The Food Chain

Chef Olia Hercules invites us into her London home to reflect on her country’s rich culinary heritage and the power of food in even the darkest of times. She opens her well-stocked kitchen cupboards and fridge to reveal the varied flavours, colours and scents of a cuisine she says is often wrongly dismissed as being ‘beige’ or boring. Ruth Alexander joins Olia and her Russian friend and fellow food writer, Alissa Timoshkina, to discuss the close ties between their nation’s traditional dishes, and the importance of the two women’s own personal friendship. The conversation was recorded on Tuesday 8 March; 12 days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina. Credit: BBC) Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Slipping drugs or extra alcohol into someone’s drink is a crime, but one that is under-reported and little understood. It’s often thought to take place in bars and nightclubs, but as Ruth Alexander discovers from people who’ve been targeted, it can happen to anyone, at any time. Campaigners explain why myths and misconceptions around drink spiking persist, and we ask what could be done to move the crime out of the shadows and into the open. (Picture: hand holding glass of water. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Producer: Elisabeth Mahy Contributors: Clara George, Miss United Kingdom, and campaigner against drink spiking Dr Lata Gautam, associate professor in forensic science, Anglia Ruskin University, UK Dawn Dines, CEO and founder of Stamp Out Spiking

What is a recipe? A simple question... with many answers. It could be a set of instructions on how to make a dish – but also so much more. Recipes can reveal how we lived in the past, and how we are living today. They are part of our sense of identity, belonging and loss and they are portals we can use to travel to different cultures. This week, Ruth Alexander speaks to three recipe collectors in India, Ghana and the USA to find out why they are preserving their nation’s recipes. What can you learn by documenting these culinary guides? How do you even capture a recipe that has never been written down? And what is at stake if they are lost? (Picture: Cookbook with utensils. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Contributors: Abena Offeh-Gyimah, writer and food entrepreneur, Ghana Megan Elias, cultural historian and director of the Gastronomy programme at University of Boston, USA Muskaan Pal, co-founder, Indian Community Cookbook Project

Social media is full of fake news about food. Fad diets, cure-all superfoods, demonised ingredients, made-up health scares – you’re never more than a few clicks away from unreliable nutritional information. In this episode, Ruth Alexander meets two people trying to take on those who peddle the food myths. What is it like getting into an online food fight; can an individual ever hope to change people’s minds; and why would anyone even try? (Picture: Hand holding cream pie on man's face. Credit: Getty/BBC) Producer: Sarah Stolarz Contributors: Dr Joshua Wolrich, NHS doctor, nutritionist and author Erin aka Food Science Babe, chemical engineer and food scientist

It’s estimated that as many as 1 in 7 adults are suffering from constipation at any one time. And yet, talking about the problem is taboo. Ruth Alexander is joined by two experts who want us to be more open about the condition. They say our reluctance to talk about constipation is having an impact on our well-being and creating a costly burden on health services. Find out why a balanced and varied diet will help many people avoid the problem, but not all; and why prunes – a famous remedy – can actually make it worse. Plus, a historian traces how we came to be so reticent about our toilet habits; and how constipation may have had a decisive role at numerous turning points in history. If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Closed airplane toilet door. Credit: Getty/BBC) Contributors: Anton Emmanuel, University College Hospital London and the National Hospital for Neurology and NeurosurgeryLouise Foxcroft, medical historian and author Miguel Toribio-Mateas,

Imagine being able to ‘taste’ every word that comes out of your mouth. Everything you or someone else says provoking something in your brain to kick your taste buds into action. It sounds incredulous, but for a tiny proportion of the world’s population, that is their reality. It’s a neurological phenomenon called synaesthesia, where two or more senses merge. Tamasin Ford meets two sisters from Glasgow, Scotland, who have had the condition for as long as they can remember. They share what it’s like to live with this explosion of taste at every waking moment. But how and why does it happen? We try to unpick the science behind it and take a look at what synaesthesia could tell us about how we experience taste and flavour. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Keyboard letters in a soup bowl. Credit:Getty/BBC) Contributors:Julie McDowall and Jennifer McCready Guy Leschziner, author and Professor of neurology and sleep medicine at King's College London.

