The Food Chain

The hospitality industry is facing a staffing crisis, but why have thousands of chefs and waiters quit, and why now?Tamasin Ford speaks to three former restaurant and bar workers to find out why the coronavirus pandemic prompted them to leave, and what they're doing instead. We find out what, if anything, might tempt them back - higher pay, more sociable hours, or better work culture, maybe kinder customers? And we ask whether Covid-19 might really be the moment for industry reform.If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producer: Simon TulettContributors: Adam Reiner, New York; Melissa Sosa, Miami; Renée Harper, Phoenix.(Picture: Upset waitress leaning on a bar. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Alcohol is part of the fabric of life in many cultures. It’s associated with socialising, dating, networking, even commiserating . But what happens if you take it away? Tamasin Ford brings together three people who decided to give up alcohol in a drinking culture. We ask them why and how they did it. What effect did it have on their lives professionally, socially, physically and emotionally? And would they ever want to drink again?If you Would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.If you have found any of the issues raised in this programme upsetting and are looking for further information or support - please visit BBC Action Line by clicking on the link below.Contributors: Annie Grace - Author and founder This Naked Mind Colorado, USA Andy Ramage - Performance coach, Essex, UK Kate Gunn - Author 'The Accidental Soberista' Whitlow, Ireland(Picture: Hand on empty bottle. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Insects are cheap, packed full of nutrients, and farming them for food could help save the planet. Convincing more people to eat them, though, remains a big challenge.Tamasin Ford speaks to three insect entrepreneurs trying to persuade the squeamish, especially in Europe and North America, to overcome their fears of crickets, worms, and spiders, and instead see them as a tasty, sustainable, alternative source of protein.We also hear that it’s not just the ‘yuck factor’ holding this fledgling industry back - should governments, chefs, and climate campaigners be doing more to support it?If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukProducer: Simon TulettContributors:Joseph Yoon, chef and executive director of Brooklyn Bugs; Marjolaine Blouzard, former co-owner of Bugs Cafe; Andy Holcroft, founding director of Grub Kitchen and Bug Farm Foods.(Picture: A dish of peas, carrots and worms prepared by chef David Faure. Credit: Didier Baverel/Getty Images/BBC)

From bread making to Thai cuisine, cookery classes have become a popular way for people to learn new culinary skills and meet people. But coronavirus lockdowns suddenly brought these businesses to a standstill. Rory Cellan-Jones hears from three cooks, who quickly pivoted to virtual cooking classes to survive. Could they get over the technical challenges, and can you really teach someone to cook through a computer?(Picture: mother and child on a virtual cooking course. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)Contributors:Fayruza Abrahams, Taste Malay Rawan Al Waada, Rebels in the Kitchen Sue Hudson, Bread Workshops

Hot stoves, perishable food, and potentially dirty surfaces can make the kitchen a difficult place for someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.People with OCD will frequently experience unwanted thoughts, images or urges - which may include worries about contamination or harming themselves and others. They will often use repetitive behaviours to relieve their anxiety - including washing and cleaning, or repeatedly checking their actions. All this means that both cooking and eating food prepared by others can become very distressing.In this episode, Emily Thomas meets three people who have suffered from the disorder. They explain how debilitating the condition can be by describing just one aspect of daily life - the way they eat.Contributors: Chrissie Fadipe, Shai Friedland, Patricia GrisafiIf you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, please see the related links section at the bottom of this page.

Food photography is about much more than beautifully presented dishes in cookbooks - it’s also being used to change the way we think about what we eat.Emily Thomas meets three photographers to discuss some of their most powerful images - from a bloody scene in a Thai slaughterhouse to a display of human resilience in a refugee camp.They explore why still images of food and food production can be a compelling way to communicate about politics, society, and economics. We also hear about the impact such hard-hitting photography can have on the people behind the lens.To see the images described on the show, plus a few more, visit our homepage www.bbc.com/foodchainIf you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukProducer: Simon Tulett.Contributors:Jo-Anne McArthur; Dorte Verner; Li Huaifeng.(Picture: A Moken spear fisherman diving for his catch. Credit: Dorte Verner)

