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Private Notes
This episode examines burgers: how different are high-end burger chains' patties from the ones McDonald's serves? The programme also explores tricks of the trade from upselling to the 'golden table'.
The team investigate pizzas, comparing classics with less traditional alternatives, and checking nutritional values. Plus: afternoon tea. And how much more do restaurants make by rushing diners?
Would you know - or care - if a cocktail you bought in a restaurant had come ready-made in a carton? This episode examines the growing trend of restaurants serving pre-prepared food and drink.
Kate and Simon check out the fried chicken industry. Can Simon recreate KFC's secret recipe, and can he get his hands on the mysterious High Five card from Nando's?
This week, the show spills the beans on high street coffee chains. Chef Simon Rimmer and co-presenter Kate Quilton find out how good the coffee really is and how the big chains ensure it tastes the same wherever you go in the country. And reporter Adam Pearson challenges fans of big brand names to a blind taste test - can they really tell the difference? Plus - how much do you know about what's in railway station snacks? Should you think a little more before you grab a bite to eat before you jump on the train? And the horrible truth about just how many calories there could be in your Chinese takeaway. The answer for one family of four: 15,000 calories in just one meal.
This episode goes behind the scenes at one of our biggest high street sushi chains. Kate Quilton asks how healthy sushi really is, and investigates whether there is any actual wasabi in wasabi paste, while Simon Rimmer heads to Billingsgate fish market at 3am to help choose the fish for the day's sushi. And do we use too much soy sauce when we eat sushi? Reporter Adam Pearson pits groups of British and Japanese people against each other in a sushi eating contest. Plus: what do we get for our money when we pay £30 for a pub roast as opposed to a fiver? Kate samples them both, while Simon reveals the shocking calorie count in an Indian takeaway.
A huge percentage of British workers now buy their lunch from big chains and what's on offer has moved a long way from the simple sandwich. This episode reveals what's in some of the takeaway lunches sold by big brand names and especially whether those salads and soups are quite as good for you as you think. Could a fish salad have more calories than a fry up? And can a chocolate frozen yoghurt really be fat free? Plus: why you shouldn't eat at your desk.
The final episode in the series weighs up restaurant portion sizes, which are getting bigger without us noticing. Kate Quilton takes some hungry taxi drivers out for a steak dinner but when they're given the portion sizes we ate a generation ago they aren't best pleased. Meanwhile, Simon Rimmer campaigns to bring the doggy bag to Britain. Teaming up with Mish Mash restaurant in Manchester, he gives the customers their leftovers while trying to get to the bottom of our very British embarrassment over taking them home with us. And with nearly 200,000 tonnes of food waste thrown away by restaurants each year, Kate is amazed when she visits a popular Mexican restaurant chain and learns about the surprising uses for leftover Mexican food.
In this first episode, chef Simon Rimmer explores how the biggest coffee brands are copying the artisans to change what we drink. Sophie Morgan investigates the truth about the buzzwords used to sell food and reveals why 'fresh' and 'handmade' may not always mean what we think they do. Reporter Adam Pearson tests new two-in-one dining concepts and gets his bike fixed while being served breakfast. And could man's best friend be the next valuable customer on the high street? Simon's a dog-lover but he still needs convincing.
Sophie checks out children's menus. Simon discovers that fish and chips isn't as British as we think. And we investigate the disappearance of 125ml glasses of wine. Plus: cinema dining menus.
What does the growth of home delivery companies like Deliveroo mean for consumers and restaurants? Simon exposes hidden sugar in our favourite restaurant meals. Plus: single-dish restaurants.
Simon Rimmer investigates how important big brand restaurants have become to shopping centres as they compete against online shopping. Meanwhile, a new wave of Indian restaurants are offering a genuine taste of the regions of India, rather than the familiar dishes adapted for UK tastes. Sophie Morgan gets some diehard British curry fans to give their verdict. And how clean is your restaurant?
Simon checks out the fast-growing high street trend of dessert bars. Why does American fast food taste different on each side of the Atlantic? And how do you undress a lobster?
Sophie tries out flat iron steak, which is healthier and cheaper than other steaks. Simon meets the ex-builder who's the only British pizzaiolo in Italy's exclusive True Neapolitan Pizza Association.
In this first episode, Simon Rimmer steps inside the secretive world of research and development at Starbucks and meets the people who decide what we'll be eating and drinking in the future. Sophie Morgan investigates one of the biggest trends on the high street, cocktails, and shares her surprising lab results with a group of cocktail fans. A tech-sceptic mum and her app-savvy son test out whether phone apps can speed up service and enhance our dining experience. And reporter Adam Pearson hits the high street with the latest trend in bottled water, but is anyone prepared to spend up to £100 a litre?
