IELTS Speaking Part 1: Food and cooking questions and answers

Q: What kind of food do you like?

I'm a big fan of spicy food, especially anything with plenty of garlic and chilli. I also love simple home-cooked meals, like a good vegetable curry with rice. I'm not very adventurous with seafood, though. I've never really acquired a taste for it.

Food comes up very often in Part 1. The examiner is listening for precise everyday vocabulary, such as dishes, flavours and ways of cooking, and for clear preferences backed by a reason.

All Part 1 topics

The questions

Answer each one aloud before you read the model — two to four sentences, then stop.

What kind of food do you like?
How often do you cook at home?
Who taught you to cook?
Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?
Is there any food you disliked as a child but enjoy now?
Have eating habits in your country changed in recent years?
Is there a dish you'd like to learn to make?

Model answers

Written to be spoken, at about band 8. Useful phrases are in bold. Borrow the structure and the phrases — never the whole answer.

What kind of food do you like?

I'm a big fan of spicy food, especially anything with plenty of garlic and chilli. I also love simple home-cooked meals, like a good vegetable curry with rice. I'm not very adventurous with seafood, though. I've never really acquired a taste for it.

How often do you cook at home?

Most evenings, actually. It's cheaper and healthier than getting takeaways all the time. I'm not a brilliant cook, but I've got a handful of dishes I can make without a recipe, and I usually batch-cook on Sundays so I've got lunches sorted for the week.

Who taught you to cook?

Mostly my mum. When I was a teenager, she insisted I help out in the kitchen at weekends, which felt like a bit of a chore at the time. Looking back, I'm really glad she did, because I left home knowing how to make a few decent meals.

Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?

Eating at home, on the whole. Restaurants are great for special occasions, but they're expensive and the portions are often too big. At home I know exactly what's gone into the food, and I can make it just the way I like it.

Is there any food you disliked as a child but enjoy now?

Yes, mushrooms. I used to pick them out of everything because I couldn't stand the texture. Somewhere in my late teens my taste changed, and now I actually go out of my way to add them to pasta and stir-fries.

Have eating habits in your country changed in recent years?

I think so. People are much busier than they used to be, so ready meals and food delivery have become really popular, especially in the cities. At the same time, there's a growing interest in healthy eating, so it's a bit of a mixed picture.

Is there a dish you'd like to learn to make?

I'd love to learn how to bake proper bread. I've tried a couple of times, but it came out flat and heavy. It seems to take a lot of patience and practice, so maybe I'll do a short cookery class when I've got more free time.

Useful vocabulary for food and cooking

a big fan of: An informal way of saying you really like something.
acquired a taste for: Learned to like something, often a food, that you didn't enjoy at first.
home-cooked meals: Food prepared at home rather than bought ready-made.
batch-cook: To cook a large amount at once and store portions to eat later.
looking back: Thinking now about something in the past, often with a new view of it.
go out of my way: To make a special effort to do something.
ready meals: Pre-prepared dishes bought from a shop that only need heating.

Now answer them with the clock running.

Timed Part 1 practice with an AI band for each criterion.

Practise Part 1

The questions

Answer each one aloud before you read the model — two to four sentences, then stop.

What kind of food do you like?

How often do you cook at home?

Who taught you to cook?

Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?

Is there any food you disliked as a child but enjoy now?

Have eating habits in your country changed in recent years?

Is there a dish you'd like to learn to make?

Model answers

Written to be spoken, at about band 8. Useful phrases are in bold. Borrow the structure and the phrases — never the whole answer.

What kind of food do you like?

How often do you cook at home?

Who taught you to cook?

Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?

Is there any food you disliked as a child but enjoy now?

Have eating habits in your country changed in recent years?

Is there a dish you'd like to learn to make?

Useful vocabulary for food and cooking

a big fan of

An informal way of saying you really like something.

acquired a taste for

Learned to like something, often a food, that you didn't enjoy at first.

home-cooked meals

Food prepared at home rather than bought ready-made.

batch-cook

To cook a large amount at once and store portions to eat later.

looking back

Thinking now about something in the past, often with a new view of it.

go out of my way

To make a special effort to do something.

ready meals

Pre-prepared dishes bought from a shop that only need heating.