The Food Programme

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 ...

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, na...

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 campaign...

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" ...

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 — t...

Five years ago, after 160 years in Norwich, the Colman's factory shut its doors for the last time.

John Osborne is a writer, a poet and a performer - he's called Norwich home for 25 years. But last year, while writing a show about his city, he began to learn more about the depth of the history of Colman's, and he started to wonder why more people don't know about it.

Between Jeremiah Colman, James Colman, Jeremiah James Colman and m...

Sheila Dillon is joined by four guests who each have a deep connection with Welsh food and farming for a panel discussion recorded at the 2025 Abergavenny Food Festival. Beca Lyne-Pirkis is a food writer and broadcaster; Patrick Holden is an organic farmer and founder of the Sustainable Food Trust; Carwyn Graves is a Welsh food historian and author; and Sue Pritchard leads the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Together, the...

As sales of matcha continue to boom, Leyla Kazim traces the story of the powdered green tea from centuries-old Japanese tradition to global health trend phenomenon. We look behind the social media videos and headlines to find out more about the reported matcha shortage, how the matcha supply chain is reacting, and ask what might happen next.

Also in the programme Leyla learns about some of the misconceptions we have about matcha, i...

Sheila Dillon investigates the growing number of food tours and trails in the UK as consumers show more and more interest in the provenance of what is on their plate. She heads to Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire – a town that boasts the title of Rural Capital Of Food - and joins a walking tour that spans pork pie producers, stilton sellers, a samosa wallah and a prizewinning brewery.

Produced by Robin Markwell for BBC Audio in ...

Jaega Wise heads to the Isle of Man to find out what’s driving a growing movement to produce more of the island’s own food, and why its approach might matter beyond its shores. She hears about the challenges facing producers, how the fishing industry is adapting, and what it means to work within a UNESCO biosphere. Just 6% of food bought in Manx shops is locally produced — a figure the Manx NFU is campaigning to change. Meanwhile,...

Butter superfan Felicity Cloake asks whether the movement against ultra-processed foods is linked to a recent rise in popularity of her favourite kitchen staple. Her investigations take her to the rich grasslands of the West Country as she visits Wyke Farms, Quicke's and Ivy House Farm Dairy. She looks at how flavoured butter is taking off and finds out more about the tradition of cheesemakers making whey butter.

Professor Sarah Be...

It’s been nearly 50 years since invasive American Signal Crayfish were introduced to the UK, and we still haven’t figured out how to get rid of them. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall joins Sheila Dillon to meet a man who believes the way to control their spread is to get more people eating them — but not everyone’s convinced. These crustaceans are so invasive that ecologists worry encouraging consumption could lead to further spread. Me...

Since the early 2000s, one type of shop has quietly become a regular feature on British high streets: the Polski sklep – or Polish shop.

Known for their smoked sausages, sour pickles, and wide selection of herbal teas, these shops offer more than just food. With Polish people now the largest non-British nationality in the UK, and Polish the next most spoken language after English and Welsh, they also reflect a broader story of migra...

Dan Saladino explores stories of food and 'the elements', the theme of this year's Oxford Food Symposium.

Expect surprising insights on earth, fire, air, water and much more.

For more than forty years the Symposium has celebrated, explored and shared research by scholars, enthusiastic amateurs, writers, and chefs from around the world, all united in the belief that food deserves to be treated as a serious, as well as a joyful, subje...