Simon Rimmer unlocks the science of what happens to our taste buds during air travel and discovers why the Bloody Mary is a popular in-flight drink. The British Airways development team reveal how they adapt their cooking for high altitudes and Simon discovers that we lose 30% of our ability to taste when we fly. Food critic Lisa Markwell joins Simon for a taste test at 35,000 feet. Meanwhile, Sophie Morgan investigates the food on offer at motorway service stations and how prices compare to the high street. And Adam Pearson explores one of the latest food trends: mash-ups or hybrids. What do diners make of sushi burgers or cronuts?
With UK restaurants handing out discounts worth £35 million a year, Simon Rimmer calls on expert help to reveal how it's possible to eat out at a fraction of the price. He tracks down the best offers and proves that there are plenty of big chains willing to give away food and drink for free. Sophie Morgan and food critic Lisa Markwell visit a luxury hotel to find out how fine dining meals can be affordable. And - fat, skinny, skin-on - we all have strong opinions about chips. But which are the healthiest? Sophie finds out.
This episode investigates how health has become a £5 billion trend on the high street. Almost nine out of ten people say they are willing to pay more for healthy choices so Sophie Morgan investigates how the big brands are interpreting this. Simon Rimmer looks at a surprising health makeover: the great British pie. He heads to Melton Mowbray to see how this traditional favourite is being challenged by new vegan and vegetarian varieties. Another big winner riding the health trend is the growing juice bar market. Sophie and nutritionist Amanda Ursell discover surprising levels of sugar, which run contrary to the healthy sounding names of the drinks. And Adam Pearson reveals the common psychological trick used on restaurant menus to make diners spend more.
Sophie Morgan discovers how restaurants go to great lengths to ensure that their customers' Instagram pictures do their dishes justice. Simon Rimmer talks to TripAdvisor about its ability to make or break a restaurant business and meets the owner of a small creperie that was overrun after being rated number one in London. Plus, with social media helping to drive UK interest in American barbecue, Simon visits a popular UK-wide chain where unfashionable cuts of meat are transformed and Seyi Rhodes takes to the high street to see if he can revive a meat dish that has fallen out of favour.
Simon Rimmer explores how food is transforming our lifestyle, with a quarter of us regularly eating out for breakfast. Sophie Morgan asks whether the nation's favourite drink, tea, could challenge the booming coffee sales on the high street. Simon visits the award-winning packaging company whose innovations have allowed high street chains to offer delivery to our homes for the first time. Sophie investigates what restaurants are doing to cut salt levels, as we're still consuming a third more than we should, and reveals the surprising amounts of salt in some desserts. Plus: the psychological tricks to make customers spend more in restaurants, from lighting to aroma and even seat padding.
In this episode, Simon enters Wagamama's Noodle Lab to explore how innovation and customer feedback can dictate what ends up on our plates. Monster milkshakes with names like Cookie Monster, Unicorn and Funfair are taking over social media. Sophie and Simon investigate their appeal and reveal the shocking sugar levels and possible health risks.
In the last four years the number of vegans in the UK has more than quadrupled. Chef Simon Rimmer visits the home of the Meat Feast, Pizza Hut, to discover the challenges involved in creating their first fully vegan menu. And he hits the kitchen to demonstrate his trick of the restaurant trade: how to make the perfect glossy chocolate sauce for dessert. Simon also competes with Sophie Morgan to find the best deals for high street meals. With £35 each, they have to buy lunch, dinner and hot drinks for two. And with the government challenging restaurants to reduce the amount of sugar in their foods, reporter Adam Pearson takes to the street to find out if we can tell how much of the white stuff is in our desserts. Plus: food fad or permanent fixture? A Manchester family explores the trend that's bringing street food in from the cold: food halls.
The team check out calorie counts in restaurant meals. Adam explores 'cakeage', where restaurants charge customers to eat their own celebration cakes. Plus: in-home delivery meal kits.
Simon and Sophie reveal how pizza cheese isn't always as genuine as we think it is. Plus: airport restaurants, restaurant calorie counts and how to make the ultimate red wine and tomato pasta sauce.
The team check out food options when flying, how pubs and bars are catering for the growing number of teetotallers, and the cost to restaurants of 'no shows'
Simon Rimmer and Sophie Morgan explore how some of the big restaurant and coffee chains cater for the growing number of customers with food allergies, while Adam Pearson takes over a cafe to carry out an experiment to find out more about people's love of dining experiences.
