Dispatches from the Food Front

To mark the 20th anniversary of BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme, Derek Cooper recalls some memorable moments from the BBC archive.

Bashing out scripts on a typewriter, Derek recalls chronicling the pitched battles of food wars – and celebrating the joys of real food.

Working with six different producers over the years - he looks back to how it all began and the way the show’s investigative approach was developed.

Derek sets out to revisit some of the places he’s been to and some of the people he’s met in pursuit of the story behind the global world of food.

It includes an unusual encounter with influential food-writer Elizabeth David, a trip down the London sewers and a gruelling visit to a slaughterhouse.

Producer: Min Raisman

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1999.