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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)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 6 Mar 2016 23:32GMT

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Contributors

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Burmese Service

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 08:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Mar 2016 03:32GMT
  • Sun 6 Mar 2016 23:32GMT

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