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Cooking Shows

Learn English with this kitchen English lesson

Date: Jul 09 2014

Themes: Celebrity, Food, How To

Grammar: Prepositions

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Who taught you how to cook? Was it your mom or dad? Maybe a grandmother or grandfather? It’s possible that you learned by yourself, but most of us need help learning how to cook. Making an egg or toasting a piece of bread is one thing, but baking a chicken or a cake takes practice.

Even people who know how to cook like to learn new ideas and techniques in the kitchen. Cooking shows have been popular on TV for a long time, starting with the famous Julia Child. Today there are many cooking shows to watch and more recipes than you have time to make. It’s fun to practice cooking, especially if you have friends and family to taste your creations!

Lily and Marni are discussing the popular American TV chef Rachael Ray. Do they both watch her show? Read more to find out in today’s English lesson about cooking shows.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Lily

Marni: Lily, I was looking through my new Rachael Ray cookbook.

Lily: Ew.

Marni: And I was thinking about making some recipes. What, “ew”? What is this “ew”?

Lily: Rachael Ray, she’s so… all of the Food Network hosts are so… they just have these corny catch phrases. And it’s more like a talk show than actually like a cooking show. I don’t know. It doesn’t appeal to me.

Marni: OK. I think that Rachel Ray makes things really accessible. I like that her recipes are quick and easy. She makes me feel confident in the kitchen, so I respect her for that.

Lily: That’s great. I feel like it’s too gimmicky for me.

Marni: She does do some product endorsements, but you know.

Lily: Like that dog food? That random dog food that she has that’s for her dog.

Marni: I appreciate people that make cooking seem accessible to anyone, even if they feel like they’re very incompetent in the kitchen.

Lily: Let’s agree to disagree, I guess.

Marni: All right. But I’m going to make this recipe that she’s got and you’re going to love it.

Lily: OK.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Marni tells Lily that she’s going to make a recipe from Rachael Ray’s cookbook. Lily makes a sound that tells Marni that she’s not interested. But Marni can’t believe it. What’s wrong with Rachael Ray?

Lily doesn’t enjoy cooking shows that aren’t just about cooking. She feels like Rachael Ray’s show is more of a talk show, and Lily doesn’t like that there are product endorsements during the program. She also believes that Rachael Ray uses too many catch phrases. The show is definitely not Lily’s thing.

Marni knows that Lily will like the recipe she’s planning to use, even if Lily doesn’t like Rachael Ray very much!

Do you watch cooking shows? Which one is your favorite? What do you like about the host?

Comments

Raymondkaron

Pakistan

This cooking show is a great one! I was able to learn about the Less Harmful Ways to Cook Using Air Fryers and with these ways, a lot of my kitchen work will be done quite easily. Hats off to this lady for a job well done!

foz12

Saudi Arabia

I do like cooking shows especially masterchef.

Pinkberry

Peru

I love cooking. I surf on the internet looking for cooking shows and new recipes to try at home. However, it’s true that many shows contain corny catch phrases. I suppose it’s a way to create complicity with the viewers to make them feel comfortable. Personally, I don’t like those silly phrases. Nevertheless, after all this time watching cooking shows and reading recipe books, I know there is nothing compared with my mom’s tips.

dogregre

Brazil

I’d like to cook better than I can nowadays. However, I don’t like to watch cooking shows that are broadcasted in my country’s TV. I agree with Lily, the most cooking shows seems to talk shows.

kimnga

Viet Nam

I like to watch cooking show but I am not sure if I can make some food with the result like what they teach on TV. Sometimes I feel that they want show how they are a good cook rather than showing us full tricks of how to make it.

Tarita_Rambler

Antarctica

I agree with Lily. I don’t like such corny jokes and catch phrases that turn cooking shows to talk shows. But not all of cooking shows are like that.

I don’t like cooking but I think it’s necessary to know several recipes.

So I’ve bought a cooking book. The recipes there are quite easy.

P.S. Marni speaks too fast for me :(. I had to read the dialog to understand it…

bravevivian

Ecuador

I used to watch cooking shows on food network. Giada de Laurentiis and Ina Garten were my favorites.

I liked their recipes a lot. They were so professional. Giada prepared italian food that I really like. Ina in the other hand was good for cookies and desserts.

I cooked some of their recipes with good results.

TIDING

Algeria

me too i like aeting more than cooking

but cooking is fun too

LeRain

China

I rarely watch cooking shows, and this is my mom taught me how to cook. Generally, I prefer to eat, because I can enjoy different cuisines.

S&W

China

Recently,I don’t watch cooking shows,Because ,It’s summer right now,I have to keep fit ,I can’t let those TV programs ruin my diet plan.Poor me!!

Like Hazelgirl,I am into cooking shows which the host will travel to autonomous regions where traditional customs are perfectly inherited.They cook food in a original way use local materials .They have speical foods for major festivals ,Foods combined with culture is more attractive

shoodaa

Kuwait

i do not like cooking bit i like eating hahaha. Also, I like watching cooking shows. Cooking is an important thing nowadays because it hepls us to save a money and learn how to cook. please if I have mistekes tell me.

Hazelgirl

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I like watching cooking shows, I follow such programs like an amusing series just for fun, not for learning cooking. Because I’m almost good at cooking and also I have my own style, so except some cases I would never try to do whatever they teach unless it seems very fashionable or creative really. My motivation for watching cooking shows is that I become fascinated by their fast-moving hands while cooking, in fact, I love their professional manner of slicing and chopping the vegetables or things.

My favorite cooking show would be that kind of programs which the host travels to different places of the world and makes a tasty and popular meal show with the highest variety, besides some useful information about the history of cooking there, people’s eating culture, their food traditions and so on; especially a recipe with some new and local ingredients for cooking would be the most wonderful idea as well.

And about the host, yeah, the same as Lily I don’t like so talkative person and I do hate cooking shows for some extra purposes like advertising cooking stuff during the program.

shmily87

China

I love any delicious food, so that i am a totally cooking show lover. Maybe i am not a good cooker, but i am very interested in learning it. Cooking show is the biggest enemy to a lose weight. Because it will make me to lose control for food.

NathalieRT777

United Kingdom

I love cooking shows and they are great for picking up some vocab, but they tend to make me soooo hungry!

Nastya0901

Russian Federation

Cooking shows don’t appeal to me too, though my grandma thinks that they are really great and helps her cooking better.

Michele1

Italy

Also here,in Italy there are many cooking shows, often in the morning for many hours (whoooo !) that the people (I think a lot of women) like to watch on public and private TV.My wife is a great cook ,she learned by her grandmother,but I am not able to cook something…Zero!! Although I am not interested about that kind on trasmissions, I must say that the host is doing his/her job.All of us have the remote control TV and it is so easy to change the channel, if we don’t like that.I suggest to eat only simple and natural things,like pasta,vegetables,a lot of fruits,fish ,tomatoes, frisa (wheat flour baked in the oven) , etc. If you like to watch this video about simple food from my place here (Salento) this is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O2KILmM2h8

take care .Bye Michele