I go out and find food stories then get them on the radio. Here’s a selection of them.
LISTEN: How did Halal and kosher go mainstream? – Business Daily on BBC World Service
Increasingly we’re seeing religious food stuffs – marked as kosher or halal for instance – going mainstream. You can find those marks on a whole range of products sold in many western supermarkets. So – how did kosher and halal become mainstream?
LISTEN: Is ‘free-from’ food good for your health? – You and Yours on BBC Radio 4
If you’re coeliac or have intolerances or allergies, free from food is an essential part of your diet. But what about those of us who go free from as a lifestyle choice? Is it good for our health?
Burgers are a multi-billion dollar industry and much of the growth is coming at the higher end of the market with the advent of the gourmet burger. But can the trend continue…or have we reached market saturation – are we at peak burger?
LISTEN: Is foraging the new black? – on Business Daily on the World Service
Scavenging amongst the undergrowth for berries, herbs, mushrooms and fruit – otherwise known foraging – is now quite fashionable. Ironically, nature’s free bounty can command pretty high prices on restaurant menus. I put on some sensible shoes and went out into the wilds of East London to find out more.
Traditionally fizz has meant French champagne. But some new upstarts are challenging its dominance. Prosecco is attracting a swathe of new drinkers and sparkling English wines are winning awards – something unthinkable a few years ago. So who will win the sparkling wine war?
Long hours, stress, and a lot of shouting; it’s the notoriously tough world of professional cooking. The Cordon Bleu School is one of the most famous culinary academies in the world yet fees can run into tens of thousands of dollars a year. But one person a year gets to study for free – the winner of the scholarship competition.
Not that long ago, the words London and food wouldn’t always have been linked favourably. These days, though, the city is carving out a reputation as something of a culinary powerhouse. What’s behind the transformation?
LISTEN: Wagyu, king of beef – Business Daily on BBC World Service
Pampered, preened and ultra expensive, Japanese wagyu beef has the status of bovine royalty. By 2020 Japan hopes to export a quarter of a billion dollars worth of wagyu worldwide, with the EU expected to be the biggest market. So what’s all the fuss about?
LISTEN: Is coffee the new beer in Prague? – on World Business Report and Business Matters on Radio 4
In Prague, beer has long been many peoples’ drink of choice. Another beverage, though, is fast gaining new popularity – and that’s coffee. Prague’s café culture, in fact, was a big feature of the early twentieth century and it’s witnessing a revival. There are of course the inevitable international chains, like Costa and Starbucks. But the real buzz is around trendy independent shops.
LISTEN: The Korean baguette lands in Paris – BBC World Business Report
Bread is considered no less than an art form in France. So you can imagine that when a huge Korean bakery business opened its first shop in Paris it prompted a great deal of curiosity. Can a big overseas corporation win over the famously fussy French?
My exclusive BBC interview with the Roca brothers from El Celler De Can Roca which was crowned the best restaurant in the world in 2015.
Elizabethhotson 