📙 Part 2: Describe someone you know who loves cooking

You should say: who this person is, how you know him or her, what kinds of food he/she cooks and explain why you think this person loves cooking.

This episode's vocabulary

Cook (noun) - someone who prepares and cooks food.

To potter (verb) - to move around without hurrying, and in a relaxed and pleasant way.

Recipe (noun) - a set of instructions telling you how to prepare and cook food, including a list of what food is needed for this.

Pastry (noun) - a food made from a mixture of flour, fat, and water, rolled flat and either wrapped around or put over or under other foods, and then baked.

Beef Wellington (noun) - a dish of beef (= meat from a cow) cooked in pastry.

To prompt someone to do something (verb) - to make someone decide to say or do something.

Latterly (adverb) - recently.

By the book (idiom - exactly as the rules tell you.

Up/down your alley (idiom) - to be the type of thing that you are interested in or that you enjoy doing.

Domestic (adj.) - belonging or relating to the home, house, or family.

Orderliness (noun) - the quality of being well-arranged or organized.

Questions and Answers

M Rory, tell us your story.

R: Well, my brother has always been a good cook. Ever since he was a child he's always liked pottering about in the kitchen and experimenting with different recipes and combinations. I think he even entered a few competitions when he was younger now I think about it. I suppose saying he's my younger brother answers the part about how I know him pretty effectively. He's only a few years younger than me. So we grew up together. When it comes to the kinds of things he cooks up, I honestly struggle to remember them all. I think he's tried out just about everything you might care to name over the years. However, I think he was particularly good at baking. So things like cakes and berries pastries would be a regular feature at dinner. And at least when we were younger, not so much now. Another thing that stands out in my mind is when he used to cook beef Wellington on the regular. I have no idea what prompted him to do that, since it's usually an English dish, but he was pretty good at it. And then latterly he became vegan. So there were lots of different vegan dishes, including a vegan Beef Wellington. Although I've still no idea how that works, but it seemed to be quite nice. As for the why behind his being so into it, I honestly don't know for sure. Hammy is a pretty by the book kind of guy. So I suppose just taking things from recipe books, making them and achieving some kind of result might be right up his alley. And with recipe books, it's a very straightforward process. Another reason why it might be that he takes up after mum in terms of domestic chores, so that would include cooking, and as in terms of orderliness, so that might explain it. Otherwise, I think most people like to cook things and get a sense of achievement from being able to provide for people this way. So that could be a more generally applicable thing. Regardless, honestly, I'm so glad it's his thing, because if it wasn't, then I'd have had nobody to talk about, and that wouldn't have been very good, would it?

M: And what about your friends? Do they agree?

R: I don't think they know about it, frankly.

Discussion

M: Hey! What a story! So is it true that your brother is a good cook?

R: Yes. Very true, actually. I was surprised because when I heard that... Or when I saw this subject, I was like, oh, God, thank God, I just somebody who is like this, but also I felt sorry for people who don't know anyone who's like this.

M: Yeah, so you can imagine that your mom is a good cook, a good cook, a person who is good at cooking. And also like who loves cooking. So I may be good at cooking, but I may not like it. Is it possible? Nah. Like you love cooking and you're good at cooking. It happens together. So dear listener, a person who loves cooking. And you can say like, okay, my mother or my brother, you can imagine that you have a brother. Or if your brother or sister doesn't enjoy cooking, you can imagine a friend, yeah. My best friend Rory or my best friend Maria.

R: Well, don't talk about me and cooking. I can't cook.

M: Oh yeah, we remember your stories. Rory and the microwave. Rory, eggs and microwave. Yes, dear listener, if you didn't know, our Rory, from Scotland, cooks eggs in a microwave.

R: I don't cook eggs at all anymore. I've been discouraged from doing anything with them now.

M: Oh, thank you. Thank you, everybody. Dear listeners. When people found out that Rory makes eggs in a microwave, people started writing to Rory and telling him that no, Rory, it's just you don't do this.

R: There were some voices of support, but most people were not terribly impressed. Now I just cook steak. I hope everyone's happy with that at least.

M: Yeah, absolutely happy. Yeah. I enjoy cooking, dear listener. I love cooking. Yeah? I don't do it every day and every week but I enjoy it.

R: Talk about Maria.

M: Yeah. I have a friend Maria, who has always been a good cook, or who has always enjoyed cooking. Ever since he was a child, Past Simple. Ever since Maria was a child, she has always liked cooking, okay? Past Simple, ever since she or he was a child and then she or he has always liked or has always enjoyed cooking. And you said pottering about in the kitchen.

R: Yeah, but that just means messing around in the kitchen. It's an idiomatic expression. There we go. Idiomatic expression for just doing different things. Maybe experimenting in the kitchen.

M: Yeah, messing around, or pottering about in the kitchen, experimenting with different recipes. Usually, you follow a recipe when you cook, you know, like instructions. Or combinations. Combinations of different food products. Rory's brother even entered a few competitions, cooking competitions when he was younger.

R: Yeah. It was amazing. He won some of those as well, I think.

M: Wow. He's my younger brother. Or you can say she's my elder sister. Maria is my eldest sister.

R: Yeah, that was a difficult one. Because of course, once you say it's your brother, and then you have this part to say about how you know them. It's like, well, clearly I know them from being in my family. Must I explain this to people?

M: Like my mother enjoys cooking. How do you know her? Well...

R: Well, it's an interesting story, actually.

M: So we grew up together, my brother and me, or if you talk about somebody from your family, you can say like, obviously, well, she's my mother, so you don't have to talk about how you know this person.

R: Although you could say something like we grew up together. I think that's a pretty neutral expression that can be applied to most things.

