📙 Part 2: Describe a person you know who likes to cook for others

You should say: who this person is, what he/she likes to cook, how this person learned to cook and explain why this person likes to cook for others.

This episode's vocabulary

To stand out (phrasal verb) - to be very noticeable.

Front (noun) - a particular area of activity.

The best/better part of (idiom) - most of.

Cuisine (noun) - a style of cooking.

To pick up (phrasal verb) - to learn a new skill or language by practising it rather than being taught it.

To put someone out (phrasal verb) - to cause trouble or extra work for someone.

To go to great/such lengths (idiom) - to try very hard to achieve something.

Questions and Answers

R: Well, to be honest, I feel like everyone I know but me, likes to cook for other people. All of my friends are really good at this. However, one in particular who stands out in my mind is John. We used to work together a few years ago. And even though he lives in a completely different country now, he still tells me about all the things he's been getting up to, especially on the cooking front. Having known each other for the better part of 10 years, I think I can safely say he can make just about anything. But he's particularly good at Indian cuisine. So he makes a lot of things like curries using different types of spices he's picked up from all around the world. When we worked in the same town or when I came to visit, he would always cook something like that. And it was amazing each and every time. So I always used to look forward to it. When it comes to how he knows how to do all of this, I honestly have no idea. I never thought to ask him and I guess I'll need to bring it up now the next time we see each other. If I were to guess, though, just to guess, I suppose he picked it up from an early age. Since he's close with his parents and I think they cooked together at home all the time. On top of that, he's also been all over the world and takes a great interest in learning about different cultures. So I suppose food preparation and presentation is really a natural part of this. As for why he goes through all of this for other people, well, it's not like he gets nothing out of it. And since he's so skilled, I doubt it puts him out much. He likes to eat, so it's a great excuse to work in the kitchen. Or at least it's a great excuse to get to work in the kitchen. He's also a very good friend. So I suppose this is a natural part of that. Even if John never went to such lengths to please people, I'd still be happy to hang out with him. He's a great guy. And he knows a lot. Just in this case, we're going to talk about or we have been talking about his cooking skills.

Discussion

M: Hey, what a nice story! Cooking. Yum, yum. Dear listener, do you have this person? If not, you can steal Rory's idea and say that John is your friend. Okay? Maybe your grandmother or your grandfather enjoys cooking for others. Maybe your parents. Maybe your friends. Okay? You can just like, you can talk about John. And John is British and he's been living in Italy. Right? For quite a while.

R: I think so. Yeah.

M: Yeah. And living in Italy and cooking. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. I'm hungry. Dear listener, are you hungry?

R: Already wanting pizza or pasta.

M: Pizza, pasta. Both! Pizza and pasta.

R: At the same time? Wow.

M: Well, you first eat pizza and then you eat pasta. And then gelato and cappuccino. Okay, goodbye!

R: In this order.

M: A very good start. I feel like everyone I know but me, likes to cook. Everyone but me means that everyone, but not me. But my friends are really good at cooking, at doing this. One friend in particular, who stands out in my mind is John. So one person who stands out in my mind, who like really... Oh, I don't know, like you remember this person, okay? They are special.

R: So if something stands out, it's like the first person you think of for a very special reason. John is very good at cooking.

M: I've known him for 10 years. Or you can use a very interesting construction. Having known each other for 10 years, I can say that he can make a good dish.

R: Yeah.

M: Having known each other for 10 years, I can say for sure that he is very good at cooking. Okay? So this is like a participle clause, dear listener. This shows your range of grammar structures. So having known each other for quite a while, having known each other for a long time, I can say safely that John is very good at cooking. He's particularly good at Indian cuisine, or food, Indian food, Indian cuisine, Italian cuisine, or Italian food. Yum, yum, yum. So he's like particularly good at Indian cuisine. He makes lots of curries using different spices. Okay? He's taken spices from all over the world, or he's picked up spices from all over the world. He's picked up, he took them. And then we can use would. When you speak about the past, when we worked together in the same town, John would always cook for me. So he cooked for me regularly in the past. Here, you can use would. Rory, could you read out the whole sentence? So we see how it's pronounced.

