Part two: describing food

It isn’t common to be asked to describe a meal for IELTS, but it is worth preparing some impressive vocabulary to describe one meal just in case. Below are some examples of part two questions about food.

1. Describe a dish you can cook.
You should say:
                  What the ingredients are
                  How it is cooked
                  What it is usually eaten with
And say whether you think this is an easy dish to cook or not, and why.

2. Describe a typical dish from your country.
You should say:
                  What it looks like
                  What it tastes like
                  When people usually eat it
And say if you like it or not and why.

3. Describe something you often eat.
You should say:
                  What it looks and tastes like
                  When you usually eat it
                  What you usually eat it with
And say if you think it is healthy to often eat that thing and why.

4. Describe a food you really like.
You should say:
                  Why you like it
                  If most people you know also like it
                  How you prefer to eat it
And say if you have always liked this food or not

Part two: describing food

Brainstorm:

Notes:

< Sample answer >

Well… I’ve chosen to talk about Kimchi stew, or 김치찌개 in Korean, which is a meal I can cook.

OK… so for the stock, you need dried anchovies, dried kelp (or 다시마 in Korean), and maybe shiitake mushrooms and onions… And for the main stew, you need kimchi, red chili powder (or 고춧가루), some courgettes, and spring onions…

First, you boil the anchovies, kelp, mushrooms and onions together in a pot, boil them, and then simmer them for a little while… That’s the stock… Meanwhile, fry some of the kimchi, then add the stock, the red chili powder, the chopped courgettes and the spring onions… And it’s done!

Erm, like most Korean dishes, it’s eaten with side dishes like radishes… Kimchi stew has a bit of a kick to it and it’s quite salty, so the side dishes balance out the flavours more… And we also usually eat it with rice…

It’s not difficult to cook…it’s fairly straightforward and not too complicated… It just requires a lot of time and patience, especially when you’re making the stock…

That’s everything, I think.

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