My Life In Food

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Artists

20180925

20200908 (R3)

Joanna Robertson's earliest childhood memory is that of the baker calling at noon each day, with a basket full of fragrant buns, cakes and bread. It was the first indication of what was to develop into a lifelong love affair with food.

For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results.

So much so, that telling her food stories in these Essays amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with deeply personal insights into her life, the places she has lived and worked in, and the people she has met through food.

In the second programme, Joanna is a young adult. She is now working two jobs in London, involving food and encounters with world class artists, designers and musicians. In Soho, these include Derek Jarman, Howard Hodgkin and Alexander McQueen, while on the South Bank she serves, for example, Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez and Sviatoslav Richter.

Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris.

Produced by Arlene Gregorius.

Joanna Robertson's deep connection with food leads her to top artists and musicians.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Disorder

20180926

20200909 (R3)

For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results.

So much so, that telling her food stories in these Essays amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with deeply personal insights into her life, the places she's lived and worked in, and the people she's met through food.

In the third programme, Joanna is still living in London as a twenty-something. A passionate love affair ends so badly, that Joanna feels food is no longer for her, and she slides into a severe eating disorder. Brought back from the brink, she then designs her own recovery programme: training as a chef, and life-modelling for painters and sculptors.

Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris.

Produced by Arlene Gregorius.

Joanna Robertson's deep and intimate relationship with food goes disastrously wrong.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Family

20180927

20200910 (R3)

For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results.

In the fourth programme, Joanna is in Rome. Initially as a young woman, spending a long summer being initiated into the culinary and cultural delights of the city. And later, she returns as a future wife and mother, getting her daily bread from the same centuries-old bakery as Rossini did while he composed the Barber of Seville. When the time comes, Joanna's baby is welcomed by a family far bigger than merely her relatives: the neighbourhood's grocers, restaurant owners and Rossini's bakery who asked to become a collective of godparents.

Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris.

Produced by Arlene Gregorius.

Joanna Robertson's deep connection with food has created families, and changed them.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Fate

20180928

20200911 (R3)

For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results.

In the final programme, Joanna is living in Paris. Fortune has smiled on her in the shape of a second daughter, but when it comes to food, her luck seems to have run out, as neither her children's school lunches nor local restaurants' menus live up to Joanna's expectations which had been stoked by food writers of the calibre of Elizabeth David and MFK Fisher whom Joanna read avidly as a teenager. Now it's chips with everything it seems. Fate has one good surprise in store however: Joanna's local baker, where she gets her daily morning bread, has just been crowned the best baguette maker in Paris.

Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris.

Produced by Arlene Gregorius.

Joanna Robertson now lives in France, but more despite the food than because of it.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Origins

20180924

20200907 (R3)

For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results.

So much so, that telling her food stories amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with insights into her life, the places she's lived and worked in, and the people she's met through food. These stretch from Italians who would become a collective of godparents to her eldest daughter, to world class artists and musicians, ranging from Derek Jarman to Sviatoslav Richter.

In the first programme, Joanna reveals how her love of food already manifested itself when she was a child growing up in different parts of the UK.

Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris.

Produced by Arlene Gregorius.

Since early childhood, Joanna Robertson has been lured by both real and fictional food.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
Artists	20180925	20200908 (R3)	Joanna Robertson's earliest childhood memory is that of the baker calling at noon each day, with a basket full of fragrant buns, cakes and bread. It was the first indication of what was to develop into a lifelong love affair with food. For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results. So much so, that telling her food stories in these Essays amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with deeply personal insights into her life, the places she has lived and worked in, and the people she has met through food. In the second programme, Joanna is a young adult. She is now working two jobs in London, involving food and encounters with world class artists, designers and musicians. In Soho, these include Derek Jarman, Howard Hodgkin and Alexander McQueen, while on the South Bank she serves, for example, Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez and Sviatoslav Richter. Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris. Produced by Arlene Gregorius. Joanna Robertson's deep connection with food leads her to top artists and musicians. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
Disorder	20180926	20200909 (R3)	Joanna Robertson's earliest childhood memory is that of the baker calling at noon each day, with a basket full of fragrant buns, cakes and bread. It was the first indication of what was to develop into a lifelong love affair with food. For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results. So much so, that telling her food stories in these Essays amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with deeply personal insights into her life, the places she's lived and worked in, and the people she's met through food. In the third programme, Joanna is still living in London as a twenty-something. A passionate love affair ends so badly, that Joanna feels food is no longer for her, and she slides into a severe eating disorder. Brought back from the brink, she then designs her own recovery programme: training as a chef, and life-modelling for painters and sculptors. Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris. Produced by Arlene Gregorius. Joanna Robertson's deep and intimate relationship with food goes disastrously wrong. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
Family	20180927	20200910 (R3)	Joanna Robertson's earliest childhood memory is that of the baker calling at noon each day, with a basket full of fragrant buns, cakes and bread. It was the first indication of what was to develop into a lifelong love affair with food. For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results. So much so, that telling her food stories in these Essays amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with deeply personal insights into her life, the places she has lived and worked in, and the people she has met through food. In the fourth programme, Joanna is in Rome. Initially as a young woman, spending a long summer being initiated into the culinary and cultural delights of the city. And later, she returns as a future wife and mother, getting her daily bread from the same centuries-old bakery as Rossini did while he composed the Barber of Seville. When the time comes, Joanna's baby is welcomed by a family far bigger than merely her relatives: the neighbourhood's grocers, restaurant owners and Rossini's bakery who asked to become a collective of godparents. Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris. Produced by Arlene Gregorius. Joanna Robertson's deep connection with food has created families, and changed them. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
Fate	20180928	20200911 (R3)	Joanna Robertson's earliest childhood memory is that of the baker calling at noon each day, with a basket full of fragrant buns, cakes and bread. It was the first indication of what was to develop into a lifelong love affair with food. For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results. So much so, that telling her food stories in these Essays amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with deeply personal insights into her life, the places she has lived and worked in, and the people she has met through food. In the final programme, Joanna is living in Paris. Fortune has smiled on her in the shape of a second daughter, but when it comes to food, her luck seems to have run out, as neither her children's school lunches nor local restaurants' menus live up to Joanna's expectations which had been stoked by food writers of the calibre of Elizabeth David and MFK Fisher whom Joanna read avidly as a teenager. Now it's chips with everything it seems. Fate has one good surprise in store however: Joanna's local baker, where she gets her daily morning bread, has just been crowned the best baguette maker in Paris. Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris. Produced by Arlene Gregorius. Joanna Robertson now lives in France, but more despite the food than because of it. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
Origins	20180924	20200907 (R3)	Joanna Robertson's earliest childhood memory is that of the baker calling at noon each day, with a basket full of fragrant buns, cakes and bread. It was the first indication of what was to develop into a lifelong love affair with food. For Joanna, food has never just been about nourishment. It has shaped her life in highly personal as well as professional ways, with surprising, funny or poignant results. So much so, that telling her food stories amounts to sharing an intimate and revealing autobiography, with insights into her life, the places she's lived and worked in, and the people she's met through food. These stretch from Italians who would become a collective of godparents to her eldest daughter, to world class artists and musicians, ranging from Derek Jarman to Sviatoslav Richter. In the first programme, Joanna reveals how her love of food already manifested itself when she was a child growing up in different parts of the UK. Joanna Robertson is a journalist who has lived in several countries and is now based in Paris. Produced by Arlene Gregorius. Since early childhood, Joanna Robertson has been lured by both real and fictional food. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.