📘 Part 3: Cooking

This episode's vocabulary

Utensil (noun) - a tool with a particular use, especially in a kitchen or house.

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

To prep (verb) - to prepare something.

Appliance (noun) - a device, machine, or piece of equipment, especially an electrical one that is used in the house, such as a cooker or washing machine.

Expertise (noun) - a high level of knowledge or skill.

Meticulous (adj.) - very careful and with great attention to every detail.

Universal (adj.) - existing everywhere or involving everyone.

Off the top of your head (idiom) - from the knowledge you have in your memory.

Handy (adj.) - useful or convenient.

To have something under your belt (idiom) - to have learned or succeeded in something that might be an advantage in the future.

To impart (verb) - to communicate information to someone.

Varied (adj.) - containing or changing between several different things or types.

Questions and Answers

M: What do we need to prepare when we cook?

R: Oh, I feel like I'm the least qualified person to answer this question. But based on my limited knowledge, I'm sure you need things on hand like ingredients and utensils, probably having access to the recipe is important if you're making something for the first time. I also think you have to prep the appliances like preheating the oven and stuff like that.

M: And do you think this takes a lot of time?

R: I think that will depend on the level of expertise. I mean, if you're really experienced chef, then it won't take that much time at all, you could do it very quickly, but if it's the first time you do it, then you'll probably be more meticulous in your preparation.

M: Do you agree that food is an important part of the festivals in your country?

R: It could be if it's traditional, or a food-based festival since food and culture are strongly linked. However, if it's something like a music festival, I think most people settle for something a bit more universal, like a burger or fries, since the food or the connection to that sort of culture is not the main focus. Although, I've been wrong about that sort of thing before.

M: And are food festivals popular?

R: In my country? I don't know, actually. I haven't seen any recently, and I haven't heard about it on the news. But that's just based on my experience. I don't know any off the top of my head.

M: Should children learn cooking in school?

R: Yeah, if they want to. Knowledge of basic food preparation and hygiene is a handy thing to have under your belt. But out with that I'm not sure they need it as much as specialist knowledge in maths and language. Most people learn to cook at home these days, or they should at least. It's not really the state's main job to impart that sort of knowledge, at least in my opinion.

M: And should boys and girls learn how to cook at school? Or only girls?

R: No, I think it's everybody's responsibility to know how to cook properly. I mean, what if you're single? Who's going to take responsibility, then?

M: Are there any differences between cooking today and in the past?

R: Well, in a globalized world, the range of things we can prepare and the ingredients we use to do it certainly expanded, since more things are available. I imagine that the processes are more varied to since you can get your hands on all kinds of appliances, from juicers to microwave ovens, and it might be largely safer as well, with all the things that, well, all the ways you can keep things clean available to us.

M: Do you think that in the future, more people will cook?

R: Well, if there are more people, then there will be more people cooking. Yes? That's not to do with anything connected to cooking. That's just a population increase.

M: But do you think that more people will choose to cook for themselves in the future?

R: Also a good question. If people have more free time, then perhaps they will choose to do this. It's difficult to say without more information. And I don't know much about cooking.