Starches are among the most important and versatile additives in processed food, but most of us know little about them and there are some we should be wary of.Emily Thomas hears why starch is a food manufacturer’s best friend - making pies crispier, cakes airier, and yoghurts creamier. It’s even used to mimic and replace ingredients some of us want to limit, like sugar and fat.But although starch is a vital source of energy for all of us, some highly processed starches have been linked with negative health outcomes, and it can be hard for the consumer to find out which type they’re eating.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukProducers: Simon Tulett and Siobhan O'Connell.Contributors:Peter Hendrikx, Ingredion; Marty Jopkin, author of 'The Science of Food'; Fred Warren, The Quadram Institute(Picture: Bread 'flying' in mid-air. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Is there someone in your life who needs to have total control in the kitchen? Someone who breathes down your neck, micromanages your every move and can’t resist explaining exactly how to chop a carrot? If so, you may be in the company of what we’re calling ‘a Chefsplainer’. Or perhaps all this rings a bell because you are a chefsplainer? Whoever you are - this episode of The Food Chain is for you.Emily Thomas meets a married couple, a mother and son, and two friends to unpack their power dynamics in the kitchen. They explore why some people feel the need to take control over the cooking, how this reflects our emotional attachment to food, and whether what happens in the kitchen reflects or changes relationships outside it. Plus - why do some of us think that it’s ok to behave in certain ways in the kitchen - that we wouldn’t dream of elsewhere? If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: couple argue in a kitchen. Credit: Getty/BBC)Contributors:Abby Saverino R

Calories are ubiquitous across most of the world and have been used to help people manage their weight for more than a century. But have we been counting them wrong all along? In this episode, Emily Thomas finds out how the calorie is a lot more complex than many of us realise. Historian Louise Foxcroft describes how this measure of energy became the darling of scientists and public health experts across the globe, and the unwitting bedfellow of the diet industry. Geneticist Giles Yeo argues that calorie counting can actually be harmful, encouraging us to make unhealthy choices, and Bridget Benelam from the British Nutrition Foundation explains why she thinks that despite all its flaws, the calorie will be with us for a good while yet.

Sugary drink and fast food sponsors have become almost inseparable from sporting superstars and major events like the Olympics. But why are these epitomes of health and exercise aligning themselves with products linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes?Simon Tulett explores the reasons for this relationship's long history and hears about the damage it could be doing to young, impressionable fans.If this sponsorship is a problem, whose job is it to end it, and can it be done without leaving event organisers, athletes and grassroots sport facing a financial black hole?Producer: Sarah StolarzContributors:Michael Payne, former IOC marketing executive; Dr Sandro Demaio, VicHealth; Tuhin Mishra, Baseline Ventures; Tammy Aitken If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: Composite of an American football player catching a burger. Credit: Lew Robertson, Rubberball/Mike Kemp, Getty Images/BBC)

When it comes to food, we have a lot more than honey to thank bees for - more than three quarters of the world’s food crops depend, at least in part, on pollinators. But bee populations, we often hear, are under threat, and that’s largely due to human behaviour.Emily Thomas speaks to three beekeepers about the challenges of making money from honey and the complicated relationship between the human and the honey bee.If we look carefully into the hive, she discovers, bees can teach us much about the environment, society and ourselves.Producer: Simon TulettContributors:Joan Kinyanjui, Yatta Beekeepers, Nairobi; Dale Gibson, Bermondsey Street Bees, London; Ian Steppler, Steppler Farms, Manitoba.If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: A honey bee on the end of a human finger. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

When you’re competing in a round-the-world race and you have to take all your food with you, what do you bring and how do you cook it?If you’re scrambling up and down mountains for days on end, or swimming across an entire ocean, how do you find the time to eat, and what can you stomach? Tamasin Ford speaks to three extreme endurance athletes about the planning, practicalities and monotony of these gruelling events. Is food simply fuel, or can it power competitors in other ways?Producer: Simon TulettContributors:Dee Caffari; Billy White; Benoit LecomteIf you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: A runner in the 2019 Marathon des Sables race. Credit: Erik Sampers/Gamma-Rapho/Getty/ BBC)

Do you need a lemon right now but don’t want to leave the house? Just download an app and you’ll have it in 13 minutes. That’s the kind of service you can expect from a swathe of new ‘rapid delivery’ grocery apps. Dozens have appeared around the world since the start of the pandemic, and investors have been flocking to invest, pumping billions into the sector. So are these apps the obvious next step in our on-demand lifestyles, or should they be a cause for concern? When it comes to food, can things become just a bit too convenient? Tamasin Ford hears from one company boss with big ambitions and a former competition lawyer who’s worried these apps could spell the end for smaller food stores. Plus, we travel to Istanbul in Turkey where people have already been using them for years. (Picture: Man sat on sofa groceries being handed to him. Credit: Getty/BBC)If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors:Alec Dent: Co-Founder, Weezy Kaya Genç: Novelist Michelle M

