No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?
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 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ'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)
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Dos and Don'ts of 'Desktop Dining'
Duration: 00:50
Contributors
Charlie Ayers: Chef
Laura Shapiro - Food historian
Polly Russell - Historian, British Library
Kevin Kniffin - Behavioural Scientist, Cornell University
Dale Critchley and Neil Glanville - Firefighters, Southall Fire Station UK
Christopher Wanjek - Health and Science Writer
Ann Marie Sabath - Business etiquette expert
Audio from the film The Automat, produced by Lisa Hurwitz
Broadcasts
- Sat 5 Mar 2016 08:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Sun 6 Mar 2016 03:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Sun 6 Mar 2016 23:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
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