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The Food Programme · BBC Radio 4

Manx Made

September 12, 2025·43 min·4 clips
Why a bakery on the Isle of Man insists on local flour despite higher costs.
Jager Wise begins at Douglas harbour. The ferry from the UK sets the mood straight away: island food is never just about what is grown nearby. It is also about what comes in by sea. The question is blunt. On an island with its own parliament, policies and a strong independent streak, why is only six percent of bought food produced there? Ten years after the Manx government pledged support for local producers and a more sustainable food system, the programme finds a plan that is still becoming real. The reporting stays close to the makers. Helen's sea salt brings in an older Manx story, when salt helped preserve herring for markets in Russia, Germany and elsewhere. Refrigeration changed that trade, and the fishing industry faded. Now salt has a different job. At Karoo Brewery, it goes into a new collaboration between local producers rather than barrels of fish. Nick measures 47.5 grams for a passion fruit sour salted wheat beer, a tiny detail with just enough theatre. Elizabeth is there too, describing a young business built around craft beer, food trucks, musicians and a broad local gathering place. Community is doing real work in this episode. It is the reason Karoo Brewery can argue there is demand for ambitious beer on the island. Still, the pressure is obvious: rising costs, climate strains and changing shopping habits sit just behind the cheerful clink of the brew day. Manx Made treats local food as a live test, not a heritage poster.

As heard by us

A grounded Isle of Man food story about local production, sea salt, craft beer, and the hard work of eating closer to home.

Manx Made follows Jager Wise to the Isle of Man, where a self-governing island with its own parliament and policies is trying to produce more of what it eats.

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Why you'd press play

Follow the Isle of Man as local food makers test a more self-reliant future.

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