The Kitchen Café

Flora Shedden puts a major zing into her Spring baking with a tart bursting with seasonal freshness. So if you want to find out how to make a tart which packs in the flavour with peas, caramelised shallots, spring onions, mint and Serrano ham then listen up!Simon Preston's back on the road and this time he's stopping in Edinburgh Botanical Gardens for the story of how Malawi's coffee industry has its roots firmly planted in Scotland plus Ghillie Basan heads for Elgin to meet Mr T - the male Home Economics teacher who's persuading his pupils that its cool to be good at cooking.Listen, learn, bake, eat and enjoy a packed Kitchen Café this week!

Simon Preston goes from creel to kitchen with two of Scotland's seafood goliaths, crab and lobster. One perhaps seen as too luxurious for the everyday and the other so intimidating many of us wouldn't know where to start picking through its carapace and claws for its soft sweet white meat or the strong rich brown meat.But could all that change? Starting on the harbour wall in North Berwick Simon explores a local lobster hatchery. Set up and run by fishermen it's aim is to give nature a helping hand in increasing the local lobster population because they recognise the value of the lobster to the local community. It has led to lobster becoming a local delicacy enjoyed by all who visit the village.At the other end of the price range local brown crab is becoming more and more popular. But it's the cracked claws that people want to buy. Determined to find every last morsel from the shell Dan Holland heads north to Kylesku to find out how to pick a crab, claw meat, white meat and the beautifully rich hidden away br

Master Chef? Or Disaster chef! How confident are you in the kitchen? Simon Preston is joined by best friends Kaye Adams and Nadia Sawalha to hear how they've written a cook book which has turned Kaye's cooking calamities.... into culinary delights. Also, someone else who's never felt entirely at home in the kitchen is producer Phil so hoping to conquer his culinary demons, he met up with his pal Raymond Smart, who also happens to be blind for a master-class in confident cooking...

For some people Easter is about chocolate eggs, on The Curry Club we're crazy about chocolate and spices. From the traditional chocolate and ginger to the experimental chocolate and Nepalese Timur, chocolatier Charlotte Flower takes Sumayya and Ghillie on flavour expedition around her world of combining spices and wild flavours with chocolate. But what spice would Ghillie and Sumayya really like to combine with chocolate? They set Charlotte a spiced chocolate challenge.Ghillie makes a Nepalese egg curry while Charlotte recalls her time living in Nepal and the food she so enjoyed eating there, which for part of the time was based solely on potatoes and onions.Want some curry comfort food for those lazy evenings on the sofa with some poppadoms? Elgin based sisters Sharan Dhesi and Manju Dhesi-Dhami make a very quick Masala Jhinga.

Could you tell the difference between a ribeye or a rump? Or what about a sirloin from a fillet? This week steak loving Dads Douglas and Allan join Neil Forbes at the Chop House in Leith to find out the best ways to choose, prepare and cook the perfect steak. Also, Ghillie Basan visits Glen and Gilli Allingham at the Really Garlicky Company in Nairn to find out why Scotland's climate is perfect for growing garlic.

Spring is in the air so this week Neil Forbes is joined by raw baker Laurianne Giteau to celebrate food in its freshest form, raw. Gardening expert Nicola Singleton takes a stroll round Neil's garden to see what jobs need done and Ghillie Basan talks to Kaori Simpson from Harajuku Kitchen about the Japanese philosophy behind eating raw food.

Neil Forbes and Flora Shedden celebrate Mothers' Day with Larah Bross of Bross Bagels. Having grown up in a Jewish family, Larah can testify to the key role that mothers play in Jewish food culture. Sumayya Usmani digs deeper into Jewish food traditions with Glasgow mother Sora Jacobs, while Frankie Vaughan meets Sarah Bodenheim, Jewish Student Chaplin for Scotland, as she prepares a Shabbat dinner.

For many of us, cooking and eating are great sources of joy and comfort. This week on The Kitchen Café, we're celebrating the food that makes us feel good. Simon Preston meets Melissa Hemsley to celebrate her new book, "Eat Happy". Meanwhile, Neil Forbes and Flora Shedden are joined by amateur baker Nadia Cassar and Charlotte Maberly, programme co-ordinator of the MSc Gastronomy course at Queen Margaret University, to dig deeper into the relationship between food and mood.

Praveen Kumar grew up in a small village outside Hyderabad on the family spice farm. His father grew spices like chillies, coriander, mustard and cumin. As a young man Praveen left the village farm behind to follow his dream of working the hospitality industry. Years later he found himself making his treasured family recipes in some of the world's most regarded hotels. Now based in Scotland, he gives Ghillie Basan and Sumayya Usmani a culinary guide to some of favourite family recipes and the food of south India.Traditional music legend, Phil Cunningham is widely known to love his curry as much as he does music. His favourite southern Indian dish is a ghee roasted dosa, a light pancake made from fermented batter. But it was one of the few dishes that this curry king hadn't mastered in his own kitchen until he joined the Curry Club for a quick masterclass.

