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Coronavirus: The survival business

The food entrepreneurs forced to innovate to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Food businesses have been some of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Worldwide lockdowns have forced thousands of restaurants, bars and cafes to close, but many entrepreneurs have managed to keep their businesses afloat, forced to innovate to survive.

We revisit some past Food Chain guests to find out how they’ve been coping and ask what they’ve learned about their business, their customers, and themselves. Tamasin Ford speaks to a chocolate maker in Ghana who hasn’t sold a single bar since the country locked down in March, and a fried chicken entrepreneur in South Africa who’s turned to feeding frontline workers to keep his kitchens and staff going.

But business hasn’t been all bad - we hear from a baker in Montreal, Canada, who says he’s never sold more bread and has started selling bags of flour to meet a growing demand from home bakers. Plus, a restaurant critic from Melbourne, Australia, tells us what it was like going out for a meal for the first time in more than three months.

Let us know what you think about the show by emailing thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk or using #Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔFoodChain on social media.

Presenter: Tamasin Ford
Producers: Simon Tulett and Siobhan O’Connell
Studio manager: Hal Haines

(Picture: A woman picks up food and a drink from a restaurant during lockdown. Credit: Getty Images/Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Mon 15 Jun 2020 00:32GMT

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Broadcasts

  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 02:32GMT
  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 10:32GMT
  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 15:32GMT
  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 17:32GMT
  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 21:32GMT
  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 22:32GMT
  • Sun 14 Jun 2020 07:32GMT
  • Mon 15 Jun 2020 00:32GMT

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