The Food Programme

Dan Saladino finds out why a UN summit to transform the global food system has become so controversial. It has generated 2500 ideas for change but also a boycott by protesters. In 2019 the UN's Secretary General António Guterres highlighted ways in which the global food system was breaking down: hundreds of millions of people going hungry, billions more overweight or obese and tonnes of food being wasted. These problems were also obstacles in the way of reaching the 2030 target for the Sustainable Development Goals which includes zero hunger. This year's food systems summit was designed to find solutions to these problems. This week in Rome the ideas generated by the millions of people who have engaged in the process will be set out ahead of the summit in New York in September. But the involvement of some of the world's biggest food corporations has led to concerns over the direction of the summit, and of the global food system itself.Produced and presented for BBC Audio in Bristol by Dan Saladino.

Could we kick-start a major transformation of our food system, in just three years?That's the ambition of the National Food Strategy, the first independent review of our food policy in nearly 75 years, commissioned by the government in 2019 and authored by Henry Dimbleby - who published the second and final part of the report this week.Food-related problems have been stacking up in the UK for a while: inequality, poor diets, a boom in costly bariatric diseases, the environmental impact of food production, the resilience of the overall system - the list goes on. But now we could be at a turning point, as the country starts to emerge (hopefully) from months of restrictions with fresh perspectives and priorities, and seeks to reposition itself post-pandemic and post-Brexit.Now, Part 2 of the National Food Strategy has set out a framework for transforming our food system.So how exactly does it propose we do that? Sheila Dillon digs into the detail of the report, speaking to Henry Dimbleby (co-founder of the restaurant chain Leon and co-author of the 2013 School Food Plan) about the strategy's focus and recommendations; and inviting listener feedback for a future episode.The programme also features questions from Caroline Keohane at the Food and Drink Federation, Martin Lines from the Nature Friendly Farming Network, and Jeanette Orrey: a former dinner lady turned school meals campaigner and co-founder of Food for Life. And we revisit previous guests Nutritank - a student organisation campaigning for better nutritional education for medics - and Social Bite: a project supporting Scotland's homeless through social enterprise cafés.Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced by Lucy Taylor in Bristol

Over the past year, women working in different parts of the drinks industry have been sharing their stories and experiences to try to change the way women are treated. Most recently people working in craft brewing have been sharing their stories on social media - saying enough is enough. In this episode, Jaega Wise speaks to some of those about how we have got here - and what needs to change. She meets Charlotte Cook, an experienced brewer who says the most important thing now is to believe the stories, as some are being silenced by UK libel laws. Professor Chris Land from Anglia Ruskin University explains how certain workplaces can create unhealthy cultures, while bartender Nichola Bottomley says she was inspired to speak out after years of harassment working in pubs and bars. In the US, Victoria James, who was named the country's youngest sommelier at 21, tells Jaega about her book Wine Girl, and how it went on to inspire other women working in wine to come together to speak out, eventually leading to a number of resignations. Becky Paskin, journalist and co-founder of Our Whisky, talks about the repercussions she faced after calling out sexism in the whisky industry. While Brad Cummings, co-founder of craft beer company, Tiny Rebel tells Jaega what is changing at his business, after it was called out by former employees online. UKHospitality, which represents businesses in the industry says it's been working hard to tackle these issues and continues to work with members to promote a zero tolerance approach to harassment in the workplace by either fellow employees or customers. Presented by Jaega Wise Produced in Bristol by Natalie DonovanPhoto Credit: Laura Hadland of www.thirstmedia.co.uk

