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Artwork for The Food Chain

The Food Chain

BBC World Service
Nutrition
Culinary Arts
Food Industry
Food
Health Benefits
Food Security
Healthy Eating
Consumer Behavior
Food Waste
Cooking
Taste
Ultra-Processed Food
Hospitality Industry
Dietary Guidelines
Crunch
Food Delivery
Coffee
Olympic Athletes
Climate Change
Restaurant Industry

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes556Founded12 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
FoodArtsSociety & Culture

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Artwork for The Food Chain

Latest Episodes

Do you have a local cafe, restaurant or bar that you go to all the time? Maybe the staff recognise you or know you by name, perhaps you even get special treatment.

In this programme Rumella Dasgupta finds out why people like to return to the same p... more

Moving out of the family home can be a big first step at whatever age you do it. Paying bills, budgeting, shopping, and importantly cooking for yourself.

In this programme Rumella Dasgupta asks what dishes you should be able to cook when you leave ... more

What can food reveal about the people who came before us? From ancient meals and family recipes to the chemical traces left behind in bones and teeth, food offers remarkable clues about how people lived, travelled and survived.

In this episode, Ruth... more

Have you ever asked yourself: should I do Keto? Is white rice good for me? Am I eating too many carbohydrates? If so, then this episode of The Food Chain is for you. Carbohydrate-rich foods are everywhere and they’re delicious. But are they good for ... more

Key Facts

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Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Good FoodGood Food
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Recent Guests

Alexandre Navarro
Cafe owner (Alex) of Moulin Blanc in Florida
Moulin Blanc
Episode: The regulars
Linda Bott
Regular customer who moved to Florida and found a home in a French cafe
Episode: The regulars
Rick Kamak
Hospitality consultant and executive director at Institute of Culinary Education (New York)
Industrial Relations / Misen Margin
Episode: The regulars
Mario Sejese
Cafe owner in London with decades-long regulars
Mario's Cafe
Episode: The regulars
Claire Thomson
British chef and food writer, author of Dear Grace
Claire Thomson (author)
Episode: Leaving home
Shahpar Salim
Guest from Dhaka, Bangladesh
Independent journalist/chef context
Episode: Leaving home
Yeonjoo Jung
Food editor and translator based in Seoul
Independent journalist
Episode: Leaving home
Peter Scholliers
Emeritus Professor of History at Vrije Universiteit, Brussels
Vrije Universiteit Brussels
Episode: What can food tell us about the past?
Tarana Khan
Author and historian specializing in forgotten foods
Rampur, India
Episode: What can food tell us about the past?

Hosts

Rumella Dasgupta
Host of The Food Chain
Ruth Alexander
Host of The Food Chain

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 1.2k ratings
  • Sandwiches

    Since when has Manchester been using dollars and not pounds?

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    hannakuso
    United Kingdom6 months ago
  • Love this show!

    Another great episode! Yumm!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    ghb59
    United States7 months ago
  • Perfect

    Talks about all modern issues such as influencers conning people to eat certain foods and get rid of some

    May be a kid but it’s so informative

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    marshmallow2016 march
    United Kingdom8 months ago
  • Excellent guests who provide a very insightful look into the world of restaurant service. Listening teaches one what they ought to expect from their servers and how they should comport themselves when eating out.

    Podcast Addict
    4
    ithabise
    9 months ago
  • Crisps

    Why did we have to listen to someone pretending to make a crisp sandwich and then pretending to eat it? Ludicrous!

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    hannakuso
    United Kingdoma year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The host delivers content with a calm, insightful style that keeps complex topics approachable.
Guests bring diverse expertise, making episodes educational and engaging.
Listeners appreciate the breadth of topics, from history to modern food science.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#58
United States/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#13
United Kingdom/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#17
Canada/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#86
United Kingdom/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#157
Canada/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#4
Italy/Arts/Food

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

What do World Cup footballers eat?
Q: How do teams handle the post-match meal and celebrations?
There is room for creative, morale-boosting options after games, such as themed meals or shared family-style celebrations, while still aligning with overall nutrition and recovery goals.
What do World Cup footballers eat?
Q: How are menus and catering organized when a team competes across multiple countries?
Catering plans are developed months in advance with site visits and brand-specific product selections; coordination with hotels and performance nutritionists ensures consistency across venues while accommodating local availability and cultural preferences.
What do World Cup footballers eat?
Q: What does a World Cup footballer need to eat?
Nutrition strategies are highly individualized, taking into account each player's size, position, training load, and even travel-related factors; menus are planned with a mix of carby, protein, and veggie options, adjusted for kickoff timing and digestion to optimize performance.
How to order a restaurant meal like a pro
Q: What should you consider when ordering for a group or family?
Start with a few starters to share, assess how hungry everyone is, and then decide whether to add more plates or shift towards mains, ensuring the table isn't overwhelmed and there's room for desserts.
How to order a restaurant meal like a pro
Q: Are there any real no-nos when it comes to ordering?
Yes. Avoid rude behavior and avoid treating servers as servants; also keep your phone down and don't shout into it at the table, as these habits disrupt the dining experience for everyone.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About The Food Chain

What is The Food Chain about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show explores the business, science, and cultural significance of food, highlighting how meals are produced, consumed, and celebrated around the world. Across episodes, conversations weave together historical context, scientific insights, and practical food culture, often featuring guests from academia, industry, and media to unpack topics like dietary trends, cooking practices, hospitality, and food systems. Noteworthy are its multidisciplinary angles (nutrition, history, sensory science) and its willingness to spotlight both everyday eating and high-profile culinary phenomena, making complex ideas accessible to curious listeners and industry professionals alike.

Where can I find podcast stats for The Food Chain?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Food Chain. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Food Chain and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does The Food Chain get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Food Chain, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for The Food Chain?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Food Chain, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does The Food Chain have?

To see how many followers or subscribers The Food Chain has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to The Food Chain?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Food Chain:

1. The Food Programme
2. Good Food
3. Sliced Bread
4. CrowdScience
5. Inside Health

How many episodes of The Food Chain are there?

The Food Chain launched 12 years ago and published 556 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact The Food Chain?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for The Food Chain?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Food Chain from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for The Food Chain?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Food Chain. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on The Food Chain?

Recent guests on The Food Chain include:

1. Alexandre Navarro
2. Linda Bott
3. Rick Kamak
4. Mario Sejese
5. Claire Thomson
6. Shahpar Salim
7. Yeonjoo Jung
8. Peter Scholliers

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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