The Food Programme

Staying sober on a night out can be a limiting experience with the soft drinks choice on offer in many places. But with an increasing number of 16-24 year olds staying teetotal, demand is increasing for more interesting, varied and healthier choices. Dan Saladino explores the traditional, quirky and novel drinks putting some fizz back into the market.Reports say a resistance to heavy sugar and artificial sweeteners has seen soda sales drop off in the USA. 'Craft sodas' are making a play for some of the market by offering alternative flavours and drinks flavoured with cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Tristan Donovan heads on a mission to scour the soda fountains of the US and find some of the wackiest drinks available. How about a lactart or phosphate?But in the UK too those with brewing skills are applying their knowledge to create soft drinks low on sugar and strong on flavour. Dan looks into the future of fizzy pop to see what the future might hold for those who still sparkle at the thought of a refreshing glass of pop.Presented by Dan Saladino Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Scotland has a problem with food. For all the salmon, whisky and summer berries celebrated in this year of Scottish Food & Drink, the Government says its spending billions fighting an obesity crisis, and when it comes to groceries, the supermarket is king.But for the last five years, a small community run bakery on the Scottish borders has been quietly gaining momentum, aiming to change the way Scotland thinks about food, and more specifically, about bread.In this programme, Sheila Dillon visits the family behind Breadshare, now based in Portobello in Edinburgh. In the city's first community run bakery, husband and wife team Debra Riddell and Geoff Crowe, along with their son and a host of bakers and volunteers, sell bread, made with simple ingredients, and teach people how to make it. Could involving local people be the key to reconnecting Scottish people with Scottish food?Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

With a new "living wage" announced Sheila Dillon explores the world of fast food workers. In the U.S. a campaign over low pay, started in 2012, has now gone global. Saying they could no longer live on the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 the workers called for a salary based on $15.00 an hour. The protests spread to more than 200 cities and inspired workers in other parts of the world to stand up for better pay. The campaign received the backing of President Barack Obama and cities including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have now increased the minimum wage. Sheila hears from one fast food work in New York's Bronx, Flavia Cabrell. She holds down two jobs including one at a McDonalds' restaurant and low pay led her to take action and join the protests. She explains why she's motivated by wanting to change the future for her children.Meanwhile low pay was one of the main targets in Chancellor George Osborne's summer budget. Changes to tax credits and the introduction of a "national living wage" was the outcome. But some workers say the changes will still mean they live a precarious financial existence with zero hours contracts still a dominant model in the food industry and the living wage only applicable to over 25's. Producer: Dan Saladino.

There's a revolution happening in the world of wine. While tradition once dictated the way things were done, a new generation of wine drinkers are shaking things up - in the way it's sold, consumed and written about - with the intention of shaking off the fustiness and perceived snobbery. Not only is there a new attitude about what's deemed good but there's an openness to alternative production methods and artisanal producers. Sheila Dillon asks if the underground movement we saw towards craft beers and ciders and specialist coffees is now being witnessed in the world of wine. Dan Keeling of Noble Rot magazine argues this movement echoes indie labels in the music scene in which he started before immersing himself in wine writing. Award-winning sommelier Charlotte Sager-Wilde explains how trying to train up on wines while earning a small salary working in hospitality led her and her husband to a new model of wine bar - selling good wines by the glass rather than the bottle and training staff to share ideas with the curious rather than look down their noses. Meanwhile Peter Honegger has started his own wine store - while still a student - selling Austrian wines from niche producers who weren't being stocked elsewhere. Meanwhile we hear about the new tech which is enabling wine enthusiasts to gen up on wines and form their own opinions and ask is branding is putting style over substance. Sheila Dillon asks if the slow moving world of wine is seeing its own revolution and if these new ideas can open the world of wine to more enthusiasts. Presented by Sheila Dillon, Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Lunch to Lights outThe Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most historic food operations in the world.In the second part of this edition, we hear how dining in Parliament is under new pressures.Presented by Sheila Dillon & produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Breakfast to Brunch. The Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most historic food operations in the world.In the first part of this edition, we discover the incredible history of dining in Parliament and meet the people who feed Westminster's 14 thousand pass holders. 8 thousand food transactions can be made here on any working day, and we recorded on one of the busiest - Prime Minister's Questions, one of the first under the new Government. Presented by Sheila Dillon & produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Close your eyes and think for a moment about the books you read as a child and those that talked about food. A vivid description of a flavour can spark the imagination and the taste buds but a secret midnight feast at Malory Towers, the elaborate Hogwarts feasts in Harry Potter or picnics in Wind in the Willows can instil an air of excitement about food that lasts into adulthood. Sheila Dillon asks why some scenes can be so powerful they remain with us for decades. She meets those who changed their careers due to the power of the stories they read, she travels to a secret restaurant fantasy land and meets the schoolchildren for whom taste is being brought alive through descriptions of food and flavour. Presented by Sheila Dillon and Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

Cook and writer Simon Hopkinson was at the height of his powers in the kitchen of Bibendum in London in the early 1990s, but he'd walk away from professional cooking to focus on his food writing.In the second part of this interview with Sheila Dillon he explains why he left restaurant cooking behind, focus on writing that led to the "most useful cookbook of all time".Simon describes life as chef at Bibendum restaurant, which counted among its loyal customers Elizabeth David, Dirk Bogarde and Alec Guinness. In 1994, aged only 40, he decided to move on.For a decade there would be modest sales of his first book, Roast Chicken and Other Stories, and then a magazine poll in 2005 brought it to public attention and soon after, at one point it would be outselling copies of Harry Potter.Sheila Dillon explores Simon's lifelong fascination with food and cooking and finds out why he no longer wanted to focus on life as a head chef.

Cook and food writer Simon Hopkinson shares his culinary life story with Sheila Dillon. In a food career spanning four decades he's been an influential chef, television cook and author of the "most useful cookbook of all time".In this first of two special editions, Simon covers his early food memories to his time as a chef, at the height of his powers, in the kitchens of Hilaire and Bibendum restaurants.Born in Lancashire, Simon Hopkinson was influenced by his parents home cooking and their regular trips to Bury Market. Early memories include the smell of his mother's jugged hare to the sight of black puddings and cheeses on busy market stalls.In his teens he was committed to a future career in a restaurant kitchen and found work in the nearby Normandie restaurant under the gifted and demanding chef Yves Champea.By 20 he'd opened his own restaurant and would soon receive awards and high praise from respected guides. In the years that followed he'd work as a restaurant inspector for Egon Ronay and then spend time as a private chef.By the late 1980's he was back in the restaurant world and one of London's most influential chefs. Sheila Dillon finds out what motivated him throughout and why he was so confident that his life would be one spent in kitchens.

From the 'slow and low' tradition of the American south to the village of Llantwit Major in South Wales, Dan Saladino explores the revival of one of the food world's most misunderstood words; barbecue. A world away from the burnt burgers and charred sausages of the British barbecue experience, the 'barbecue belt' of the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee to Texas captures a story that goes beyond food. From politics and class to race and gender: barbecue has become a vital American institution.A cooking technique requiring endless patience, effort and care, Dan Saladino talks to some of barbecue's biggest enthusiasts about how their modern approach is shaping our oldest form of cooking.Producer: Anna Miles.