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The Food Programme

Feeding the Commons - Part I: Breakfast to Brunch

The Food Programme

BBC

Arts, Food

4.4976 Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2015

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Following the food operation at the centre of British politics. Breakfast to Brunch. The Food Programme team go behind the scenes of one of the most historic food operations in the world.

In the first part of this edition, we discover the incredible history of dining in Parliament and meet the people who feed Westminster's 14 thousand pass holders.

8 thousand food transactions can be made here on any working day, and we recorded on one of the busiest - Prime Minister's Questions, one of the first under the new Government.

Presented by Sheila Dillon & produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello I'm Sheila Dylan and welcome to this BBC download of the Food Program.

0:06.0

For information on the BBC's terms and conditions of use, visit

0:09.6

www.

0:10.9

BBC.co. UK slash Radio 4. And now enjoy the podcast.

0:17.0

We've picked up the order paper from the vote office for the beginning of our day in the House of Parliament.

0:26.0

For the first order on, of course, this is prayers at 1130, but actually it's at 8 o'clock and we're going to meet Mark Hill head of catering

0:36.4

just as traditional really the beginning of the chef's day but it doesn't sound as grand. Order.

0:45.0

Order.

0:47.0

Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Mr. Roger Mullin.

0:52.0

Okay guys, two rare staks and the salmon away when ready, please.

0:56.4

In today's programme, we're going behind the scenes

0:58.8

in one of Europe's biggest one-site, food operations, into kitchens that can feed 13,000 workers a day, and into dining rooms

1:08.2

where meals are served between the votes and debates that shape the nation.

1:13.0

The story of food and parliament.

1:15.4

We've built for feasting on a grand scale

1:18.4

and to show off really to the earls and the barons.

1:22.0

As food stories go, this day in the life of parliamentary food is surprising,

1:26.5

unpredictable and sometimes even a bit surreal.

1:29.7

Members dining room at 4 o'clock a cream tea expecting 15 dogs.

1:35.0

If you're running a restaurant anywhere

1:39.0

you get to understand what is going on

1:41.2

that Monday nights might be quiet, You can guarantee nothing here at all.

...

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