The Food Chain

Many of us love cookbooks. For some, they are a useful tool, and for others a source of inspiration. But then there are those for whom they are a whole lot more.Emily Thomas meets two people who are obsessed with cookbooks, collecting thousands of copies, and building emotional connections with each of them. Irish food writer Diana Henry explains how books can become soulmates, and Californian chef Cindy Pawlcyn describes how it feels to have a collection built over decades, destroyed overnight.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: Pile of books. Credit: Getty/BBC)

What is it about garlic that wards off the evil eye? Why is rice sometimes thrown over the happy couple at a wedding?The way we grow, eat and use certain foods is said to bring us luck - good or bad - but why do we imbue them with these mystical powers, and why do these beliefs persist?Tamasin Ford explores some of the most common and also unusual food superstitions practiced around the world.Producers: Simon Tulett and Sarah Stolarz(Picture: Two hands pulling a wishbone. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)Contributors:Jayanti 'Jonty' Rajagopalan, owner of Detours India, Hyderabad; Mae Azango, journalist with FrontPage Africa, Liberia; Tasha Marks, food historian, London.

Coronavirus shutdowns have seen many more people step into the kitchen to cook for themselves this year. Whilst some have boasted about the joy, comfort and delectable dishes they’ve discovered, it was the food failures that really went viral. Three amateur cooks tell Tamasin Ford about their epic kitchen catastrophes and the valuable lessons failure taught them about food, and themselves. Producers: Simon Tulett and Sarah Stolarz(Picture: A woman looking at burnt cakes in the oven. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)Contributors:Ngo Thi Viet Anh; Heidi Allen; Dan Nash

Almost ten years ago, chef Joshna Maharaj walked into a hospital kitchen and was horrified by what she saw. Since then she’s been leading a movement to change what patients eat. But it’s not easy to make large cash-strapped public institutions up their food game, nor to win over cooks whose culinary skills have been reduced to opening packets.Joshna tells Emily Thomas the story behind her new book Take Back the Tray - Revolutionising Food in Hospitals, Schools and Other Institutions.(Picture: Joshna Maharaj. Credit: Joshna Maharaj/BBC)If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Only three countries still hunt whales commercially. They do it despite little demand for whale meat and sometimes fierce international condemnation. So why do they continue?Emily Thomas finds out why Norway, Japan and Iceland still kill whales for their meat and discovers that tradition, culture and a strong sense of national identity can outweigh all of these factors. She hears why aggressive international pressure, particularly from environmental or animal welfare NGOs, can backfire, and speaks to the man behind a campaign that may have helped end commercial whaling in one of these countries for good.Producers: Simon Tulett and Sarah Stolarz(Picture: A captured minke whale is lifted by a crane at a port in Kushiro, Japan, in July 2019. Credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/BBC)Contributors:JohnJo Devlin, BBC reporter; Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Seafood; Michal Kolmaš, assistant professor of Asian studies and international relations at the Metropolitan University in Prague; Sigursteinn Másson, journalist and anti-whaling campaigner

Selassie Atadika spent a decade working for the UN in some of the world’s most volatile regions, and it led to a realisation - that food has an essential role to play in rebuilding economies and bringing communities together.The Ghanaian chef is now on a mission to revive many of Africa’s lost or forgotten foods, and make the rest of the world sit up and take notice. She tells Emily Thomas how, aged five, she was forced to flee her home in Ghana following a military coup, and why she caused a ‘scandal’ in her family by dropping her plans to be a doctor for a career in humanitarian work.Selassie is now gaining international acclaim for Midunu, a nomadic restaurant she set up in her family’s former home in Accra, which embodies what she calls ‘new African cuisine’. She explains how she wants to use it to make the continent healthier, wealthier, and greener.(Picture: Selassie Atadika. Credit: Selassie Atadika/BBC)

Is there ever a good time to open a restaurant? Surely, during a global pandemic isn’t one of them? As coronavirus rips through communities around the globe, lockdowns are forcing tens of thousands of restaurants to close their doors. Tamasin Ford meets the entrepreneurs who are doing the opposite. We hear how a West African restaurant in London and a Chinese restaurant in LA are managing their openings. Plus, how putting food on the menu, became a matter of survival for one of London's top dance clubs.(Picture: Adejoké, Henry and Stuart. Credit: BBC/Adejoké Bakare/Henry Molina/Stuart Glen)If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors:Adejoké Bakare: Chishuru restaurant, London Henry Molina: Good and Nice restaurant, LA Stuart Glen: co-founder The Cause, London

Mealtimes with small children, whether they are your own or someone else's, can be a far from relaxing experience. Dinner with a toddler can be a wild affair, leaving the adults around the table exhausted. Is this a key part of a child’s learning, or should we get in quick and teach table manners in the high chair? How can a parent banish mealtime battles and turn a child into a dream dinner companion? And what can we tell about our attitudes to food and parenting philosophies when we look at how we teach our children to eat?Emily Thomas meets three parents from around the globe, who’ve mastered the art of a chilled family mealtime.Contributors: Pamela Druckerman, author of French Children Don’t Throw Food, Sherlyn Kim, CEO of Molly Manners Korea and Vaishali Sudan Sharma of The Champa Tree parenting blog.

Four years ago some of the biggest electoral shifts in the US were seen in the north-central state of Wisconsin. It was one of the swing states that decided that election. And it could be again. This week Emily Thomas hears the stories of two farmers who live and work in this key battleground region. How much have Donald Trump's trade wars with China, Canada and Mexico challenged a traditionally Republican community? And has Joe Biden offered enough incentives for farmers to vote Democrat?(Picture: Carrie Mess and Will Hsu. Credit: Will Hsu/Carrie Mess/BBC)If you would like to get in touch, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors: Carrie Mess, dairy farmer Will Hsu, farmer and President - Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises

Presidential campaigns are all about connecting with voters, and Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both been using food to do it. Emily Thomas hears how they’ve targeted food brands, food media and even food influencers to help bolster their image, promote their policies, and reach new audiences.But the deep cultural connections that come with food can make it a risky policy - eating the wrong thing or in the wrong way on the campaign trail can have a devastating impact.And, entertaining though all of this might be, does it detract from the serious food issues that affect the lives of every American, and the fact that actual food policies are rarely discussed?Contributors:Emily Contois, assistant professor of media studies at the University of Tulsa Jeremy Jacobowitz, @brunchboys Jayson Lusk, distinguished professor and head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University(Picture: Fries being dropped into a ballot box. Credit: Getty Images/Katie Horwich/BBC)