When chef Jamie Oliver launched a campaign to improve British school meals, it inspired one headteacher to take things much further.Charlton Manor Primary School, in south London, now grows its own produce, keeps bees and chickens, and has a restaurant aiming for a Michelin star. Head Tim Baker has also overhauled the teaching curriculum to put food centre stage - from learning about fair trade banana growers in geography lessons to slicing pizzas to help with fractions.Tamasin Ford speaks to teachers and students to find out how they did it, and asks whether this could act as a model for how to teach our children about food's impact on our health and the planet.Producer: Simon TulettIf you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: Students Sarah and Vaidas in the garden at Charlton Manor Primary School)Contributors:Students at Charlton Manor Primary School; Joe Grollman, teaching chef; Nick Shelley, gardener; Flavio Hernandez, head chef; Tim Baker, headteacher; Kim

The celebrated French chef Raymond Blanc tells Emily Thomas about his life through five dishes.From a childhood roaming magical forests in Eastern France, to the rather less enticing restaurant scene of 1970s England, Raymond describes how with little grasp of the language and no formal training, he quickly became one of the UK’s best known chefs. His restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, has been thriving for almost 40 years and during that time he has added a string of cookbooks, TV shows and brasseries to his name. Raymond explains how he balances being a gastronome and perfectionist with running a large business.But we also hear another side to the exuberant chef. The past year has been perhaps one the most difficult of Raymond’s life - closing his restaurants, the isolation of lockdown, the death of his mother and being hospitalised with coronavirus for a month. He tells us why he thinks it will make him a better man.

Meet the unsung heroes of your kitchen drawers.When you hold a vegetable peeler or potato masher, do you ever think about the person behind it? We celebrate chefs and cookbook writers - but what about the people who make the tools that make it all easier?Emily Thomas meets three product designers who explain the thinking behind the everyday objects we keep in our kitchens. We’ll hear about accessibility and segregation - but also art and beauty. Welcome to the philosophy of kitchen gadgets.Contributors: Dan Formosa, Scott Jarvie, and Gavin Reay.

The Food Chain delves into the world of ‘Ultra-Processed Food’ - a term coined in Brazil that has been provoking debate around the world.Ultra Processed Food is a term that encompasses a broad range of common products from industrialised bread to breakfast cereals to chocolate bars. A growing body of evidence points to an association between their consumption and negative health outcomes including obesity, over-eating, depression, heart disease, and type-2 diabetes. Countries like Brazil are so concerned they are recommending people avoid UPFs all together. But in some of the world's most developed economies these foods make up, up to 80% of our diets, whilst the public understands very little about them. Emily Thomas speaks to representatives from the food industry and people at the forefront of the science into UPFs to try to find out whether this is just another dietary buzzword that muddies the waters when it comes to improving the nation’s diets - OR whether it’s something we should ALL be talking about.

Gene editing could revolutionise agriculture, with some scientists promising healthier and more productive crops and animals, but will consumers want to eat them? With the first gene edited crops recently approved for sale, Emily Thomas hears why this technology might be quicker, cheaper and more accurate than the older genetic engineering techniques that produced GMOs, and asks whether these differences could make it more acceptable to a deeply sceptical, even fearful public.Some are not convinced by the claims, and there are concerns that current regulations won't protect consumers or the environment from any potential risks. By putting their faith in technology, have scientists and companies overlooked other simpler solutions to our food security problems?Producer: Simon TulettIf you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: A DNA model on a plate. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)Contributors:Jennifer Kuzma, North Carolina State University; Hiroshi Ezura, University of

In an illustrious career spanning three decades, there’s little that booking-writing, seed-breading, ‘philosopher chef’ Dan Barber has not put his hands to. Celebrated as the poster child of the ‘farm to fork’ movement, he tells Graihagh Jackson how a visit to a wheat farm called into question everything he thought he knew about agriculture and changed his cooking and ethos forever. Surprisingly though, Dan started life wanting to be a writer not a chef. Through five dishes, we hear how a failed stint as a baker, a baptism of fire in french kitchens and running a company from a mice-infested kitchen eventually won him over to the cause. We learn that an obsession with simplicity and flavour has taken him on a farming odyssey around the world, what coronavirus can teach us about the future of food, and how it all started with a humble dish of scrambled eggs.If you would like to get in touch please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: Chef Dan Barber. Credit: Richard Bolls/BBC)

Three people who lost their vision as adults tell Emily Thomas how they learnt to cook again, becoming so accomplished in the kitchen that they became restaurateurs, cookbook writers, food podcast makers and Masterchef winners. They explain how their relationships with food have changed, and why cooking with just four senses can make you a better chef. (Picture: Payal Kapoor, Simon Mahoney, Christine Hà. Credit: BBC/Julie Soefer Photography)If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors:Christine Hà, chef, writer and owner of ‘The Blind Goat’ restaurant Payal Kapoor, host of ‘Rasoi ke Rahasya’ YouTube channel Simon Mahoney, author ‘First Catch Your Rabbit!: Or Cooking Without Fear’