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BBC World Service


The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.


The Food Chain

The quality of food in care homes for the elderly can be underwhelming. Ruth Alexander talks to the people highlighting the issue and finding ways to bring nutrition and comfort back on the menu. 

Dr Lisa Portner, a medical doctor and researcher at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charite, outlines the inadequate diet offered by three nursing homes she studied in Germany. 

Australian restaurateur and food writer Maggie Beer tells how she came to set up the Maggie Beer Foundation, which aims to research the issues, raise awareness and offer culinary training. 

Ronald Marshall explains the simple ways he found to help carers understand the food preferences of his mum, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020. 

And Navgot Gill Chawla recounts the conversations she had as a PhD student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario with South-Asian Canadians living with dementia and their families and care partners. When the subject of care homes came up, she says food was uppermost in their minds. 

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

And if you'd like to try Maggie's brownie recipe featured in the show, you can find it in full on our website.

Producer: Beatrice Pickup 

(Photo: Two cooks in a care home kitchen are smiling as they prepare a tray of brigh orange roast pumpkin. Credit: Sam Kroepsch)

Making care home food better

From ancient Egyptian pyramid builders to French chefs, garlic has been prized, feared, and even used to ward off evil. In this episode, Rumella Dasgupta explores garlic’s journey through history and across cultures - from its medicinal roots and rich folklore to its starring role in kitchens worldwide. Featuring chefs, historians, and dietitians, we uncover how this pungent bulb became a global favourite - and ask the ultimate question: is garlic really good for us? 

Producer: Izzy Greenfield
Image: A bulb of garlic split in half to reveal cloves Credit: Getty

Garlic: Food or medicine?

The World Health Organisation says close to 60 million people are living with dementia; and there are 10 million new cases every year. But could what we eat help to prevent it?

Three guests who've been exploring the potential for diet to help prevent dementia tell Ruth Alexander about their findings. We hear from Professor Christy Tangney of Rush University System for Health in the United States – she co-created the MIND diet; Anne-Marie Minihane, Professor of Nutrition and Genetics or Nutrigenetics as it’s known, at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia in the UK; and Dr Lizette Kuhn, a dietitian in Pretoria, South Africa.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Produced by Izzy Greenfield and Alistair Kleebauer

(Image: two sides of a brain; one made up of fruits and vegetables, and the other a sketch. Credit: Getty Images)

The anti-dementia diet

Dementia is a syndrome associated with a decline of brain function that can affect memory, thought processes and behaviour. In some cases this can impact people’s ability to shop, cook and eat a meal. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease. 

In this programme Ruth Alexander meets people living with dementia and their families, to hear about the ways in which a diagnosis can impact mealtimes. 

Ruth meets Alan and Amy Lambert in Manchester, England. Alan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2024 and his daughter Amy lives with him. They share some of the techniques they’ve developed at home to support Alan. 

For Ruby Qureshi in Canada, cooking was a huge part of her life before being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020. Ruth hears how her husband Pasha Qureshi has joined her in the kitchen in a supporting role. 

Jo Bonser in Nottingham, UK shares her experiences of supporting her mother who lived with vascular dementia and in 2016 stopped eating and drinking. Jo has gone on to set up a company, Dignified Dining that offers training in this area. 

And Aideen McGuinness is a registered dietitian working in the Memory Assessment and Support Service in Country Wexford Ireland, and co-author of a guide on dementia and nutrition. 

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 

Produced by Beatrice Pickup. 

(Image: Alan and Amy Lambert sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of soup and plate of toast. Credit: BBC)

Eating well with dementia

Something as simple as sharing a meal or utensils can carry social stigma for the millions born into the bottom of India’s caste system, a social structure that divides people into different groups. 

In this programme Devina Gupta explores the foods of the Dalit community, historically considered at the very bottom of the caste system. She hears how many dishes evolved from necessity, due to low incomes and lack of available food and speaks to people looking to record and share these dishes with future generations. 

Devina meets people who identify as Dalit to talk about the discrimination they have experienced in their communities and workplaces as a result of their family’s social status, and how it can be particularly hard to find work in the food industry.

If you’d like to contact the programme you can email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk. 

Producer Beatrice Pickup. 

(Image: some foraged green leaves being washed in a bowl of water. Credit: BBC)

India's caste system and food

What’s at stake when a child has their first meal in a new home? 

For children entering care, especially those who have faced food insecurity, that first plate of food can be a big moment. 

