The Food Programme

Sheila Dillon presents a special New Year, "From our Own Food Correspondent" with stories from China, France, Italy, Britain and the United States that reflect our changing attitudes towards the food we eatProducer: Maggie Ayre.

Dan Saladino explores the cocktail, a story which begins with 18th century Indian punch and keeps on evolving with new wave flavours being developed in the bars of New York , London, Bristol and Manchester.After years of being out of fashion and misunderstood, the cocktail is making a comeback. Drinks that had been forgotten for decades, like the Sidecar, the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan have returned as a new generation is discovering the pleasures of a cold, expertly mixed drink.Cocktail expert Nick Strangeway explains that the renaissance is largely down to drinks "following on the coat tails" of wider changes in food in Britain. Meanwhile, television programmes like Sex in the City and Mad Men have excited the imagination of a generation less familiar with the Martini and Bloody Mary.Joe Carlin, author of Cocktails: A Global History provides some insights into why the cocktail became so successful in 19th century America and why it still endures to this day.

Christmas Necessary Pleasures - Sheila Dillon hears from leading chefs and writers on their favourite Christmas foods.Jamie Oliver, Angela Hartnett and Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood are among the top chefs who create an imaginary banquet of Christmas delicacies. Food writers Tom Jaine and Kirsten Rodgers discuss these foods, and hear about past Christmas traditions from food historian Peter Brears as he cooks up dishes in Wordsworth's Cottage in Grasmere.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Emma Weatherill.

Cheap veg - the surprising stories behind humble British vegetables. Sheila Dillon enlists three experts to uncover the hidden side of our veggies. Ethno-botanist James Wong argues that rhubarb is the only uniquely British indigenous vegetable. Agricultural expert Dr Oliver Moore discovers the work that a seed bank in Ireland is doing to increase variety in our potatoes. And food writer Andrew Webb unearths new uses for onions.Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Emma Weatherill.

Sheila Dillon looks at the role food plays in different faiths and how increasingly churches, temples and mosques are being tasked with feeding people who have fallen victim to recession.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

A Winning Meal - the menu behind the Food and Farming Awards. Chef, Arthur Potts-Dawson tells the story behind a celebratory meal created using ingredients from UK food producers who were nominated for the BBC Food and Farming Awards.Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced by Emma Weatherill.

Originally the street food of German immigrants to the United States, the hot dog was the original artisan sausage in the late nineteenth century before going 'downscale' and becoming the cheap food for the masses. Now not just a watery, synthetic thing from a can, a new breed of pedigree frankfurter is on the rise. Tom Parker Bowles reports.Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Sheila Dillon meets finalists in the BBC Food & Farming Awards offering ideas for our food future, from making more local food available online to redistributing spare food. Joining Sheila to explore these ideas are Kath Dalmeny, research director of Sustain, and Christine Tacon, former CEO of the Coop's farms.Under discussion are Growing Communities in East London, Riverford Organics in Devon, Cornish Food Market, The Real Bread Campaign, and Fareshare.Producer: Toby Field.

From Moroccan food to traditional British puddings. Valentine Warner and Charles Campion taste their way through the BBC Food & Farming Awards "Best street food or takeaway" category.The judges had the challenge of travelling and eating their way around the three finalists very different stories in what turned out to be something of a "food road trip" .Charles and Valentine, find out about north African cooking cuisine with The Moroccan Soup stand team in west London, they talk authentic Indian dishes at Inder's Kitchen in Cambridge, and if it's acceptable to have strawberry jam in a Bakewell Tart at The Pudding Stop, a small team who bake desserts and then sell them from in a van parked outside a train station.After the journey both Charles and Valentine have to decide a winner.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Loving lard - Tim Hayward delves into the guilty pleasure of eating animal fat. Lard is so unfashionable that the word is used as an insult. But Tim goes on a mission to reclaim lard and argue that it can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet.Science journalist Gary Taubes is researching saturated animal fats and says that eating lard is healthy. Food writer Oliver Thring visits restaurant Quo Vadis where chef Jeremy Lee is a lard evangelist. And Tim hears about gourmet Italian lardo di colonnata.Presented by Tim Hayward and produced by Emma Weatherill.