The Food Programme

Food writer Tim Hayward investigates a new wave of food entrepreneurship started by professionals seeking a second career or life change, often due to redundancy. Can the food industry sustain this new creative bubble?

Cornish based chef Sanjay Kumar goes on a cooking mission to Italy to save the Cornish sardine. The pilchard and its young offspring the sardine used to be the basis of a thriving fishing and processing industry in Cornwall. In the late 19th century nearly 20 thousand tonnes of sardine was caught, salted, packed and sent to northern Italy where it was highly prized.By the end of the 20th century the fish had fallen out of favour. Supplies of the fish were still abundant but consumers had started to switch to more aspirational fish like cod and salmon. Sardines being landed fell below 10 tonnes. Fisherman gave up the profession, boats were destroyed and processing plants closed.Now with concerns over global stocks, one solution is for more of us to switch to "poorer" more abundant fish species like the sardine and pilchard. Chef Sanjay Kumar, born in Calcutta and now based in Cornwall, wants to help make that happen. He moved to the county five years ago, fell in love with Cornish food and its fishing traditions.In May Sanjay travelled to a bi-annual event held in Italy called Slow Fish. It brings together fishermen, chefs, policy experts and fish scientists, all keen to promote small scale, traditional and sustainable forms of fishing. His mission was to use the event to find new ideas to help revive Cornish fishing tradition.As well as cooking a traditional Italian sardine dish, meeting fellow campaigning chefs, Sanjay also gets to interview the European Union's Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki. Find out how Sanjay's trip can make a difference to how we all think about fish.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Since the National Trust began its campaign put food towards the top of its agenda, how far have its efforts to change the way we think about food progressed?

The burger is one of the world's most popular foods and it made meat eating affordable for millions, but it also became the food that symbolised many of the failings of the world's modern food system.Sheila Dillon looks at a new attempt to revive its reputation as a quality food. This new "burger scene" where immense care is taken with sourcing the meat and using the right cuts, reflects not only a shift in burger eating, but also in attitudes to meat eating itself.The highly respected food and farming writers Simon Fairlie and Colin Tudge both share the views on eating meat in the 21st century. Producer: Dan SaladinoPhotography: Paul-Winch Furness.

The Food Programme investigates whether the Great British food renaissance is over. With food prices rising and consumer confidence falling, has the UK's good food bubble burst?Sheila Dillon visits the Real Food Festival at Earls Court in London. It is a showcase for producers of fine food, and so a perfect indicator of how premium food products and sales are faring in the current economic downturn. Sheila meets chefs, farmers, producers and economists to discuss whether the British food renaissance is doomed, or in fact whether it ever even began.Presenter: Sheila Dillon, Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.

Sheila Dillon reveals the secrets behind some of the world's great vinegars.Traditionally, the home of balsamic vinegar is Modena in Italy. But now there is a new breed of British producers who are turning their hands to making this viscous dark brown condiment, as well as others who are producing a sumptuous array of fruit vinegars.Sheila Dillon hears from the producers, both in Italy and in the UK, discusses the process and the products - and samples the end results with foodwriter and critic, Charles Campion.Producer: Dilly Barlow.

With coffee prices at a 30 year high Sheila Dillon traces the money we pay for a cup along the supply chain and also hears how it raises big questions for Fairtrade.Recently the price for coffee on the world market broke through the important $3.00 barrier. Just a few years ago prices were as low as 60 cents. Speculation from investors is one reason, but other factors like growing demand for coffee in Brazil and China look like creating a long term spike in prices. So what does this mean for growers and what will this mean for us? Will we start to taste the difference as roasters in the UK are forced to source different and cheaper beans?This price spike also raises big questions for the Fairtrade model. Current prices are way above Fairtrade's minimum price, so do coffee growers still need Fairtrade? Producer: Dan Saladino.

Investigating every aspect of the food we eat. Presented by Sheila Dillon. Produced by Rebecca Moore.

Simon Parkes explores the connection between Royal wedding banquets and British food. From historic feasts with hundreds of lavish dishes, to present day 'austerity'.A visit to the Tudor kitchens of Hampton Court palace reveals the scale and grandeur of wedding feasts of the past. Power, wealth and their display was all-important, and food was a central part of this. Huge marzipan sculptures, models in food of St Paul's Cathedral, and in the case of James II, a feast with 145 dishes in the first course alone; nothing was too extravagant or beyond the skill of the working-class cooks who invented these dishes. And historically, even beggars on the street got to share the food of the wedding feast, after each layer of the aristocracy had enjoyed its fill.Food historian Ivan Day traces the evolution of buffets, wedding breakfasts, and looks at the influence of 'the first celebrity chef' - Patrick Lamb, master cook to four monarchs, and author of an early aspirational cookery book.And as bunting and trestle tables take their place in streets across the UK, The Food Programme asks whether royal food has left a legacy of public feasting which might enhance 21st century communities.Presenter: Simon Parkes Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

Margate's Food Stories - Pie Days and Holidays.The Food Programme follows Sophie Herxheimer an artist who collects and draws food stories. For four months she has been travelling around the seaside town of Margate in the south east to bring people's food memories to life through art.Her aim is to create an exhibition and a book to celebrate the people of the town and give them an opportunity to share personal stories. Once a thriving holiday destination for Londoners Margate is now trying to find a new identity. The recently opened Turner Contemporary Gallery is one step in that process. Sophie Herxheimer is hoping the food stories, and her drawings will also make a contribution to Margate's future. The project was launched at Christmas in the town's Tudor House and produced a wide range of stories; funny, sad, nostalgic, joyful, eccentric and thought provoking. People were invited to sit down, talk and watch their memories appear as Sophie drew them live. The work has been building up to the Easter bank holiday weekend when all of Sophie's drawings will be unveiled to the public.Producer: Dan Saladino Reporter: Sara Parker.