Food gives candidates from Uzbekistan a great opportunity: describing national dishes. To get beyond "plov" and "tasty", though, you need words for taste, cooking and habits.
What the examiner asks on this topic
What is your favourite food?
Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?
Can you cook?
Is there any food you didn't like as a child but like now?
What do people in your country usually eat for breakfast?
Has the way people eat in your country changed?
Model answers (aimed at band 7+)
What is your favourite food?
It has to be plov, especially the way my grandmother makes it, with lots of carrots and slow-cooked lamb. It's rich and filling, and for me it's also connected to family gatherings, which makes it taste even better.
Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?
Mostly at home, because it's healthier and much cheaper. That said, I do enjoy eating out with friends now and then, mainly to try cuisines we don't cook at home, like Korean or Italian.
What do people in your country usually eat for breakfast?
A typical breakfast is quite simple: fresh bread, cheese, eggs, maybe some butter and jam, and always a lot of tea. On weekends some families have something heavier, like samsa from a local bakery.
Has the way people eat in your country changed?
Quite a lot, I think. Fast food and delivery apps have become really popular among young people in the cities, whereas my parents' generation almost never ate takeaway food when they were growing up.
Useful words and phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| rich and filling | rich and filling |
| slow-cooked | slow-cooked |
| eat out | eat out |
| now and then | now and then |
| a cuisine | a cuisine |
| takeaway food | takeaway food |
| delivery apps | delivery apps |
| whereas | whereas |
How to answer
- Explain a national dish in one sentence: "plov, a rice dish cooked with meat and carrots".
- Instead of "tasty": "delicious", "rich", "spicy", "light", "filling".
- For comparisons, "whereas" and "compared to" are very useful.
- Use "usually" and "tend to" for habits and the present perfect for change.
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Everything about Part 1: the Part 1 guide. More topics: all articles.
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