Tricks of the Restaurant Trade

A look at the techniques that restaurants use to make you spend more money.

The team put pizzas to the test, how do takeaway pizzas compare to those in a traditional Italian restaurant.

This week a behind-the-scenes look at restaurants feeding paying customers pre-prepared meals, desserts and cocktails ordered in from outside suppliers.

Kate and Simon explore the two big players of the fast-food chicken industry, KFC and Nandos. Simon eats his first ever KFC and then attempts to recreate the Colonel's top secret recipe. Simon also attempts to get one of the celebrity High Five Nando's cards.

Tricks of the Restaurant Trade is back to lift the lid on the world of eating out, by going behind the scenes at some of the UK's biggest high street chains to show you how to get the best deals on good food. 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.

Tricks of the Restaurant Trade lifts the lid on the world of eating out, going behind the scenes at some of the UK's biggest high street chains to show you how to get the best deals on good food. 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 ú30 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.

Documentary lifting the lid on what consumers should be aware of when they eat out.

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 Morgan checks out children's menus. Simon Rimmer discovers that fish and chips isn't as British as we think. And we investigate the disappearance of 125ml glasses of wine.

Sophie Morgan explores what's new in the rapidly expanding world of home delivery. She meets Will Shu, CEO of Deliveroo, and discovers that the company that has transformed the delivery sector is now opening takeaway kitchens. What will it mean for consumers and restaurants? Simon Rimmer exposes the surprising hidden sugars in our favourite restaurant meals and the challenges in meeting the government's target for sugar reduction. And with the rise in new single-dish restaurants, Simon searches out the original success story and meets a London pie and mash master whose family has been in business for more than 100 years. What does he think of the new dishes on offer and what advice does he have for creating a long-running business?

Simon Rimmer investigates how important big brand restaurants have become to shopping centres as they compete against online shopping. For one Yorkshire shopping centre catering for under-30s, that means offering a different dining experience every eight weeks. 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. Reporter Seyi Rhodes tests how far we're prepared to go for more authenticity in our global dishes. And how clean is your restaurant? We reveal how some branches of high street chains are failing on hygiene. Should the display of hygiene ratings become mandatory?

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 Morgan tries out the new flat iron steak from the States, which is healthier and cheaper than our usual cuts. And ultra-aged steak, which is aged for up to 200 days, might be a new trend for connoisseurs but Sophie needs some persuading. And she's not alone, as reporter Seyi Rhodes finds out when he takes to the streets with some premium priced 80-day aged steak. In Newcastle, Simon Rimmer meets the former builder who's the only British-born pizzaiolo to be admitted into Italy's exclusive True Neapolitan Pizza Association. And can an expert help Simon create a popular porridge brand?

Simon enters the secretive world of research and development at Starbucks. Adam explores the latest trend in bottled water, but would anyone spend £100 a litre? Plus: cocktails and restaurant apps.

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 crêperie that was overrun when it was rated number one in London. And, 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. Meanwhile, 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 ?ú35 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.

With access to some of the world's biggest brands, Simon Rimmer, Sophie Morgan and Adam Pearson provide insights, investigations and tips, to show you how to improve your dining experience. We Brits now consume around a quarter of our food outside of the home. With many restaurant meals high in calories, the team ask if more could be done to help us cut back.