Chef Julie Lin serves up a Malaysian cooking masterclass with Neil Forbes and Sumayya Usmani. From sticky rice to spicy sambal, Julie guides us through the flavours and cultures of Malaysia, while Ghillie Basan invites her friend Bernie round for a traditional Sarawak lunch.

Neil Forbes and Frankie Vaughan are joined by Chef Graeme Pallister to share the food that represents love in their lives. From the ingredients with which we love to cook, to dishes that remind us of our favourite travels, and the meals we make to nourish friends and family, food means a lot to all of us in different ways. On this week's Kitchen Café, we celebrate the food we love, and the people we love to feed.

Neil Forbes is joined by Chef Christopher Trotter and nutritionist Frankie Vaughan to get creative with cauliflower. From cauliflower rice to cauliflower steaks, this ancient veg has undergone a modern renaissance. Join us as Neil, Christopher and Frankie cook up their favourite dishes which demonstrate just how delicious and nutritious the cauliflower can be. Plus, Simon Preston meets Chefs Jonathan MacDonald and Daria Kimak of Baba in Edinburgh to discover why cauliflower is taking the restaurant scene by storm.

Its 'Veganuary', and lots of people are trying a vegan diet this month. Neil Forbes and Sumayya Usmani are joined by Chef John Quigley to celebrate vegan cooking. Simon Preston meets the restauranteurs driving a growing vegan dining scene in Scotland, while Ghillie Basan explores the reasons why friends John and Gary have chosen to go vegan.

How many of us are stuck in a rut when it comes to cooking? Be it the ingredients we buy or the dishes we serve up for tea it is so easy to get stuck on a treadmill churning out the same food week after week. In the spirit of New Year, Neil Forbes and Sumayya Usmani are joined by Chef Andy Cumming to encourage us to try something new in the kitchen. Andy tries his hand at baking with polenta, while Sumayya helps Neil to overcome his fear of cooking with spices. Plus Ghillie Basan teaches Simon Preston a new dish for his repertoire.

Flora Shedden, Neil Forbes, Sumayya Usmani, Ghillie Basan and Simon Preston - meet BBC Radio Scotland's Kitchen Café team of experts!Bake Off's Flora Shedden, award winning chef Neil Forbes and acclaimed cookery writer Sumayya Usmani join forces with international spice expert Ghillie Basan and food innovator Simon Preston in this weekly celebration of Scotland's fabulous seasonal larder.As well as helping you cook up a storm in your own kitchen with sparkling ideas and recipes, it's a series about the stories behind those ingredients - who's producing what, where and how in Scotland. Each week The Kitchen Cafe team delves into a range of topical and seasonal subjects. Alongside great recipe suggestions we'll be exploring food history and trends in food and nutrition as well as recognising - but most of all enjoying - the essential role food plays in all aspects of contemporary Scottish life. From cooking with the kids to feeding the family, treating yourself to a meal out to entertaining friends or creating

In this special Curry Club, Ghillie Basan and Sumayya Usmani are joined by the Queen of curry, Madhur Jaffrey. Since the moment she first appeared on our TV screens over 35 years ago Madhur made curry go mainstream. She has influenced has influenced home cooks and chefs throughout the western world. Yet lots of her food is deliciously simple, as Ghillie and Summaya find out when Madhur makes them Bazaari Aloo, a version of potatoes with cumin and asafetidaThroughout the programme they explore how food gives you a sense of identity, the role it plays in defining community and their mutual love of spice.

Sumayya Usmani, Ghillie Basan and Chef Neil Forbes gather for an international Christmas feast. Bringing together their favourite festive dishes, the team celebrate Christmas food traditions from around the world.

Neil Forbes and Simon Preston celebrate Christmas aboard the Red Bus bistro. Plus Simon meets the founders of the world's most travelled pop-up restaurant, One Star House Party, who have returned to their native Scotland to serve a seven-course tasting menu with favourite dishes from their travels.

Chef Tom Kitchin shares the story of his training project for disadvantaged young people. Simon Preston and Ghillie Basan meet some of the talented young people taking part in the programme, and we join them for a very special dinner at the Citadel Youth Centre in Edinburgh.

Sharing a tune and some food together this St. Andrews Day, Scottish traditional music legend and curry fanatic Phil Cunningham joins Sumayya Usmani and Ghillie Basan on the Curry Club to indulge himself in his lifelong obsession with curry.On the road in the early days of Silly Wizard the only places still open to get food after a gig were the curry houses of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. Before long the band had become connoisseurs of the takeaway menu. In the years that followed Phil and good pal Aly Bain started making their own curries, roasting their own spices and using each other as guinea pigs for their latest curry experiments in the kitchen. While they have both become global legends of the Scottish music scene, within the traditional music world, Phil is now a curry king. He describes his love to Sumayya and Ghillie while getting some top tips for his own kitchen. To keep our stomachs full for St. Andrews Day celebrations, Sumayya and Phil make a Scottish take on shalgham ghost together, a spicy