In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores how food and mealtimes can help children feel safe and give them a sense of belonging. 

She meets Jessica-Rae Williamson, a 21 year old care leaver from Manchester, England, who still remembers the first meal she ate with her foster family, aged 13. 

In Wrexham, Wales, Ruth meets long-term foster carers John and Viv, Cath and Neil and Rosemary, who have opened their homes to dozens of children through Foster Wales. They discuss their strategies for dealing with picky eating and hoarding. 

Dr Katja Rowell, feeding expert and author of the book “Love Me, Feed Me: The Foster and Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Responsive Feeding”, gives her counter-intuitive tips for avoiding mealtimes becoming a battleground. 

And Melissa Guida-Richards, author of the book “What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption”, shares her experience of being adopted from Colombia by Italian and Portuguese parents living in the US and her subsequent search for her Colombian heritage through food. 

This programme contains discussion of food poverty and insecurity, and disordered eating. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised and need support, speak to a health professional. 

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 

Produced by Beatrice Pickup. 

(Image: a partly eaten plate of spaghetti bolognese sat on a child's knee.Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

A place at the table: fostering and adoption

Protein is a health and fitness buzzword – plastered on packaging, prioritised in diets and praised by fitness influencers. But is our preoccupation with protein overshadowing another nutritional essential – fibre? Ruth Alexander explores the science, and marketing, behind protein’s popularity with expert guests Dr Emma Beckett, a food and nutrition scientist and communicator in Australia, and author of You Are More Than What You Eat; physician and social media creator Dr Karan Rajan, who is the author of This Book May Save Your Life; Scott Dicker from SPINS market research company in Chicago; Paul Kita, deputy editor of Men’s Health Magazine in the US.

Producer: Izzy Greenfield

Protein v fibre

It can be the difference between life and death for your character, signal you’re on a hostile planet or in a sumptuous world, or can even give you the whole basis for a game. 

In this week’s Food Chain we hear where the ideas for some of the most disgusting and delicious foods in games come from, and how to recreate them in real life. 

Video game creator Tim Cain tells us why food was such an important tool in his games Fallout and The Outer Worlds. Author and gamer Cassandra Reeder tells us why she started making entire recipe books based on food from video games, and how important is food in gaming? Video game enthusiast Harriet tells us why it's an essential tool for escapism. 

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk 
Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producers: Izzy Greenfield and Hannah Bewley

Video game food

What can we tell about a society from the plates, bowls and cups it uses? 

In this programme Ruth Alexander learns about the history of pottery, from early earthenware to the porcelain discovered by ancient China, known as ‘white gold’. 

Professor of archaeology, Joanita Vroom from Leiden University in the Netherlands explains why every pot has a story to tell. 

Historian Professor Suzanne Marchand from Louisiana State University in the United States picks up the story of porcelain in the 18th century. Such was its value that it prompted numerous failed attempts, theft and even imprisonment of those who knew the secret recipe. 

Ruth visits the Wedgwood factory and museum collection in North Staffordshire in the English Midlands. V&A curator Kate Turner explains how the company’s founder, Josiah Wedgwood, changed dinnerware tastes once again – catering to an emerging consumer class looking for affordable ways to decorate their home. Ruth tours the factory and meets Emma Glynn, Creative Director of Wedgwood to discuss the challenges in today’s market. 

Produced by Beatrice Pickup 

(Image: a potter throwing a plate on a potter's wheel. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

The story of your plate

Love Thai food? It might be thanks to a two-decade long policy on the part of the government of Thailand to promote its food culture abroad, with the express aim of increasing trade and tourism. 

Ruth Alexander explores how food can be used as a foreign policy tool, influencing not just world leaders but seeking to win the hearts and minds of the public. 

Academic Sam Chapple-Sokol at George Washington University in the US explains why gastro-diplomacy is such an effective tool for soft power. 

Jan Wisansing, tourism policy consultant in Bangkok, explains the impact of the Global Thai scheme on international tourism to the country. 

Ruth speaks to the owners of LumLum Thai restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, who have recently received a Thai SELECT award, an official endorsement from the government of Thailand. 

And writer and historian Ali Domrongchai in the US talks about the impact of this approach on her own family’s Thai restaurant in Florida. 

Producer: Beatrice Pickup. 
Reporter: Gideon Long in Bangkok

(Image: A plate of pad thai, said to be Thailand’s national dish, with Thailand’s flag in the background. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Thai food: Winning hearts and minds

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

An alternative Christmas

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