The bakers

The bakers

Author: BBC World Service June 13, 2024 Duration: 26:26

In a world where ingredients cost more due to war and inflation how is easy is it to make and sell our daily bread?

Ruth Alexander speaks to three bakers about how they started in the industry, the highs and lows and economic pressures in their part of the world.

Alex Oke is the owner of XO Boutique Bakery in Lagos, Nigeria, Tracey Muzzolini is the owner of Christies Mayfair Bakery in Saskatoon, Canada and Samer Chamoun is the owner of The Lebanese Bakery, a chain of 12 branches including Beirut, Cairo and London.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Rumella Dasgupta.

(Image: Alex Oke holding a loaf of Nigerian agege bread and Tracey Muzzolini holding a loaf of sourdough bread. Credit: Donna Martins/Chelsea Walton/BBC)


There’s a story behind every meal, and The Food Chain from the BBC World Service goes out to find it. This isn’t just a series about recipes or restaurant reviews; it’s a deep and often surprising exploration of how food shapes our world. Each episode follows a single thread, whether it’s the economic forces that decide what grows in a field, the hidden science in your kitchen, or the profound cultural traditions carried in a family dish. You’ll hear from farmers, chefs, economists, historians, and scientists, all contributing pieces to a larger picture about our global relationship with what we eat. The conversations reveal the complex journey from source to table, unpacking the labor, innovation, and sometimes the controversy, involved in feeding communities. Tuning into this podcast feels like joining a well-reported global conversation, one that changes how you think about the next thing you’ll eat. It connects the personal act of eating to vast systems of business, culture, and science, making the everyday subject of food endlessly fascinating.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Food Chain
Podcast Episodes
What's the point of cookbooks? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:07
When there are so many recipes available for free online, why does anyone still buy cookbooks? In this programme we look into the business of selling cookbooks, what future the format may have and hear about the treasure…
Has Christmas food gone mad? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
Prosecco flavoured crisps? Eggnog chicken? Sticky toffee pudding trifle? The innovation for novelty Christmas products seems endless, but is there the appetite? Ruth Alexander lifts the lid on an industry churning out fe…
Stadium food [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:28
Which food do you associate with your favourite sport? Pie and chips at an English football match, biriyanis at the cricket in Pakistan or grilling meat in the parking lot outside an American football game – there are so…
Croffle, anyone? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:28
Crookie, anyone? Cronut, croffle? Ruth Alexander looks at the rise of the dessert café and the extraordinary creations it’s spawned. She visits one such café in Manchester with roses adorning the walls, and chocolate ado…
How did fast food become so successful? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:27
From America to Mongolia, you can go into a restaurant run by a global fast-food chain, and buy the same meal. So how did fast food become so successful? Across the world, last year we spent more than 900 billion dollars…
We are 10! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:56
We are celebrating 10 years of The Food Chain with some of our favourite programme moments from the past decade. Fishing to stay alive, chopping onions in remembrance, and tasting people’s names – these stories and more…
Just vanilla [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:28
Dull? Boring? Plain? Vanilla is a byword for something which is ordinary or standard. In this programme Ruth Alexander finds the story of the popular spice is anything but normal. Originating in Mexico it’s travelled the…
How work changed lunch [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:08
How do our work habits shape what we eat? In this programme Izzy Greenfield discovers the history of the workplace lunch and the ways in which society has reshaped it. Historian Megan Elias of Boston University in the US…
Living with water shortages [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:40
Water scarcity is an increasing problem on every continent, according to the United Nations. Around half the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, according to a report by th…
Housemates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:38
Did you share a flat, house or kitchen as a student or professional? Is it the shared meals and conversation that stay with you, or the piles of dirty dishes and missing food? This week Ruth Alexander has a look around s…