The Food Programme

BBC

4.3 (731)
FOOD
UPDATED WEEKLY

Investigating every aspect of the food we eat

4 DAYS AGO

A Life Through Food: Matt Tebbutt

Jaega Wise meets chef and broadcaster Matt Tebbutt at home in South Wales, to discuss his "Life Through Food". Matt has been presenting Saturday Kitchen Life on BBC One for almost a decade, but before he was a TV Presenter he worked as a chef - first in professional kitchens in London (he was in fact sacked by Marco Pierre White) and later ran his own gastropub in south Wales. It was his cooking there at The Foxhunter - which he ran with his wife Lisa - that first got him noticed by the media, and an appearance on the second ever series of the Great British Menu. To discover what life is like on set for Matt, Jaega also pays a visit to the studios of Saturday Kitchen Live as they are rehearsing, to see how the live cooking show is put together week after week. She meets the team in the backstage "engine room" - the test kitchen - and discovers what they mean when they talk about "heroes", and finds out what happens at 11.30am after the cameras get turned off. Plus she chats to wine expert Olly Smith about Matt's career and the friendship they've developed while working in food tv. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

42 min
24 APR

A Day in the Life of a Hospital Chef

Francesco Fiore is a chef and Catering Manager at Milton Keynes University Hospital, and over the last few years has made some remarkable changes to the food experience for patients and staff. Awarded the title of “Caterer of the Year” in 2025 by the Hospital Caterers Association, Frank as he's affectionately known by his team, has transformed the quality and variety of the food, reducing waste and inspired colleagues around the hospital to collaborate and come up with new ideas. Sheila Dillon follows Frank for a day as he goes about his job as catering manager to see the changes in action, and find out more about his passion for food. Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

42 min
17 APR

About the Girls

Sheila Dillon discusses the rise of eating disorders among young women as part of Radio 4’s “About the Girls” series, which is hearing from teens across the UK about life in 2026. As the number of young girls suffering from eating disorders increases in the UK, Sheila Dillon hosts a discussion about what's causing the rise, and what can be done to improve treatment outcomes. Details of help and support with eating disorders are available at BBC Action Line Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol

42 min
10 APR

Generation Z

Generation Z, young adults aged roughly 18 to 30, are coming of age in a world defined by uncertainty. With difficult job and housing markets many are experiencing prolonged adolescence, often living with parents far longer than previous generations. At the same time, they are the first true digital natives: a generation growing up with the internet as a central part of their lives. In this programme, Jaega Wise explores how these seismic social and economic shifts are reshaping the way young people eat and think about food. She speaks with author Chloe Combi about the cultural forces that are driving Gen Z’s evolving food identities. She also meets Sumayah Kazi, the youngest-ever Bake Off contestant, to talk about how social media is effecting how young people cook and eat. BBC reporter Emse Winterbotham lives at in her family home in London. She finds out more about the practicalities of living and eating with your mum and dad when you are an adult. Jaega also travels to Stourbridge to meet Will Griffin and his dad steve to talk more about how the generations are sharing the kitchen. Presenter: Jaega Wise Producer: Sam Grist

43 min
3 APR

Consider the Eel: Part 2

Dan Saladino follows up the debate on if the eel should be off the menu. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.

41 min
27 MAR

Is Food Processing the ‘Missing Middle’?

Much focus goes on food growing and selling, but is the missing link in increasing the UK's food self sufficiency actually food processing? It might be all about Ultra Processed Foods in the news, but there is another, much older, side to food processing that plays an integral role in getting food from fields to our plates. Beans, peas, oats, veg and barley can all be produced in the UK in abundance, but producers often have to transport their crops for miles to reach basic processing facilities like cleaning, sorting, de-hulling or grading. The UK’s processing factories are part of a globalised food supply chain, importing vast volumes of grains and pulses from overseas as ingredients in our food. But it wasn’t always the case, as we hear from a Sheffield historian who has uncovered the city’s link with pea canning and the female pea pioneer who transformed the processing industry. From the farmer making oat milk in his own barn, to the UK’s last remaining processing facility for peas and beans, Sheila Dillon lifts the lid on this hidden part of the supply chain, and finds an industry at a crossroads. Produced by Nina Pullman.

42 min
20 MAR

Posh Water

Should we be taking water more seriously? The emergence of the water sommelier would suggest so. Jaega Wise visits a Cheshire restaurant that now offers its own water menu as well as a Peak District pub with a water bar and a borehole to draw its own spring water. She talks to the co-founder of the Fine Waters Academy Michael Mascha who believes that water should be appreciated as a product with its own terroir and hears from Dr Natalie Lamb, a water industry expert who has been trained to appreciate the virtues of tap water. Whether hard or soft, still or sparkling - the Food Programme takes a closer look at the liquid we all too often take for granted. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Robin Markwell Programme contains a clip of the Only Fools And Horses Episode "Mother Nature's Son", written by John Sullivan, first broadcast on BBC TV on 25th December, 1992

42 min
13 MAR

What’s Next for Portugal’s Ancient Export: Cork?

Leyla Kazim reports from cork country in Portugal - where up to 10,000 of hectares of cork oak trees are being lost every year, despite laws protecting them from being cut down. Climate change is putting new stresses on the ancient forests, and as the cork industry worries that falling wine consumption could shrink global demand, Leyla asks why Portugal became the world’s biggest producer of cork in the first place, and what it will take to keep them thriving. She meets farmers using regenerative methods of working the land to protect the montado, and plantations where thousands of new trees are being planted. Presented by Leyla Kazim Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Natalie Donovan

43 min

See All (823)

Sheila Dillon

Host
Dan Saladino

Host
Matt Tebbutt

Guest
Olly Smith

Guest
Francesco Fiore

Guest
Chloe Combi

Guest
Sumayah Kazi

Guest
Esme Winterbotham

Guest
Will Griffin

Guest

4.3

out of 5

731 Ratings

Always brilliant!

12/06/2023

Techno sceptic

Superbly researched program/0podcast. Diverse range of topics presented expertly by numerous people involved in past and future food supply.
Wonderful

10 Apr

fussy frederika

I love the food programme. The subjects are so varied and there is something for everyone, whether you are interested in the characters in the food world, the politics of it or how it all works.
Periodic Table of Food

20/07/2025

Arthur Shufflehouse

One of the most interesting and important podcast I’ve heard in a long while
Bad Case of Pseudo-Science

29/09/2024

ArgyEll

The Brain Gut Connection episode was a classic example of Myth-Making Journalism masquerading as science. I’m sure many listeners would be misled, as intended, by the jump from saying “there’s a link” between gut biodiversity and mental health to the assumption that it’s a causal link, and hence that increasing gut biodiversity will improve mental health. Classic journalistic misrepresentation in a desperate search for a story… Then we cut to the researcher who carried out a study to explore this and declared “we don’t have any data yet but the head psychiatrist said I’d made his job easier”. I’ve heard other episodes of The Food Programme and know that you can do better than this. Very frustrating. I’d better go and eat some yogurt.