Can you imagine suddenly finding that it hurts to eat? Or that when you take a bite of your favourite meal you feel nothing? In this episode, we’re talking about something that isn’t much talked about: what happens to your relationship with food when you’ve got cancer. Ruth Alexander is joined by three women who want you to know about a side effect of treatment that they weren’t fully prepared for - the loss of their sense of taste. They share how what is a relatively minor detail, given a devastating diagnosis, nevertheless had a huge effect on their everyday routine, their interactions with family and friends, their sense of self. Hear how they learned to cope and how, out of the depths of this distressing experience, came a new appreciation of the everyday. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk (Picture: Grapefruit with pills coming out of it. Credit: Getty/BBC) Producer: Sarah Stolarz Contributors: Heather McCollum Semira Oguntoyinbo Angharad Underwood

How do you feed a dog? The answer may be more fraught than you had imagined. Should you give them ‘dog food’? Is it a step too far to feed them at the table? And can man’s best friend thrive on a vegetarian diet? we bring together three dog-loving experts from the UK, India and the USA to analyse what dog feeding reveals about our relationship with animals and even our own relationship with food. Be prepared to hear some surprises, some empowering advice and maybe some uncomfortable home truths. And even if you don’t have a dog, you may get some ideas that you can apply to your own life. If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk(Picture: dogs licks lips. Credit: Getty/BBC)Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Sarah Stolarz Contributors: Shirin Merchant, dog trainer and behaviourist in Mumbai, India Louise Glazebrook, dog trainer and behaviourist in London, UK Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado Boulder,

A lack of sleep might leave us tired, but it can also have a major impact on what we eat, and our health. Ruth Alexander explores the surprising relationship between diet and a poor night’s rest, and learns that it’s not just what we’re eating, but when: we hear about the perils of consuming calories late into the evening or, even worse, overnight. But it’s not all bad news: there’s growing research into the idea that we might be able to improve our sleep quality by tweaking our diets. If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producer: Simon Tulett Contributors: Tania Whalen, fire brigade despatcher, Melbourne, Australia; Matthew Walker, University of California, Berkeley, USA; Maxine Bonham, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, USA.(Picture: A young girl asleep on a plate of spaghetti. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Caffeine is a key ingredient in some of our favourite foods and drinks, but it’s also a mind-altering drug that can be very tricky to quit. Tamasin Ford meets three people who’ve tried to cut caffeine out of their lives by eliminating some of its main sources from their diets - coffee, tea and chocolate. We hear about some uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, social awkwardness, and the struggle to adapt to life without a caffeine high. How long did they stay caffeine-free? If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producers: Simon Tulett and Sarah StolarzContributors: Petteri Rantamäki, business software professional, Helsinki, Finland; Abigail James, aesthetician and author, London, UK; John Horgan, science journalist, New York, USA.(Picture: A young woman holding a cup of coffee. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

In this final episode of 2021, we're revisiting some of the most powerful food stories from the pandemic. Following widespread restaurant closures and labour shortages across the hospitality sector, we catch up with a New York chef who is forging a new path. And what about those people who thanks to Covid-19 can’t even smell or taste their food anymore? We’ll be finding out whether this leading symptom of the virus is now better understood. Plus, how is one of the world’s newest emojis – the arepa flatbread - faring, one year on? (Picture: Drawing of sweet being unwrapped. Credit: BBC/Getty) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Contributors: Amanda Cohen, Chef and owner, Dirt Candy restaurant New York Chrissi Kelly, founder, smell and taste loss charity AbScent Sebastian Delmont, software developer and co-creator of the arepa emoji

World War Two rationing imposed severe restrictions on food, so why would anyone voluntarily go back to it? Ruth Alexander meets three women who chose to adopt the diet endured in 1940s and 1950s Britain, one of them for an entire year. We hear how such scarcity inspired creativity, a reverence for the ingenuity of wartime cooks, and an enduring change of perspective on the responsibility of the 21st century food consumer. If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producer: Simon TulettContributors: Karen Burns-Booth, food writer - www.lavenderandlovage.com/category/recipes/general-recipes/wartime-recipes Claud Fullwood, author of The Rations Challenge: Forty Days of Feasting in a Wartime Kitchen Carolyn Ekins, blogger - https://the1940sexperiment.com(Picture: Basket of food rations on display at the Imperial War Museum, London, in 2011. Credit: Paul Kerley/BBC)

What dish says Christmas to you - roast turkey, goat? Carp perhaps? What about fried chicken? In Japan nothing says ‘festive family food’ more than a bucket of KFC fried chicken. And if you’re Jewish and from the US, a Christmas meal will almost certainly mean a trip to Chinatown. Ruth Alexander unearths the origin stories of these two unlikely, but incredibly popular, - alternative Christmas food traditions, and finds out how food can help give you a sense of belonging, even if celebrating Christmas isn’t for you. (Picture: Bucket of fried chicken and bowl of Chinese food. Credit: Getty/BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Contributors: Nina Li Coomes, writer based in Chicago, USA Rabbi Joshua Plaut, author ‘A Kosher Christmas: ‘Tis the Season to be Kosher’. Producers: Sarah Stolarz and Simon Tulett

