IELTS Speaking Part 3 Cooking
Young people and cooking
What kinds of things can children learn to cook?
I think it’s important for children to learn to cook simple recipes first. I think eggs would be an excellent food for them to start with. Children can easily learn how to crack an egg, boil an egg and make simple dishes like omelets and scrambled eggs. Cooking eggs also teaches children about the principles of timing in cooking, for instance how to properly heat a pan so the food won’t stick and how eggs react to cold pans and hot pans. Younger children, maybe at the age of 4 or 5, could start by learning to make a salad. That way they could learn some basic cooking skills such as how to hold a knife properly and how to chop ingredients.
Do you think it’s important for children to learn to cook?
Yeas, I think children should learn to cook because cooking benefits them in many ways. First, cooking reinforces math skills by getting kids to apply various math concepts like fractions, ratios, proportions, multiplication, division, measuring and estimating. Another benefit of cooking is that it helps kids appreciate their parents. Preparing a healthy and tasty meal takes a lot of time and effort; so, being involved in the process of preparing a meal will help kids to value their parents’ effort and feel grateful for the food they eat.
Do you think young children should learn to cook at home or at school?
I think both places have their own advantages. Cooking at school is fun because kids can work with their classmates to prepare a dish and they can learn from each other. In addition, learning to cook at school gives kids the chance to learn from professional instructors and be exposed to a wider range of kitchen equipment. But cooking at home with the guidance of parents also has many benefits. It helps strengthen the bond between parents and children and it helps kids value the importance of eating together and spending quality time with each other.
Working as a chef
How enjoyable do you think it would be to work as a professional chef?
I think every job has its own rewards and sacrifices. Being a professional chef is no exception. I think it’s probably a fun job that allows you to use your creativity to invent new dishes, experiment with different types of ingredients and different ways to garnish your dishes. If you’re a creative person and you love cooking, I imagine being a professional chef would be very fun. But it also has its own hardships and challenges. Reaching a professional level takes years of learning, training, failing and trying again and again. But I always think that if we work hard enough and are persistent, we can do anything.
What skills does a person need to be a great chef?
I think organization is the first skill that any professional chef needs to have. In order for the kitchen to run smoothly, a chef needs to know what to do when there’s a shortage of employees during busy times or how to delegate tasks. Creativity is another important characteristic of a great chef. A great chef is the one who never stops experimenting with different flavors, tastes and smells to create new dishes. And creativity is extremely important when certain ingredients are missing or when customers require a dish that is not on the menu.
How much influence do celebrity/TV chefs have on what ordinary people cook?
They a have big influence because ordinary people look up to their favorite chef when it comes to choices of ingredients and cooking equipment. For example, my parents switched from canola oil to olive oil after watching their favorite chef explaining that canola oil may contain trans fats which can be very harmful, even in small amounts. Last month they bought a new ceramic pan after hearing a chef on YouTube say that pans made from ceramics are great for cooking delicate ingredients that can burn or dry out easily.
Useful vocabulary
| recipe /ˈresəpi/ (n): a set of instructions that tells you how to cook something and the ingredients (= items of food) you need for it Ex. You need to follow the recipe carefully. |
| omelette /ˈɒmlət/ (n): a hot dish of eggs mixed together and fried, often with cheese, meat, vegetables, etc. added Ex. a cheese and mushroom omelette |
| scrambled eggs /ˌskræm.bəld ˈeɡz/ (n): eggs mixed with a little milk and mixed again as they are being fried Ex. scrambled eggs on toast |
| reinforce /ˌriːɪnˈfɔːs/ (v): to make a feeling, an idea, etc. stronger Ex. The experience reinforced my sense of loss. |
| be/get involved in something: to take part in an activity or event, or be connected with it in some way Ex. Landel has been involved with the Hercules project for years. |
| exposed to: someone or something is brought into contact with something else, often with the implication that the contact will cause some kind of change Ex. I want my children to be exposed to a wide variety of cultures and lifestyles. |
| strengthen the bond between A and B: build a stronger relationship Ex. Free school meals strengthen the bond between parents and schools, research suggests. |
| exception /ɪkˈsepʃn/ (n): a person or thing that is not included in a general statement Ex. Most of the buildings in the town are modern, but the church is an exception. |
| garnish /ˈɡɑːnɪʃ/ (v): to decorate a dish of food with a small amount of another food Ex. Garnish the chicken with almonds. |
| persistent /pəˈsɪstənt/ (adj): determined to do something despite difficulties, especially when other people are against you and think that you are being annoying or unreasonable Ex. How do you deal with persistent salesmen who won’t take no for an answer? |
| delegate /ˈdelɪɡət/ (n): to give part of your work, power or authority to somebody in a lower position than you Ex. The job had to be delegated to an assistant. |
| look up to: to admire or respect somebody Ex. I look up to my father for my whole life. |
| trans-fat /ˌtrænz ˈfæt/ (n): a type of fat produced when oils are changed by a chemical process into solids, for example to make margarine. Trans-fatty acids are believed to encourage the harmful development of cholesterol. Ex. foods that are low in trans-fatty acids |
| ceramic /səˈræmɪk/ (adj): made of clay that has been made permanently hard by heat Ex. Our experts agree that buying ceramic cookware from a reputable company is completely safe. |
