Around the world, food allergies are surging to near-epidemic levels. Medicine is just beginning to understand why some people react to seemingly harmless foods. Scientists race to understand what's changed in our bodies, while farmers and chefs contend with new challenges.

This episode tells the tale of what's broadly considered China's most creative dynasty - the Song (960-1279). Michael Wood heads to the city of Kaifeng, the greatest city in the world before the 19th century. Here in Twin Dragon Alley, locals tell him the legend of the baby boys who became emperors.
He explores the ideas and inventions that made the Song one of greatest eras in world culture, helped by China's most famous work of art, the Kaifeng scroll, which shows the life of the city in around 1120. A chef makes Michael a recipe from a Song cookbook, while a guide to 'how to live happy, healthy lives for old people', published in 1085 and still in print, is discussed with local women doing their morning exercises. The Song was also a great era for scientific advance in China. Michael steers a huge working replica of an astronomical clock, made by China's Leonardo da Vinci.
Then at a crunch Chinese Premier League match, Michael tells us the Chinese invented football! The golden age of the northern Song ended in 1127, when invaders sacked Kaifeng, but they survived in the south. At their new capital, Hangzhou, Wood joins locals dancing by the West Lake, while in the countryside he meets Mr Xie with his records of 40 generations of ancestors. The final defeat of the Song took place in a naval battle in the estuary of the Pearl River in 1279. When all was lost, rather than surrender to the Mongols, a loyal minister jumped into the sea with the young boy emperor in his arms. 'So ended the glory of the Song', Wood concludes, 'but a new age would arise... as in China, it always has!'.

A powerful depiction of Vladimir Mukhin's struggle to resuscitate an almost forgotten russian cuisine, going against the established tradition. Be prepared for stunning images of culinary creations at White Rabbit, some will leave you uneased.
A fifth-generation chef, Mukhin worked in his father’s kitchen as a young man, preparing Soviet-era classics. So, like generations of youths before him, Mukhin had to rebel against the old man. He left his small hometown of Essentuki for Moscow and became obsessed with modern techniques and food from across Europe. It wasn’t until he worked as a sous chef in France, when he collaborated on a menu with chef Christian Etienne, that Mukhin realized Russian cuisine could exist within modern cooking. 'His French clients who ate it were amazed,' he says. ¡They loved his Russian cooking.'

Ivan Orkin, the brash, white, Jewish guy from New York who made his name as one of the best ramen makers on the planet has an unorthodox story. That means no tweezer food, plenty of swear words, no slow shots of the chef communing with nature. He was a problem child, fell in love with Japan, fell in love with cooking, suffered personal tragedy, and found his reason for being and his ultimate success in Tokyo.

The series 'The Mind of a Chef' combines travel, cooking, history, science and humor about everyone's favorite topic -- food. Each season brings with it a new host as well as fresh and exciting recipes. The 5th season is narrated by chef Ludo Lefebvre.
It’s everyone’s favourite food. From the New York City's classic egg on a roll to Faroe Island fulmar egg and curry, this episode of The Mind of a Chef finds us going through and re-falling in love with the best egg dishes from our archives. Crack it open, and let the fun begin.

Nancy Silverton describes her life path involving both Los Angeles and Italy, her family and her obsession with bread. She was born in Sherman Oaks, CA in a family where going out to eat was considered a special treat. But when she entered college and found herself 'very attracted by a handsome man' who worked in a kitchen, she landed herself a job and a new passion.
These details, which all lead up to her stint at Wolfgang Puck’s celebrated LA restaurant Spago in 1982, are intercut with present-day scenes of Silverton working at Osteria Mozza.