R: So when we worked in the same town, or I came to visit, he would always cook something like that.

M: Then we need to speak about how this person learnt to cook. And here Rory doesn't know. And it's okay. Like you don't know. Okay. When it comes to how he knows how to cook, I honestly have no idea. That's absolutely okay to say I honestly have no idea. I don't know. I've never thought to ask him. Like I've never asked him. Okay? Well, I'll need to ask him now. I'll need to bring it up. So bring this topic up. I'll need to talk about it with him. I'll need to bring it up next time I see him. But then, dear listener, you do answer this question. If I were to guess, however, I suppose he learned it from his parents, or he picked it up from his parents.

R: And if you pick it up, it just means that you learn it as you do something.

M: He is close with his parents. So he gets along with his parents, he is close with them.

R: Yeah, a close relationship.

M: So he kind of learned it from his parents. Ooh, that's the best. The best recipe, dear listener.

R: The best recipe for learning?

M: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the best recipe for cooking is your grandma's recipe. And on top of that, like also, we don't say moreover, we don't say additionally, because these are too formal. So on top of that, he's been all over the world and takes a great interest in learning. So he learns from the world. So on top of that, dear listener, please don't use formal words in your speaking. Not additionally, furthermore, moreover. They are a bit formal. As for why he goes through all of this, for other people. So he goes through all of this for other people. Why?

R: He makes this effort.

M: He makes all this effort to cook for other people. He gets something out of it. Okay? So he gets some pleasure out of it. And you can say, well, it's, it's not like he gets nothing out of it. He still gets something out of it. He's very skilled. So he's very good at cooking. He has cooking skills. He's very skilled.

R: So I doubt it puts him out much. And if you're put out by something, it means it costs you a lot in terms of resources or time. But here because he's so skilled, it doesn't do these things. It's easy for him.

M: Ooh, Rory, you don't know much about cooking, a good curry takes time and takes effort. Buying the right ingredients, like cooking, timing, you know? That's a lot of effort like you have no idea of. Okay? So your John is like a saint. Is just like, wow, we should be super grateful, Rory. You have no idea how kind of, how much effort he's put in it. But maybe, actually, British cooking is a kind of... cooking.

R: It is a great effort for me, but not for most people, I should say.

M: He likes to eat. Okay? And that's why he cooks for others.

R: Well, it's one of the reasons why. It's not the only reason because he's also a very good friend. So that's a natural part of being a good friend.

M: Yes, a natural part of being a good friend is to cook for others. So you can also say that John goes to great lengths to please other people. So to go to great lengths to do something, what does it mean?

R: Well, if you go to great lengths, it just means you put in a lot of effort.

M: Yeah. And it's an idiom. To go to great lengths. Like length, how long something is. Lengths. To go to great lengths.

R: I've never thought about it that way before. But it is an idiom, isn't it?

M: Yeah, it is an idiom, to try very hard to achieve something. In this context, like a person enjoys cooking for others, so he makes an effort. So he might want to go to great lengths to make his food very good. Or may not go. So he doesn't go to great lengths to please everybody. Or he enjoys going to great lengths to please everyone. For example, like some people go to great lengths to make their homes attractive. Rory, could you use another example with this idiom?

R: Oh, some people go to great lengths to make people happy.

M: So even if John didn't cook for me, I'd still be very happy to hang out with him. He's a great guy. Hey! Sweet! Dear listener, you can also research some names for food and names for special dishes and show off your food vocabulary. Okay? Just two or three specific names for dishes and specific names for food to impress the examiner with your food vocabulary. Like my friend always cooks for others. And he cooks lasagna, bolognese, and ravioli with mushrooms and truffle, under truffle sauce. Something, you know, interesting. Okay?

R: Italian cuisine.

M: Well, yeah, it's not enough, Rory.

R: Well, yes, but that's what it is. And then you give the specific ones.

M: You know what I mean, yeah?

R: No, I have no idea because I can't cook.

M: Yeah, you use the freaking, microwave cooks for your, Rory! Microwave! Right, dear listener, thank you very much for listening and we'll get back to you in our next episode!

R: Bye!

M: Bye!

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