Catering on film and TV sets is notorious for being one of the toughest jobs in the hospitality industry. Imagine feeding hundreds of people in a different location every day, running your kitchen in some of the world’s most remote places, and accommodating the varied diets of the planet’s biggest stars. Tamasin Ford speaks to three caterers to find out what it takes to succeed in Hollywood, Bollywood, and the world of reality TV, and finds out how vital food can be to the success of a shoot. If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producer: Simon TulettContributors:Sid Ghai, director of Ghai Caterers Ltd, London; Antonia Crowley, executive chef and event stylist at Flying Trestles, Auckland; Wayne Brown, co-founder of Red Radish, London.(Picture: A stack of pizza boxes next to a film director's chair. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Rationing looms large in the memories of a generation who lived through World War Two. Basic groceries were limited and getting enough food on the table became a daily challenge that went on long after the last bombs fell. Ruth Alexander brings together a German and an English woman, who grew up on opposite sides of the world’s deadliest ever conflict, to share their recollections of wartime eating. What was it like struggling to find food, how did they adapt, and how has it changed their approach to food forever? (Picture: Ingeborg Schreib-Wywiorski and Beryl Kingston, Credit: BBC) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodhchain@bbc.co.uk Contributors: Ingeborg Schreib-Wywiorski and Beryl Kingston. Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Gabriella D’Cruz, from Goa, wants to improve diets, transform livelihoods, and protect the planet using an often-overlooked marine vegetable - seaweed.Ruth Alexander speaks to the 29-year-old about her big plans for the underwater crop, and her hope that it could bring lasting economic and environmental change to India’s coastal communities. Gabriella’s passion and her project’s potential saw her chosen by a panel of international judges as the winner of The Food Chain Global Youth Champion Award 2021.If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producer: Simon TulettContributors:Gabriella D'Cruz, founder of The Good Ocean; Ismahane Elouafi, chief scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.(Picture: Gabriella D'Cruz in the sea holding a basket of seaweed. Credit: Gabriella D'Cruz/BBC)

How is a new cuisine created? Ruth Alexander explores two unique cuisines in South Africa and the USA: ‘Cape-Malay’- a 300-year old tradition born out of colonialism and slavery that unites Indonesian and Dutch tastes; and ‘Viet-Cajun’ - a more recent phenomenon that has seen the Vietnamese diaspora experimenting with Cajun flavours in Texas. We explore how history’s darkest episodes can lead to some of the most captivating flavour combinations and ask why some people will cringe at the term ‘fusion food’. (Picture: Pot lid being opened. Credit: Getty/BBC)If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors:Cass Abrahams: Chef and Author, Cape Town, South Africa Mai Pham: Food writer, Houston, USA

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic some people discovered a solace and comfort in cooking, but for many others the opposite was true - the joy they had once felt in the kitchen evaporated.Tamasin Ford speaks to three formerly passionate cooks to find out what it’s like to lose the love of the thing you enjoy doing the most.What’s really behind their ‘cooking burnout’, how have they tried to reignite that spark, and has this experience changed their relationship with food for good?If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.Producer: Simon TulettContributors: Helen Rosner, food correspondent for The New Yorker, New York, USA; Yamini Pustake Bhalerao, author and ideas editor at shethepeople.tv, Pune, India; Wayne Barnard, chef and ambassador for The Burnt Chef Project, Cardiff, Wales.(Picture: A woman making cookies. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

The pressure to tackle climate change by altering what we eat is huge, and it can be a daunting prospect. But you don’t have to go vegan, shop 100 per cent local, or start your own allotment to make a difference. This week, as world leaders gather for a key climate conference in Glasgow, we’re asking you what small changes you’ve made to your everyday food habits to make them a little bit greener. Plus, Tamasin Ford hears from a chef in Nigeria about the special role he thinks the professionals have to play, and we ask for one life-changing piece of advice from an expert and writer on food waste.(Picture: Hand reaches for apple, Credit: Getty/BBC)If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors:Michael Elégbèdé: chef, ÌTÀN Restaurant and Test Kitchen in Ikoyi, Nigeria Tamar Adler: author ‘An Everlasting Meal’, New York, USAAnd Food Chain listeners:Annabell Randles: London, UK Mike Hoey: Berkely, California Simone Osman: Maputo, Mozambique Yael Straver Laris: G

The UK food industry relies on foreign workers, but what happens when they stop coming? A combination of COVID-19 and Brexit has led to fewer workers available to pick, process and transport food. For some farmers it has led to heartbreaking dilemmas. Tamasin Ford speaks to two pig farmers who face having to kill thousands of healthy pigs, and a salad farmer who has seen millions of lettuce heads rot in his fields.(Picture: farmer in field, Credit: Getty/BBC)If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.ukContributors: Vicky Morgan, pig farmer, Pockthorpe Hall Farm, East Yorkshire, UK Kate Morgan, pig farmer, Pockthorpe Hall Farm, East Yorkshire, UK Nick Ottewell, Farming and Commercial Director at LJ Betts Ltd, Kent, England