A look at how the Food Bytes blog started -- and a farewell from the crew. This is our last post.

The Main Ingredient is one of CBC Radio's new summer programs. It's an inside look on the food we grow, buy and eat. In a Q&A, host Khalil Akhtar took the time to discuss his relationship with food and why a show like The Main Ingredient is important today.

What is The Main Ingredient about?

The Main Ingredient is a show that tells the underknown and surprising stories behind the food you thought you knew. The show is a probing and journalistic look at questions we all have about what we eat. Those questions are often serious and have deep implications... but they can also be trivial. Our food affects and is affected by so much. In the end, food defines us. The Main Ingredient attempts to explain how.

Why do you think this show is important now?

Food programming can be boring. A lot of what we see on cable networks is cooking... or advice. Chefs showing off... etc. We wanted to do a program that looked deeper than 'how to roast a chicken' or 'how to choose olive oil.' In the end, I think CBC Radio listeners deserve a strong, thoughtful food program... something that has been missing.

When Anthony Bourdain visited San Francisco for an episode of No Reservations, he admitted he's a "reverse sushi discriminator." "Guys like me, deep down we believe you gotta be Japanese to make truly excellent sushi," he said.

Like many others, I started the new year with intentions of being healthier, more active and less gluttonous.

The latter is especially difficult for a self-described foodie, but I decided to start 2010 with a naturopathic detox.

The effectiveness of detox "diets" is debated among health professionals. My partner, a doctor, is extremely skeptical of anything that is naturopathic or homeopathic. Critics of detoxification argue that there's no proof these diets do anything beneficial and the body's immune system is sophisticated enough to do its own detoxing.

By Andrea Chiu, CBC Radio Digital

When my parents first moved from Hong Kong to Canada in the late 1970s there were only a few restaurants and cafes offering Chinese food. Still, I grew up with a childhood rich with congee, dim sum and windows of hanging roasted animals -- faces and all.