The Food Chain

Chef Arun Sundaraj leads the catering teams at Taj Palace Hotel hosting G20 delegates. The podcast discusses the art of food diplomacy, including the role of food in peace negotiations, hiring culinary experts for diplomacy, and the challenges of adapting to different cultures through food.

Weaning refers to the process of introducing your baby to solid foods, alongside breast milk or formula. In the UK, the NHS suggests this normally happens at around six months old. In this programme Rick Kelsey starts the weaning journey with his baby boy Albie, and finds out about some of the different approaches including ‘spoon fed’ and ‘baby led’ weaning. He also gets advice on how to deal with allergies and choking. Rick Kelsey is joined by Katie Shelton from ‘Scrummy Tummies’, Dr Sarika Kapoor who posts online as ‘The Weaning GP’, and Rachel Childs, nutritionist at First Steps Nutrition Trust, a public health charity in the UK. Produced and presented by Rick Kelsey. You can contact the programme by emailing thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Image: a baby being spoon fed, with food around its mouth. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)This edition was updated on 02/10/2023.

Explore the little-known condition of Misophonia, also known as "sound rage", which causes an extreme aversion to certain eating sounds. Hear personal experiences of individuals living with Misophonia, their coping mechanisms, and the impact on their daily lives and relationships. Discover tips and coping strategies for managing misophonia triggers, and the importance of a formal diagnosis for recognition, support, and insurance. Learn how misophonia affects relationships and communication, and how to create a comfortable environment while balancing the understanding of others.

Discover the global sensation of the banh mi sandwich, from its origins during French occupation of Vietnam to its popularity after the Vietnam war. Explore the sandwich's ingredients, French history, and the restaurant that makes it. Learn about the ingenuity, adaptation, and family love behind this beloved street food.

Italian food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, but how did it first make its way out of Italy? In this edition of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander uncovers stories of migration, food culture and legacy in the Italian diaspora. Academic Donna Gabaccia explains why millions of Italians left their home country in the 1800s, creating new communities around the world that came to be known as ‘Little Italy’. Ruth visits one of them, in London’s Clerkenwell, to discover its history and how a delicatessen founded in the late 1800s – still busy today – sparked a love for Italian cuisine. We hear from an Italian restaurant owner in Buenos Aires, whose Genoese ancestors put their stamp on the local food scene more than 90 years ago.And reporter Kizzy Cox takes a trip around some eateries in the world-famous Little Italy in New York City to see how the local community is moving with the times. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Five contributors in the programme, from left to right: Lou di Palo, Luca Fadda, Hugo Banchero, Giorgia Fadda and Nico Paganelli, in front of a Little Italy sign. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Elisabeth Mahy Reporter: Kizzy Cox Additional production: Veronica Smink and Matías Zibell Garcia

At what age should you start teaching children to cook, and why should you? In this programme, Ruth Alexander meets children and young people who are talented in the kitchen, making the case for why it might be worth the time and the mess to trust them to make dinner. We travel to the north-west of England to Sefton Carers Centre to meet Paige Jones, aged nine, who cares and cooks for her mum, Rachel, who has a health condition. Food writer Jenny Chandler, who has authored two cookbooks for children, gives Ruth some tips about how she can get her three-year-old son engaged in the kitchen. And Ruth meets the young cooking enthusiasts sharing their skills with others: Keffa Liona in Nairobi, Kenya, makes cooking videos with his younger brother, Kisali, which they post online; and Julian Frederick in Texas, United States, is - aged 15 - the CEO of Stepstool Chef, which provides video tutorials presented by children for children. Presented by Ruth Alexander Produced by Beatrice Pickup(Image: Child stood on a stool in a kitchen, making houmous.)

Immersive dining has become something of a culinary craze in recent years. As well as serving food, restaurants are providing multi-sensory experiences for customers; transforming their dining spaces into places where people can escape. In this edition of The Food Chain, we take a look at immersive dining establishments around the world, exploring why customers are increasingly choosing to be entertained while they eat, and asking – is this dining trend a bit of a fad, or is it the future of eating out? If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Diners eating at tables surrounded by flowing water, at Labassin Waterfall restaurant in the Philippines) Presenter: Izzy Greenfield Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

The African continent is seeing one of the fastest rates of urbanisation in the world. As people move to cities, and lifestyles change, so do diets. Many indigenous ingredients and dishes become hard to source and prepare. Others become associated with rural or village ways of life and are no longer seen as sufficiently aspirational. In this programme, Michael Kaloki finds out about traditional dishes at risk of being forgotten. He cooks with his Aunty Naomi to learn about dishes from his own Kamba tribe in Kenya. He also visits Dr Kathleen Anangwe, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Social Work and African Women Studies at the University of Nairobi, as she prepares a traditional dish from her own tribe, the Luhya in Western Kenya. He speaks to chef Selassie Atadika, who is showcasing indigenous ingredients and methods of cooking in her pop-up nomadic dinners in Accra, Ghana. If you'd like to contact the programme email - thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Presented by Michael Kaloki. Produced by Beatrice Pickup. (Image: women transporting millet in baskets on their head. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Going to a wedding this year? Spare a thought for the caterers - expected to put on ever-more elaborate feasts in ever-more challenging conditions. In this episode, three wedding caterers - in India, the US and the UK - share anecdotes about demanding guests, make-shift hillside kitchens and emergency trips to hospital. Warning: if you’re a bride- or groom-to-be, this programme might just give you a case of the jitters. You can share your tales of wedding banquet triumphs and disasters by emailing thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Bride and groom blowing out a candle on a cake. Credit: Getty Images/BBC) Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Out of necessity, in adversity, or for the fun of it - how, and why did you learn to cook? Ruth Alexander hears the stories behind people’s kitchen skills - the highs, the lows, the challenges overcome, and the connections made – and discovers there’s often more than just dinner at stake. Growing up in Germany to Japanese parents, chef Nina Matsunaga remembers having to step up to the stove when her mother was taken ill; the eldest of three boys in Cameroon, Timah Julius Nyambod made breakfast and dinner for his brothers while his mother worked as a food vendor; Janet Pollock describes teaching herself to cook as a young child inspired by cookery shows in Nashville, USA; and Rahul Raina is holding on to his Kashmiri heritage in Oxford, England, thanks to the recipes and know-how of his mother and grandmother. You can contact the programme by emailing – thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Presented by Ruth Alexander Produced by Beatrice Pickup and Rumella Dasgupta (Image: Rahul Raina cooking chicken yakhni, a Kashmiri dish, with his mother Sunanda Dhar. Credit: BBC)