In a country where weather is notoriously fickle, how has the picnic become such a beloved institution? Jaega Wise rolls out a blanket and invites a group of al fresco aficionados to share their picnicking expertise over a spot of lunch outdoors.Joining her in the picturesque setting of Windsor Great Park on the edge of Berkshire are Robert Szewczyk - head chef at Cumberland Lodge, the park's residential conference centre, which provides picnic lunches for the famous Ascot races nearby; Kate Bielich - founder and chef at Konoba, a Manchester-based private caterer that, during the pandemic, launched home meal kits and picnic hampers; and Max Halley from Max’s Sandwich Shop in North London, who recently released 'Max's Picnic Book', teaching people to "picnic like a boss!"Over lunch, the group discusses the British love of eating outside, and reflects on how the pandemic has forced us to embrace al fresco dining - driving more adventurous portable eating options.Jaega also hears from food historian Polly Russell from the British Library, who helps unpack the history of the picnic, its strong social and cultural connotations in the UK, and how our approach to picnicking has evolved in recent decades. Presented by Jaega Wise Produced by Lucy Taylor in BristolFeaturing excerpts from: - ‘The Wind in the Willows’ by Kenneth Grahame; read by Michael Bertenshaw and produced for Radio 4 by Karen Holden. - ‘A Passage to India’ by E.M. Forster; adapted for radio by Tanika Gupta, produced and directed for Radio 4 by Tracey Neale, and featuring the voices of Penelope Wilton as Mrs Moore, Shubham Saraf as Dr Aziz and Jonathan Firth as Fielding.

From Mumbai childhood to pioneering London chef, Mr Todiwala's Life Through Food; a story involving the legendary dish Bombay Duck and an important connection with Freddie Mercury.After years spent cooking in India, first at the prestigious Taj Mahal hotel and then in Goa, Cyrus Todiwala moved to London with his wife Pervin and created one of the most influential south Asian restaurants in the UK, Café Spice Namaste. With an emphasis on authentic regional classics including lamb dhaansaak and Goan prawn curry, for twenty five years Café Spice helped reshape Britain's understanding of Indian food. Cyrus and Pervin tell the story of how it all happened, why they were forced to close the original restaurant in 2020 and how it's being reborn and reinvented in another part of east London. An important driving force in Cyrus's life (and his cooking) is his faith (Zoroastrianism) and his identity (as a member of India's Parsee community). He explains how they have both shaped his outlook on life and his work as a chef. Produced and presented for BBC Audio in Bristol by Dan Saladino.

The Food Programme first met Iain Broadley and Ally Jaffee in 2017, when they were studying medicine in Bristol. The pair saw a disconnect between the rise of diet-related diseases, and the training they received around nutrition - with some students getting as little as eight hours of compulsory nutrition education during their entire time at medical school. So Ally and Iain founded Nutritank, an organisation championing better nutritional education for healthcare professionals, which earned them the Pat Llewellyn New Talent trophy at the 2019 BBC Food and Farming Awards.Today Nutritank's active in more than 20 medical school societies across the UK, and has been part of a working group charged with finalising a new nutritional curriculum for medical schools, due out this autumn.Now, they're piloting a scheme taking student and junior doctors out on farm visits - in a bid to better educate future healthcare professionals about food production and nutrition, so that they in turn can better advise their patients. So could it work? Sheila joins them on a farm visit to the Great Tew Estate in Oxfordshire, to find out. She also speaks to Kate Henderson from the estate's farm team, Liz Lake and Caroline Drummond from Linking Environment and Farming, and Dr Glenys Jones: a registered public health nutritionist and deputy chief executive of the Association for Nutrition.Presented by Sheila Dillon; produced in Bristol by Lucy Taylor.

Eating with our eyes is no new concept, but can visual art itself inspire or alter the way we eat? and can food be used to help more people appreciate art? Jaega Wise meets artist, curator and gastronomy enthusiast Cedar Lewisohn to see his collection of artist's cookbooks, and hears how influential they have been. At Tate Modern, the idea of wanting to eat like an artist has been taken a step further with the restaurant offering menus inspired by exhibitions. Head chef, Jon Atashroo tells us some of the stories that have gone into the dishes.The concept of creating food inspired by the stories of artists lives and works has been picked up by museums worldwide. During lockdown, while many people have been getting more adventurous in their kitchens, galleries have been using recipes inspired by artists to bring a slice of their culture into people's homes. Jaega has a go at making a Mango-Pineapple Mezcal Margarita inspired by the work of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo from the "Cooking with LACMA" series. Hear how she gets on in full at the end of this podcast. And the artists using their medium to influence change in our food systems. Turner Prize nominees 'Cooking Sections', tell Jaega how their exhibit at the Tate Britain has influenced the institution to stop serving farmed salmon. Presented by Jaega Wise. Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan.Mango-Pineapple Mezcal Margarita:Makes one cocktail.Ingredients:50g Tajín (seasoning) 1 lime wedge 2 tablespoons fresh mango (a chunk) 2 tablespoons fresh pineapple 3 Mint leaves 1 to 2 sugar cubes * 30ml Lime Juice (or juice of 1 lime) 15ml Orange Liqueur 45ml Mezcal