M: Yeah. And some details like, he's my younger brother, he's five years younger than me. Or here's my elder brother. He's two years older than me. When it comes to what the things he cooks up. Cooks up, not just cooks, but cooks up.

R: It's a pun and a phrasal verb.

M: So when it comes to food, he... Or when it comes to what things he cooks up, or he cooks, I struggle to remember. So it's difficult for me to remember what exactly he cooks.

R: It is. It happens so often that I don't really remember very well.

M: He has tried out just about everything. So he enjoys cooking, he has tried cooking different dishes, he has tried out just about everything. Try out. Again a phrasal verb, which is nice and natural and band nine. So she has tried out just about everything. Or you can say like I struggle to name certain dishes. I struggle to remember what he cooks. Just about everything.

R: Just about everything. Just everything.

M: He was particularly good at baking. Or he was particularly good at making pies. At baking. Baking, you mean he baked bread?

R: No, it was like cakes and stuff. It was the baking, I don't know, baking desserts. Is that what you would call them? Pastries?

M: Yeah, pastries, desserts, cakes. Also, we can bake bread. Make bread. So he was particularly good at making this lasagna or pasta. Yum, yum, yum. So different cakes, pastries. So when we were younger pastries were a regular feature at dinner. So he often made pastries. Well, he often made bread. So fresh bread was a regular feature at dinner. At dinner, dear listener, okay? So we had it for dinner or it was a regular feature, it was a regular dish at dinner. Another thing that stands out in my mind, so if you remember something very well. So something that stands out in my mind, he used to cook Beef Wellington. And here Rory names app specific dish. Or you can say, okay, he used to cook but not anymore, in the past when we were younger.

R: Of course, it definitely would be used to because he's vegan now. So it would be a bit, well, interesting if a vegan person was to cook a beef dish, you know?

M: Wow. So vegan, not even a vegetarian. But vegan?

R: Yeah. I think he still is. I'm not sure. Maybe it's changed towards a vegetarian now.

M: So it's an English dish. And he was pretty good at it. As for the why behind his being so into it. A nice introductory phrase. So it's like as for the reason of why he enjoyed it, or he's into it, he's into cooking. So as for the reason why he is into cooking or as for the why behind he's being so into it. Oh, are you okay, dear listener? Yeah? Just the structure. The why behind he's being.

R: The why behind. The reason behind. The reason why. He's being so into it it's just like saying the concept of being interested in something that belongs to him.

M: I honestly don't know for sure. Yeah, like we don't know the reason why he is so into it. Why he enjoys cooking so much.

R: But we can guess.

M: Hammy? That's his name?

R: It's his... Well, it's his nickname. His full name is Hamish.

M: Ooh, Hamish. Wow. Rory's brother is pretty by the book. Yeah?

R: I think so. Compared to me, but that's not saying a great deal. Most people are pretty by the book compared to me.

M: So by the book meaning like he's really pretty, he's really handsome.

R: No, no. Pretty by the book means that he's, he's focused on doing things in a logical step-by-step manner.

M: Ah, so he's not like pretty like beautiful. But he's a pretty by the book kind of guy. So by the book? He follows the book. He follows a recipe. So he's very structured, right?

R: Yeah.

M: Rory, are you a pretty by the book kind of guy?

R: I used to be much more by the book than I am now, but now I'm not so by the book. I live life on the edge, live dangerously.

M: So you see, he is by the book, or I'm not by the book. Can you use it with a verb? Like I do something by the book, I live my life by the book.

R: It could be. But that just means that you live your life in a pretty orderly manner and you stick to the rules.

M: Taking things from recipe books. So he takes things from recipe books, or from cookery books, dear listener, and he achieves some kind of result, which is right up his alley, which is an idiom, it's right up his alley.

R: It just means he's very interested in it, or it would cater to his interest.

M: Can I say cooking is right up his alley?

R: Yeah. Because, well, it's something that he would be interested in.

M: Maybe he takes after mother. So if I take after my mother or my father, I do things that my mother or father enjoy, okay? Rory's brother takes after his mom, I take after my father. In terms of domestic chores. Domestic chores? Housework. So he takes after his mother, because his mother enjoys cooking, so he enjoys cooking. And then Rory adds that most people like to cook because of this sense of achievement. Right? So you cook something, you achieve something you feel this sense of achievement, from being able to provide for.

R: Well, being able to provide for people.

M: Yeah, provide for people. Like if we provide for people, what do we do? Like we give them food.

R: We give them food and whatever they need to learn.

M: And then we finish off with the second conditional. No, mixed conditional, dear listener.

R: Is it a mixed conditional? My God. Amazing.

M: Oh, boy, yeah, band nine. If it wasn't, then.

R: Then I'd have had nobody to talk about.

M: So... Oh, why it's a mix conditional?

R: Why is it a mix conditional? You're the expert.

M: So it's his thing. So my brother enjoys cooking. It's his thing. It's his kind of thing. His cup of tea. It's right up his alley. So it's his thing. And we imagine if it wasn't his thing, because it is his thing now. So if it wasn't, but it is, in the past I would have had nobody to talk about. Jesus. Dear listener, how are you doing?

R: I've melted Maria's brain. Oh, and I ended with a question tag.

M: Oh, my God. Dear listener, if it's difficult for you, forget about it. And just don't use any conditionals here. But if you're super advanced, go ahead. Here I can use just third conditional. So if my brother hadn't been into cooking, I would have had nobody to talk about. Okay? Easy. The third conditional. Why, Rory, why are you making things so complicated?

R: In order to achieve a band 9 score, Maria, it must happen.

M: Educated native speaker. Thank you for listening! And we'll come back to you in speaking part three about cooking. Yum, yum, yum.

R: Bye-bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi