The Food Chain

Is it possible to taste a place? A listener wonders whether the French concept of ‘terroir’ can apply to food and, if so, what the science behind it is.

Ruth Alexander goes in search of the answer, exploring how growing conditions and practices can develop flavours unique to a location.

She also hears about why the value you give to certain flavours might also be cultural.

Ruth speaks to a honey expert who is mapping the flavours of the sweet syrup across the world, a barley geneticist working with a high-end whisky brand and visits a vertical farm in Liverpool, UK, to see if foods grown in a closed environment still taste just as good.

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

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Image: A barley field under a setting sun. Credit: Getty Images)

Fancy starting a food truck? It can be a way to trial new food concepts and see if your business has potential before committing to a restaurant premises.

Ruth Alexander finds out what its really like running a food truck or van. She meets customers queuing for over an hour for the SpudBros van in Preston, north-west England, where brothers Harley and Jacob Nelson have drummed up business for their jacket potatoes on social media. Ruth speaks to Anna Brand who runs a vegan food van Vege Bang Bang in Auckland New Zealand, and sisters Natalie and Samantha Mwedekeli who started Mama Rocks, a food van selling gourmet burgers in Nairobi, Kenya in 2015.

Today they have five premises and its time to sell the van that started it all. And Karan Malik talks about his food van SuperSuckers in Delhi, India. He saw the trend take off, but tells Ruth why he decided to get out of the business.

If you would like to contact the programme email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Beatrice Pickup
Researcher: Henry Liston

(Image: Brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson in their food van selling jacket potatoes in Preston north-west England. Credit: BBC)

An Indian curry house is one of the most popular places to go out for a meal in the UK, and is part of British life. But many people do not know their origins lie in what is now Bangladesh, after a wave of migration from there in the 1970s.

Devina Gupta traces their history and flavours on Brick Lane in east London, where many people settled and started restaurants. Many have closed over the years, but their legacy lives on. And now more diverse and authentic flavours are becoming popular in the capital and elsewhere.

Presenter: Devina Gupta
Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Photo: Brick Lane sign with Bangla language version underneath. Credit: BBC)

Ruth Alexander learns about ‘forever’ foods - stocks, soups and sourdough starters that can be replenished again and again and used for weeks, months or even years.

Ruth hears about a beef soup in Bangkok that has been maintained for 50 years, and she bakes a loaf of sourdough bread using a 69-year-old starter that has been kept going by Hobbs House Bakery in the south-west of England.

Cookbook writer Fuchsia Dunlop in London, UK, talks about the tradition of cooking with an ‘everlasting’ broth in Chinese cuisine.

Annie Ruewerda in New York in the US was charmed by the idea of a perpetual stew, she kept hers going for two months and it became an online hit – bringing hundreds of strangers to her local park to try the stew and add ingredients.

Lee-Ann Jaykus, distinguished professor emeritus and food microbiologist at North Carolina State University in the US explains the food safety rules you need to know if you want to try a perpetual dish at home.

Martha Carlin, distinguished professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the US helps unravel the claimed historical origins of perpetual stew.

And our thanks to World Service listeners David Shirley and Mark Wood for telling us about the oldest dishes they have eaten.

Producer: Rumella Dasgupta and Beatrice Pickup
Additional reporting by the BBC’s Ryn Jirenuwat in Bangkok, Thailand

(Photo: A huge pot of beef soup in that has been added to over 50 years at a restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. Credit: David Shirley/BBC)

Social media is awash with videos of people trying out new recipes at home and exploring the best hidden foodie gems in cities around the world.

The stream of content seems endless – so how do the people making these videos keep up?

Ruth Alexander speaks to three people in the UK, USA and Vietnam about having six meals before 10am, the relentless pressure to keep up with viral trends, and what they cook for themselves when the camera is off.

Tod Inskip, Lylla Nha Vy and Jackie Gebel share the highs and lows of being a “content creator” and why they don’t like the term influencer.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander

Producers: Hannah Bewley and Elisabeth Mahy

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

(Image: Lylla Nha Vy, Tod Inskip and Jackie Gebel. Credit: Composite BBC)