutlery display. Charlotte Dew, Head of Public Programmes at the Goldsmiths' Centre who curated the show. Bea Wilson, food writer and historian tracing forks, chopsticks and colonial angles. Ify Adenuga, Nigerian memoirist whose family saying inspired a record title. They explore cutlery history, eating-with-hands rituals, chopstick culture and how utensils signal identity.

Anja van Bremsen, food writer exploring how dishes shape identity. Dorian Fuller, archaeobotany professor who studies ancient crops and their spread. They trace why foods travel and stick. Stories range from ramen’s layered migrations and Spam in kimbap to maize’s global journey and chicha’s transatlantic influences. They end by looking at future crop shifts for a changing climate.

Patricia Michelson, cheesemonger who runs La Fromagerie, shares hands-on shop maturing tips. Tracy Colley, founder of the Academy of Cheese, explains how competitions and education shape affinage. Patrick McGuigan, cheese writer and head judge, discusses judging rinds, microbes and creative ageing. They explore experimental techniques, retail ripening rooms, and how maturation can transform familiar cheeses.

Since January 2025, thousands of tonnes of common octopus, usually found in the Mediterranean, have been landed by fisherman off the south coast of England. But it’s still not a regular feature on UK menus. In this episode of the Food Programme, Jaega Wise heads to Brixham fish market to find out more about what’s happening, and visits seafood restaurants taking alternative approaches to the challenge. Rockfish owner and chef Mitch Tonks talks her through the difficulties of cooking octopus, and marine ecologist Bryce Stewart at Plymouth University explains why the creature could be here to stay. Jaega also explores what puts people off eating octopus - from tentacles to extreme intelligence. And we head to Guernsey to meet a fisherman whose business has been severely impacted, and try some “Octodog”.Produced by Tory Pope.

Leyla Kazim revisits some of The Food Programme's most memorable stories to ask: what happened next? From 500kg of eels stranded in a holding tank in Gloucestershire and English olive oil being pressed in Lincolnshire, to the future of halloumi in Cyprus following an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease, and the impact of global politics on vegetables grown in Africa for UK consumers. Leyla returns to the people behind these stories to hear what happened after the programmes were broadcast. Listen to the original programmes: English Olive Oil https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002f00zWhy Is Africa Feeding Us? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002m1mzHalloumi and hellim: The story of an island and its cheese https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jsc7Eels and Elvers https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002lfhdConsider the Eel: Part 2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002t2khProduced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Cacao prices broke all records and then crashed, Dan Saladino explores the fallout for farmers and the chocolate industry with Jack Thompson reporting from the Ivory Coast.Produced and presented by Dan Saladino