Cooking and restaurants

Ways of cooking food

• boil: in water, e. g. potatoes or rice• fry: in oil or butter above the heat, e. g.

sausages• grill: under the heat, e. g. toast or meat• roast: in the oven using oil, e. g. meat• bake: in the oven without oil, e. g. cakes (Note: Food which is not cooked is raw.)

How would you like your steak?

• rare (= cooked quickly and red inside)• medium-rare (= cooked longer but still red in

the middle)• medium (= cooked more and pink)• well-done (= cooked longer and not pink)

What does it taste like?

Taste the sauce (= try a bit to see if it´s good)and add salt if necessary.You can really taste the garlic in this.It´s very tasty. (= lots of flavour – a positive

word)

Describing food and drink

• salty: lots of salt• hot/spicy: lots of spices, e. g. curry, chilli• sweet: lots of sugar• bitter: e. g. very strong coffee• sour: e. g. lemons• fresh: recently produced or picked, e. g. fresh

bread, fresh fruit• fattening: food wich makes you put on weight/

Describing food and drink

• fattening: food which makes you put on weight/get fat, e. g. cream, cakes, etc.

• healthy: good for your health/fitness, e. g. salad or fruit

• chilled (= very cold), e. g. white wine is usually chilled

• still: describes water without gas• sparkling is water with gas (also called fizzy

water)

A typical menu

• StartersLeek and potato soupOnion soupGrilled spicy prawnsSpaghetti with courgette and baconWarm goat´s cheese with spinach saladHam omeletteCaviar egg

A typical menu

• Main CoursesPan fried salmon with spinachBreast of chicken in a white wine sauce with

mushroomsRoast fillet of pork with apple sauceGrilled steak in a pepper sauceBoiled beef, mixed vegetables, potatoesGrilled chicken, French fried potatoes

A typical menu

• DessertsChocolate cake with creamFresh fruit salad with creamPancakes with ice-creamChocolate mousseStrawberries with fresh creamApple pieSelection of cheese with home-made bread

Useful words

• mousse (= a light cold food made from eggs mixed with cream: chocolate mousse, salmon mousse)

• pepper – 1. powder (greyish black or creamy coloured powder produced by crushing dry pepper corns, which is used to give a spicy/hot taste to food)

- 2. vegetable that is usually green, red and yellow, has a rounded shape and is hollow with seeds in the middle

Useful words

• paprika – a red powder used as a spice to give a slightly hot flavour to food, expecially in meat dishes

• salt cellar (US usually saltshaker) – a small container with salt

• pepper pot (US pepper shaker) – a small container with several holes in the top that contains pepper

Useful words

• pepper mill – a small device, the top part of which you turn by hand to crush the peppercorns

• vinegar • oil• napkins• toothpicks

Exercises

• Do you often eat the following food in your country? If so, do you eat it in the same way?

raw fish fried rice fried eggs baked potatoes roast beef raw spinach roast peppers boiled eggs grilled cheese baked bananas

Exercises

• Look at the menu and answer these questions:

1. Which starter doesn´t contain vegetables?2. Which dish contains pasta?3. Which main course may be rare or well-

done?4. Which main course is definitely cooked in the

oven?

Exercises

5. Which main course will probably be quite spicy?

6. Which main course contains alcohol?7. Which dessert(s) will be quite sweet?8. If you don´t want to put on weight, which

would probably be the best dish for the main course?

9. What would be your advice to people who don´t want to put on weight?

Exercises

Choose an adjective which could describe these things:

honey …………….bacon ………………… lemon ……………. fillet steak …………. bread ……………. cakes …………………. mineral water ….. coffee ………………..

Exercises

Answer these questions about the food you like, and eating in your country. If possible, answer another person the same questions.

1. Do you eat steak? If so, how do you like it cooked?

2. Do you like hot spicy food?3. In restaurants, do you normally drink still or

sparkling water?

Exercises

4. Do waiters normally leave fresh bread on the table?

5. Do you normally eat a starter, main course and dessert when you eat out?

6. How many of these do you normally find on the table in a café or restaurant in your country?

salt pepper oil vinegar napkins toothpicks