The Food Programme

Tony Gueltieri, the operations expert behind Toby Carvery, joins food historian Annie Gray and British cooking writer Elaine Lemm to explore the Sunday roast. They visit Bristol’s Bank Tavern, uncover the meal’s history and rising costs, and investigate carvery culture in Britain and Ireland. Yorkshire pudding’s origins, global appeal, playful roast vocabulary, and modern twists, from peri-peri to Cantonese flavors, are also on the menu.

Discover food innovations tackling deforestation, methane emissions and biodiversity loss. Food waste becomes a potential palm-oil alternative through fermented yeast, while smarter rice farming cuts environmental impact. The discussion also explores lesser-known fish, tree-filled farms, natural farming at scale and practical cooking support for people facing food poverty.

Dan Saladino, award-winning journalist and author; Vicki Hird, food policy expert and sustainability campaigner; and Simon Wright, Welsh food writer and strategist, explore why food costs are soaring. They examine squeezed farmers, cheap ultra-processed diets, food deserts, climate shocks, Brexit and fragile supply chains. The panel also considers commodity traders, hidden subsidies, Wales’s food future and how communities could build healthier, more resilient local systems.

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.