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BBC Radio 4


Investigating every aspect of the food we eat


The Food Programme

Dan Saladino explores culinary cultures and world religions to find out how the date became one of the earliest, most revered, and diverse of all cultivated fruits, and also a feature of Christmas. 

Some of the world's historically important date palm oases have survived in the south of Tunisia. Dan travels to the ancient cities of Gafsa and Tozeur to visit two of them and watches the date harvest underway. There he tastes Tunisia's most prized date, the Deglet Nour, which translates as 'fingers of light' because of it's amber colour and almost translucent appearance. In Tozeur he also explores Eden Palm, the site of of a museum dedicated to dates and date palm, where he hears how the date has been an important food and source of trade for thousands of years. 

Featuring food historian Ivan Day, food writers Yasmin Khan, Itamar Srulovich and Nawal Nasrallah, archeobotanist Professor Dorian Fuller, and scientist Shahina Ghazanfar. 

Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

Dates: A User's Guide

Annie Gray always rejects turkey and the trimmings at Christmas. She believes they are a construct of a bygone era and will often eat pizza on the big day instead.
She explores alternative dinners from Christmases past, present and future. She visits Bath to discover what would have been eaten over Christmas in the Regency period and bakes traditional mince pies - made with minced meat. She'll look at how Christmas is celebrated differently around the world and will discuss Christmas dinners to come with a food futurologist.

Presented by Dr Annie Gray
Produced in Bristol by Robin Markwell for BBC Audio

Going Cold Turkey: Alternative Christmas Dinners

Leyla Kazim takes a look at the best food books and writing from 2025, and chats to food writer Ruby Tandoh about her new book looking at why we eat the way we eat now. 

We hear picks from the rest of The Food Programme presenters - Sheila Dillon, Dan Saladino and Jaega Wise; books to get you cooking and books to get you thinking.

Tom Tivnan from The Bookseller discusses the latest bestsellers, and Carla Lalli - cookbook author and former Bon Appétit food director - helps bust some common myths and even lies we see in about recipe books and in online recipes.

Food Books for 2025:
* Serving the Public: The Good Food Revolution in Schools, Hospitals and Prisons by Professor Kevin Morgan 
* Give It a Grow: Simple Projects to Nurture Food, Flowers and Wildlife in Any Outdoor Space by Martha Swales
* Food Fight: From Plunder and Profit to People and Planet by Stuart Gillespie 
* Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine by Sami Tamimi 
* Naturally Vegan: Delicious Recipes from Around the World That Just Happen to Be Plant-based by Julius Fiedler 
* WINE: Everything You Need to Know by Olly Smith 
* Winter Wellness: Nourishing Recipes to Keep You Healthy When It’s Cold by Rachel de Thample 
* Abundance: Eating and Living with the Seasons by Mark Diacono 
* Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe by Alissa Timoshkina 
* Indian Kitchens: Treasured Recipes from India’s Diverse Food Culture by Roopa Gulati
* All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now by Ruby Tandoh 
* Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria by Ozoz Sokoh 

Presented by Leyla Kazim
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol.

The Food Books of 2025

When Tam o’ Braan began marketing Scottish Tea from his Wee Tea Plantation, the response was astonishing. Upmarket retailers such as Fortnum and Mason and hotels from the Dorchester in London to the Balmoral in Edinburgh paid top prices for the supplies of this rare treat. Scottish farmers caught the bug and bought tea bushes from Tam's plantation that he promised were bred especially for harsh Scottish conditions. Magazines, national newspapers and even the BBC profiled the entrepreneur behind the innovations that were putting Scotland on the tea map of the world. 

The only problem was that Tam’s business was based on lies. His name wasn’t Tam o’ Braan, he wasn’t an award-winning tea grower and his tea certainly wasn’t Scottish. Jaega Wise follows the story of Tam and his tea from the hills of Perthshire through the tea salons of London to Falkirk's Sheriff Court. 

Producer: Nina Pullman

The Great Tartan Tea Swindle

The judges have reached their verdicts so who has won the coveted Food Programme chopping boards in 2025's BBC Food and Farming Awards? Sheila Dillon and chair of the judges Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall meet some of the best food and drink producers in the country at this week's ceremony in Bristol.

Produced by Robin Markwell of BBC Audio in Bristol.

And the Winner Is... The BBC Food And Farming Awards 2025

Dan Saladino and reporter Jack Thompson investigate the UK's growing dependence on two farms in northern Senegal based around a lake. In recent years they have become the source of most of the sweetcorn, radishes and beans sold by supermarkets. 

Is this a good arrangement for the UK and the Senegalese or a risk to food security in both countries? 

Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Reporting from Senegal, Jack Thompson.

Why Is Africa Feeding Us?

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day - but what happens when thousands of children arrive at school too hungry to learn? In this programme, Jaega Wise looks into how the Government’s new free breakfast club scheme is being rolled out across England, seven months into a trial involving 750 primary schools. While the policy which aims to tackle hunger and improve attendance is welcomed by all, schools and campaigners raise questions about it's future funding and the exclusion of secondary schools and some special school pupils.

At Holy Trinity Church of England School in Tottenham, Jaega visits a breakfast club being run in partnership with Chefs in Schools, where hot food is cooked fresh each morning in the same kitchen that serves lunch. In Weston-super-Mare, headteacher Marie Berry explains why her school’s breakfast club is a lifeline for families - and why she’s keen to be included in the new scheme. Campaigners at Sustain argue breakfast clubs could be a powerful tool to support local food producers and promote sustainable sourcing - and urge the Government to back that vision.

We also hear from the charity Magic Breakfast, which provides food to 300,000 children at breakfast clubs every day, and from Olivia Bailey MP at the Department for Education. Food writer Michael Zee of @SymmetryBreakfast discusses Britain's breakfast culture, and why we so often eat the same thing every day.

Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol.

The Breakfast Club Challenge

Dan Saladino looks at why eels numbers are plummeting and asks if the species can be saved. On the River Severn he meets the last of the glass eel fishermen and conservationists.

Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

Eels and Elvers

It's twenty years since the Aldeburgh Food Festival began. Sheila Dillon examines its impact in this small Suffolk seaside town where food producers work together to forge strong local supply chains. She speaks to the festival's co-founder Lady Caroline Cranbrook who has been a passionate advocate of Suffolk's rich food ecosystem. She goes on a shopping trip with local restaurateur and hotelier George Pell, a self-styled "blow-in" from London. They visit a fishing family, a butcher and a farmer supporting a start-up serving crullers in a town where collaboration is king.

Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Robin Markwell

Keeping It Local: A Suffolk Story

Sheila Dillon and this year’s head judge of the BBC Food and Farming Awards, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, hit the road to meet the finalists in the Best Food Producer category. From sourdough pioneers Aidan Monks and Catherine Connor at Lovingly Artisan in Kendal, and regenerative grower Calixta Killander at Flourish Produce in Cambridgeshire, to cheese champions Andy and Kathy Swinscoe at The Courtyard Dairy in North Yorkshire — they explore how these exceptional producers might hold clues to a more resilient food future. Inspired by Professor Tim Lang’s recent report, Just in Case: narrowing the UK civil food resilience gap, the episode asks: could these small but significant businesses be part of the solution to Britain’s food security crisis?

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Dates: A User's Guide

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