The Food Programme

A special edition introducing the producers, farmers and cooks who have made it through to the final stage of 2014's BBC Food & Farming Awards, featuring judges Charles Campion and Richard Corrigan.At the beginning of the year thousands of Radio 4 listeners from all parts of the UK sent in nominations, describing the work of their food heroes. Now, six weeks on, the judging team has decided who the finalists are.Dan Saladino introduces the 24 finalists across ten different categories from Best Drinks Producer to Best Food Market and from Best Local Food Retailer to Best Streetfood and Takeaway. The judges have been travelling to meet them all, taste the food and drink they make and hear their stories.In early May, in Bristol, at the annual Awards ceremony, we'll find out which of these finalists go on to become the winners.Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

Sheila Dillon examines the state of the Butchery profession to find out how it has weathered the storm since the horsemeat scandal. She asks how our consumption habits have affected demand, and whether the profession of Butchery is still a promising one for young people. With contributions from young butchers Illtud Dunsford and Charlotte Harbottle, and Dario Cecchini who believes butchery is an art form and who quotes Dante as he works. Producer: Sarah Langan.

Matthew Hill reports on the future of Fairtrade as the label marks its 20th anniversary. Some are arguing that a new initiative is weakening the foundation's founding vision.Produced in Bristol by Emma Weatherill.

Sheila Dillon interviews the team behind the BBC's Natural History Unit to uncover the strangest collection of food stories from around the world. From weird, wonderful and disgusting tales of eating krill burgers in the Antarctic, to drinking goat's blood in Ethiopia.Produced by Emma Weatherill in Bristol.

In 1968 Claudia Roden published her first book, 'A Book of Middle Eastern Food', and with it introduced many people to an unfamiliar food culture.When she arrived in Britain in the fifties, foods like hummus and pitta were nearly unheard of, and "to talk about food was a taboo subject". Things have changed. That these foods are now common-place and mainstream is in large part due to Claudia Roden's work.Going on to write 'The Book of Jewish Food', 'The Food of Spain', 'Arabesque', 'Mediterranean Cookery' and others, and with a new edition of 'The Food of Italy' out next month twenty-five years after its first appearance, Sheila Dillon meets Claudia Roden. Sheila discovers a colourful and turbulent life in which food has meant so much, a life which has shaped a unique and powerful voice in food writing.Claudia was born in 1936 into a family of Sephardic Jewish merchants, into a cosmopolitan Cairo that has, in the wake of the Suez Crisis, long since disappeared. This is the story of a family in exile and the power of food to sustain individuals and entire cultures.With the help of Simon Schama, who is a long time admirer since coming across that first book as a young history teacher, Sheila Dillon charts a remarkable life in food.Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced by Rich Ward.

Ready meals divide Britain, some love them, others think they're a problem for our health and wellbeing and a major culprit in de-skilling us in the kitchen. In the last four decades we've helped lead the way in the ready meal's innovation and in its consumption. We're now Europe's biggest consumers of the "prepared meal".All of this came into sharp focus with the horsemeat scandal. A 100pc horsemeat lasagne came to symbolise the problems and anxieties of allowing others to cook our meals for us. As a result some frozen ready meals were consigned to the history books, never to be seen in a frozen cabinet again, and manufacturers reported a big drop in sales.That's not the full picture however. In 2014 we're seeing the continued rise and rise of the premium chilled ready meal, the "posh" answer to the Italian, Indian and Asian frozen options. What does this trend tell us about our ongoing, and sometimes guilt-filled, romance with the ready meal? Who's buying all of these ready meals anyway?Sheila Dillon visits high-end ready meals manufacturer Charlie Bigham whose business is growing in double digit figures. Sheila also hears from a sociologist (Miriam Glucksmann) about our relationship with the ready meal. Meanwhile Arabella Weir puts the ready meal in the context of more of us having to feed our families on a tight budget.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced in Bristol by Emma Weatherill.

In the Great Taste Awards last year, a yogurt from a small British dairy beat over 10,000 competitors to win the Supreme Champion title. This surprised many, not least because it was a simple, plain, 'Greek-style' yogurt.This type of fermented milk product, often strained to remove whey, is a relative newcomer in the UK - but is on the rise. In fact, Greek and Greek-style yogurt is the fastest growing sector of the UK yogurt market. It has also been at the centre of a High Court battle, an American health craze and a multi-billion dollar yogurt war.In this edition of the Food Programme, Sheila Dillon discovers the secrets of making this thick, creamy... and delicious cultured food. It was originally made in this country by immigrants such as the founders of Tim's Dairy, now run by four brothers whose Greek Cypriot uncle started making yogurt in a small London workshop in 1949, and now make around five to ten thousand litres of Greek-style yogurt a day.Collete and David Strachan are dairy farmers, but after losing cows (even though none were infected) during BSE and with the price of milk spiralling ever downward, the future of their Suffolk farm was in question. Ten years ago they started to experiment with yogurt-making, and along the way, as Sheila discovers, they have been joined by two of their children James and Katherine- and it's their plain Greek-style yogurt made at Marybelle Dairy that has just won the Supreme Champion award.So what is 'Greek' yogurt? With the help of BBC producer Aylin Bozyap-Hannen who learnt how to make yogurt from her Turkish mother, Sheila reveals a traditional, regional food that has been on an incredible, controversial, and tasty journey.Producer: Rich Ward.

Sheila Dillon hears the latest on the role of food in the future of the British pub. From traditional Asian curries to the influence of Michelin starred chefs.Producer: Perminder Khatkar.

Sheila Dillon revisits the inspirational caterers from the very first BBC Food & Farming Awards. They share stories of cooking for people with cancer, HIV and mental illness. Sheila finds out how the work has changed in the last decade and a half.In the case of the Bristol Cancer Care Centre (now called Penny Brohn Cancer Care) work on food and nutrition considered radical and alternative back in 2000 has now received wider acceptance and a place within the NHS.A cafe run by and for people with mental illness in Stirling in Scotland has also continued its work since becoming a finalist in the awards 14 years ago, but funding has been difficult to find and it has had to move to a different location. However, people with depression and anxiety still use the cafe as a way of having social contact.The final catering team, The Food Chain, based in London was set up in 1988 to serve meals to people with HIV. As medication has improved the long term welfare of sufferers, so the charity's work has changed and it's become a place where people come together to share food and learn about nutrition.

Sheila Dillon, chef Richard Corrigan and food writer and broadcaster Valentine Warner help launch the 2014 BBC Food & Farming Awards. From the UK's Best Food market to the Best Drinks Producer, The Food Programme explains how to get involved and nominate your very own food hero. Sheila will be catching up with the previous year's winners to find out what happened next, and she'll also be explaining why 2014 is a particularly important year for us all to share our food stories and experiences with the judges.Producer: Dan Saladino.