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Culinary Treats

Warm-up | Eating Out

  • Take a quick glance at the menu? What would you probably choose for each course? Would you go to a restaurant like this?
  • How important are these elements when choosing where to eat out?
    • The quality of the cuisine and ingredients
    • A friendly service and wait times
    • The atmosphere and type of clientele
    • The price and value for money
    • Menu variety and dietary options
    • Cleanliness and hygiene standards
    • Reputation and online reviews
    • The occasion
  • The French are going crazy online reacting to the opening of new fast-food, halal and kebab wrap restaurants. Are they food-snobs?

Warm-up | Categorise the Menu

  • Ways of preparing food


     
  • Vegetables


     
  • Fruit and nuts


     
  • Sauces and Dressings


     
  • Fish and Seafood

Warm-up | Opinion

Which opinions represent why you don't eat out more often?

 

  • Portion sizes are often massive and too heavy, I prefer to control what I consume at home.
  • Waiting for service is tedious, and I'm hungry. I'd prefer to make something quick and relax at home.
  • I have diet restrictions, and most restaurants just don't take that seriously.
  • Spaces are too loud, meaning you can't hear each other, or they're completely the opposite and your neighbours can listen into your conversations. Is it too much to ask to have an environment where you can both hear and have some privacy?
  • I'm sorry but I don't trust the hygiene standards.
  • The food is way too pricey and my wallet's on a diet.
  • The food is often sub-par, as is the service.
  • Frankly, I've got a cat to feed, and finding a baby-sitter is a headache, too.

REVIEW

Have you eaten any food recently prepared in this way?
What was it? Did you make it? How?

Which utensils might you use to make...?

an omelette,  spaghetti, fancy noodles, biscuits.

Any other utensils you use regularly?

REVIEW

REVIEW

Listening | How to eat out | Book Extracts

  • How to get the best out of restaurant meals:
     
    1. Always order the _____.
       
    2. Never eat the _____.
       
    3. Have the vegetarian option, but not in a _____.
       
    4. Never sit at a table _____.
       
    5. Insist on _____ water.
       
    6. _____ -- and get a result.
       
    7. Be nice to the _____.

Listening | How to eat out | Book Extracts

  • It’s often _____ to prepare and very smelly to cook.
     
  • So, whenever we meet for dinner, she is utterly starving and _____ up the entire bread basket and three pats of butter without pausing for breath.
     
  • But in an expensive place with a TV chef and a whole range of exciting things to _____ on for the next couple of hours...
     
  • ...personally I would much rather restaurants focused on doing one or two things brilliantly than offered a whole load of _____ that was just about OK.
     
  • ‘I’m awfully sorry to make a _____,’ you might say, ‘but this fish really isn’t as fresh as I’d hoped.’

Listening | How to eat out | Book Extracts

  • Why does he mention the following?

Reaction | How to eat out | Book Extracts

  • Do you agree with Giles Coren's tips? Are there any other tips that you could give visitors to your country that would help them to get the most out of local food and restaurants?
  • Where would you recommend eating out...?
    • for a weekday lunch
    • to celebrate a friend's birthday
    • with a wealthy relative
  • Think of a good meal out you've had. Where was it? Who were you with? Can you remember what you had to eat and drink?
  • Have you ever had a disastrous meal out? Why was it so awful?
  • In general, do you think that eating out is good value in your city / country? Why (not)?

Vocabulary | Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

Pre-Reading | Comfort Food

What is comfort food?

Reaction | Comfort Food

  • Are any of the comfort foods mentioned equally comforting for you?
    • What go-to comfort food to get through the week?'
    • Does the food remind you of anything sweet or sentimental?
    • Does it make really you feel better, or do you feel guilty for eating it with no solution to your problems?
    • Is comfort eating really something we should take so light-heartedly?
  • How often can someone treat themselves before it stops being a treat and starts being an over-indulgent lifestyle?
  • Are you one of those people who will ear comfort food in secret?
    • Do you know anyone who is in denial about their shocking eating habits?

Vocabulary | Informal and Vague Language

Reading | Bug Burger?

  • Are you actually interested in where your food is produced and that it be produced in your country? If so, why?
  • Are there any foods that you might refuse to eat, but which you know are commonly consumed in other countries?
  • People who cannot afford viable and ethical alternatives to animal meat -- like plant-based protein or insect consumption -- should simply not eat meat, so that their choices do not contribute to the destruction of the planet. Do you agree?
  • Should wealthier countries consume less food (or fewer luxury foods) to ensure equitable distribution of resources globally?
  • Can you imagine a future where insects would be eaten as commonly as pizzas, kebabs or crisps?

or whatever, a bit, the whole lot, I was like, I'm pretty sure, or so years, He went "what was that?", They're always going "I don't like this!", out there, something like 4,500

Reading | Bug Burger?

Reading | Bug Burger?

  • Has the article convinced you? Have you ever / would you  like to try it?

Speaking Part 4 practice | Extended Discussion

  • Answer the questions fully, then allow your partner to interject and debate / agree.
    • How important do you think it is for people to be well-informed about the nutritional value of the food they eat? Why?
    • Do you think food labelling in your country is sufficient?
    • How useful do you think public health campaigns about healthy eating are? Why?
    • Do you think local governments should have a say in banning unhealthy food from schools? Why or why not?
    • How much influence should parents have over their children’s diet choices? Why?
    • Do you agree it’s sometimes hard to ignore unhealthy food options even when people know they aren’t good for them? Why or why not?
    • What qualities make a person good at persuading others to adopt their opinion, do you think?