Tom Kerridge is probably best known as the first chef in the UK to be awarded two prestigious Michelin stars for food served in a pub, not even a year after opening 'The Hand and Flowers' in Marlow in Buckinghamshire in 2005. Then he was in his early thirties; Known, in the business, for his hard work ethic and hard partying.Today, he's given up the booze and the partying, but as Sheila Dillon finds, he's as driven as ever with a string of restaurants, a food festival company, a catering company, a TV production house, a shelf full of cook books and many BBC food TV series' to his name. Not to mention advocating on a national level for the hospitality industry and working with footballer Marcus Rashford to do his bit to end child food poverty.In line with Tom's latest BBC TV series 'Saving Britain's Pubs with Tom Kerridge', Sheila finds that the democratic environment of the pub has shaped Tom's life and his career in hospitality. And hears why these important community spaces need investing in at all costs.Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Dan Saladino looks at covid's impact on food in India and the heroic efforts underway to feed communities. Lockdowns and job losses have disrupted access to food in this country of 1.4 billion people. A further 400,000 covid cases are being reported on a daily basis and 300,000 deaths have been recorded so far. For much of the world the pandemic has primarily been seen as a health crisis, accompanied by significant economic pressures. In India however, the impact on the food system has been considerable.Among the most vulnerable are the daily wage earners and labourers who go from pay check to pay check. When India went into a sudden lockdown in March 2020 many lost their income overnight and also their ability to purchase food. Meanwhile, millions of migrant workers left cities across India to travel back to their villages. This also resulted in people experiencing food shortages and hunger. Chhavi Sachdev, a journalist and broadcaster based in Mumbai joins Dan to report on food stories from the pandemic, from people who survived lockdown in some of the city's most densely crowded slums to home cooks who took it upon themselves to feed people in need.The London based Indian chef Asma Khan describes how she has been trying to send food supplies to a village close to her family's home. Although it's an agricultural area, food supplies have been running low and some people have been at risk of starvation. Bhawani Singh Shekhawat of Akshaya Patra, an organisation that provides hot meals to millions of school children in India each day, explains how the pandemic initially disrupted their ability to provide food, but also led to them innovating and finding new ways of feeding even greater numbers of people.Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

As hospitality businesses in most parts of the UK are allowed to resume serving customers indoors this week, Leyla Kazim heads to Padstow to meet a couple who have moved their restaurant out of town in order to adapt to the new rules. Prawn on the Lawn in Padstow is a fishmonger with a small restaurant, which can typically fit around 22 diners, but only 12 with social distancing. Owners Rick and Katie Toogood have now relocated the restaurant into a marquee on a nearby farm, where all the restaurants vegetables are grown by Ross Geach from Padstow Kitchen Garden. Over the past 15 months since the first Coronavirus lockdown forced hospitality to shut down, many businesses have had to adapt to keep going. Some restaurants started selling takeaway, others did 'heat at home' boxes, or meal kits. Many have used the Government furlough scheme, taken advantage of rent holidays, government grants and loans. For some, it's not been enough. Research from CGA and AlixPartners suggests there are now nearly 10% fewer restaurants to choose from than before the pandemic, while analysis from The Local Data Company for The Food Programme suggests certain types of cuisine fared better than others in staying open.During the programme we meet Oskar Ali, the owner of Falafilo Island, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Newport, which shut down after Christmas because of financial pressures. We also hear from restaurants and cafes around the UK that have been adapting to keep going, including Contini's in Edinburgh, Hangfire in Barry, Fodder in Downpatrick, and Chutney Ivy in Leicester.Presented by Leyla Kazim Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan