The Food Programme

Tom Parker Bowles looks at the cinema eating experience: from popcorn and nachos to three course meals, there's now every kind of food available to nibble on whilst at the movies. But is it right that we should eat in such a distracted way? Isn't it a ticket to obesity?Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Sheila Dillon finds out why sourdough bread is undergoing a major revival. It is the world's oldest leaven bread dating back to Ancient Egypt and it is now experiencing a renaissance. Baker Dan de Gustibus explains how the bread is made from a sourdough starter, a mixture of flour and water which is left to ferment until wild yeasts and bacteria start breeding. But there are many myths around this sourdough starter - bakers compete over who can trace back the oldest lineage. Yeast technologist Dr Bill Simpson debunks these myths to explain the truth behind how sourdough works.And food historian Erica Peters explains why she thinks the famous San Francisco sourdough isn't linked to the Californian Gold Rush, despite its claims.Presenter by Sheila Dillon and produced by Emma Weatherill.

Sheila Dillon finds out how Australia, a nation founded on the bulk export of cheese and meat, became one of the world's most exciting gastronomic destinations.The food story of the early settlers is told by Michael Symons, former restaurateur, academic and author of One Continuous Picnic: A Gastronomic History of Australia. In 1788, convicts and peasants arrived to an uncultivated land and farming and food were quickly geared towards large scale agriculture and exports of meat and dairy to the British Empire.In more recent years Australia has become a place of pioneering, experimental chefs and home to some of the world's greatest ingredients as well as the source of global food trends. Sheila tells the story of this major transition with the help of food writer Charles Campion, on tour in Sydney and Melbourne.The story also weaves in a hunt for indigenous aboriginal foods and the account of a man whose contribution to Australian food culture was to bury 80kg of Roquefort cheese to the French national anthem. Both are fascinating episodes in a colourful and surprising food story.Producer: Dan Saladino.

Sheila Dillon explores a food story of decline and revival, British mustard.

Do you know how vanilla beans are hand pollinated? Do you know why harvested vanilla pods are wrapped in hot blankets? Sheila Dillon reveals all as she continues her exploration of the modern spice world by looking at vanilla. Reporter Vanessa Kimbell travels to Uganda to meet Lulu Sturdy, a British furniture designer who inherited a run down estate in Uganda, and within a decade has turned it into an influential source of quality vanilla beans. She follows this year's harvest and hears the incredible effort involved during the careful processing of the pods.Chef Jeremy Lee and Niki Segnit, author of The Flavour Thesaurus provide a guide to flavour combinations and cooking techniques with vanilla.

Sheila Dillon embarks on a journey through the world of spice, starting with the clove. She follows the story of the clove from a harvest in Africa to sauce making with chef Jeremy Lee. A culinary prize since the 3rd century BC, cloves have been a source of conflict and competition for centuries. They're still one of the most popular spices in our kitchen cupboards.Reporter Nick Maes travels to Zanzibar, one of the world's leading producers of cloves, to find out how the dried, unopened flower buds are grown and then processed. He hears how years of decline have been reversed and plantations extended.Along with Jeremy Lee, Niki Segnit, author of The Flavour Thesaurus, provides a helpful guide to flavour combinations and the uses of cloves in cooking.

Can changing our dining utensils change the flavour of food? Simon Parkes investigates.

For most people, the idea of camping food is not an appetising one. You'll not find food-loving Tim Hayward under canvas unless it's in the big tent of a food festival.Tim has got wind of a man who is throwing all of his energy into changing forever how people see (and taste) camping food. Setting off on an arduous voyage to meet Josh Sutton - aka The Guyrope Gourmet - our intrepid presenter learns about tribal caches, a pioneering outdoorsman with a love of Italian cuisine, as well as a whole new way to experience 'local food'.Tim Hayward is joined by Matthew De Abaitua, author of 'The Art of Camping'.Producer: Rich Ward.

Simon Parkes hears from some of the listeners who've sent in their nominations for this year's Food and Farming Awards.Their stories cover a variety of foods, places and people, from the Glasgow curry cart, to the man so obsessed with the local jam he discovered that he finds himself making jam sandwiches at 10 o' clock at night 'grinning like a five year old.'Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Can Health Secretary Andrew Lansley change Britain's bad eating habits? Sheila Dillon hears how the debate is shaping up on the "responsibility deals" aimed at changing our diet.With over 60 per cent of the British population now overweight or obese everyone agrees that change is needed in how we eat and what we eat. One part of the government's strategy involve so called responsibility deals, agreements with the food industry based around a series of pledges. A growing number of food manufacturers and retailers have signed up, pledging to reduce calories, remove salt and harmful trans-fats from food. But will it deliver a big enough change in the nation's diet?Sheila Dillon finds out how the Danish government has recently opted to place a tax on nutrients like saturated fat and sugar, meanwhile in New York City, mayor Michael Bloomberg has placed a ban on ingredients like trans-fats and is now placing restrictions on the size of soft drink portions.So, to tax, ban or adopt voluntary agreements on food? Sheila hears how the three different ideas are being developed. Producer: Dan Saladino.