{"podcast":{"title":"The Food Chain","slug":"the-food-chain-891579","podcast_index_feed_id":891579,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p028z2z0.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p028z2z0","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0kxnxvm.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":551,"summary":"The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T10:20:51.241634+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-food-chain-891579"},"episode":{"title":"How to order a restaurant meal like a pro","slug":"how-to-order-a-restaurant-meal-like-a-pro","published_at":"2026-07-01T23:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-food-chain-891579/how-to-order-a-restaurant-meal-like-a-pro","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-food-chain-891579","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct8sw6","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0nvz0zj.mp3","summary":"With dining out becoming an increasingly expensive luxury, we find out how to order the perfect restaurant meal with top tips from a panel of seasoned pros. The Irish Times food critic, Corinna Hardgrave, veteran server and podcast host Brittany Felton and chef and hospitality advisor James Knight-Pacheco join Ruth Alexander to discuss how to make the most of a well-deserved meal from your hard-earned money. They cover everything from sharing dishes, whether to trust a waiter’s recommendations and if it’s best to stick to what you know – or try something more adventurous when visiting a restaurant with friends or family. We get the inside track from the diner’s table to the wait staff and of course the kitchen. Brittany Felton explains how her 15-year career as a server means she can quickly assess a table’s needs, even to the extent of working out what kind of meal and evening the diners would like to have. Corinna Hardgrave shares advice from her 20-plus years as a professional restaurant critic, including how to stay in control if you experience pushy or impatient wait staff when eating out. And chef James Knight-Pacheco shares his insight on when is the best time to order the special – and when to avoid certain dishes on a menu. Producer: Sam Clack and Niamh McDermott Sound engineer: Hal Haines (Image: Waitress taking the order of a group of friends eating at a restaurant - stock photo. Credit: Getty Images)","meta_description":"With dining out becoming an increasingly expensive luxury, we find out how to order the perfect restaurant meal with top tips from a panel of seasoned pro…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1588,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-food-chain-891579/episodes/how-to-order-a-restaurant-meal-like-a-pro/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-food-chain-891579/how-to-order-a-restaurant-meal-like-a-pro.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}