Original version

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

The Food Chain

Factual: Food & Drink

Examining what it takes to put food on your plate

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

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

The Food Chain: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

Magazines & Reviews

How to eat lunch at your desk

05/03/2016 GMT

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

BBC World Service - The Food Chain, No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

The relationship between food and the workplace

From power lunches to 'desktop dining' we unpick the relationship between food and the workplace.

From power lunches to 'desktop dining', we unpick the relationship between food and the workplace. We trace how industrialisation played its part in forging the origins of the modern lunch break and how employers began using food as a way to control their workforce. We take a trip back to 19th Century New York where a swelling labour force gave rise to the 'Quick Lunch' - the precursor to the fast-food we know and love today. 

Google's very first executive chef reveals the secrets of Silicon Valley’s canteen culture and how he fulfilled his brief to "keep people on campus all the time" with his food. Plus, we ask what the humble pre-packed sandwich can teach us about changing attitudes to women, work and convenience. 

Manuela Saragosa tracks down the BBC's most loyal lunch lovers and spends an afternoon with fire fighters in London who are living proof of the theory that colleagues that eat together perform better as a team. Plus, we put together a handy guide of 'desktop dining' dos and don'ts to safely navigate you through your lunch hour.

(Photo: A man eating at his desk looking at his laptop scrren. Credit: Thinkstock)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Food Chain

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

About BBC World Service