IELTS Speaking Vocabulary about Food

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ielts vocabulary about food and nutirtion

Food is an everyday part of our lives which is why it often comes up as a topic in the IELTS speaking exam. To prepare for such questions you should practice words and phrases related to food. Below we’ve answered the questions for you with lots of great examples of IELTS food vocabulary.

We’ve included some common collocations (highlighted) such as to eat a balanced diet, a slap up meal, and to eat like a horse and explained them in the lexicon at the base of the page. The more you can include in your IELTS speaking exam (in a natural way, of course), the more fluent you will sound.

Examples of IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions

Examiner: What food do you like to eat?

Answer: I am not a fussy eater. As long as you don’t feed me rabbit food I’m easy to please. I love Chinese cuisine and traditional Italian food and I can eat like a horse! My flatmate and I share the cooking chores. Once a week we make a slap-up meal of steak and chips covered in a rich sauce and to satisfy the sweet tooth we finish off with a decadent chocolate pudding.

Examiner: So, do you enjoy cooking?

Answer: I prefer eating to cooking. I make good use of ready meals and I am not averse to junk food or the occasional pub lunch. I realize though that it is necessary to include nutritious food as part of a balanced diet, especially organic food when it’s available rather than processed food, which is why I cook several times a week and always try to eat dinner at a reasonable time.

Examiner: What’s your favourite meal of the day?

Answer: I’m a breakfast fan. It’s the most important meal of the day, after all! I wake up starving hungry after a good night’s sleep. I like nothing better than a good English breakfast of bacon, eggs, and buttery toast, along with a piping hot cup of coffee.

IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card

Tell me about your favourite restaurant

In this question, you should discuss

the restaurant that you like best,

why you like it,

and the occasions when you go there.

Answer: I enjoy fine dining and exotic food. Both are available at my favourite restaurant in the centre of town. On special occasions I take my partner wining and dining. We love the ambience of the candle-lit dinners, and the extensive menu of mouth-watering meals.

The menu includes starters, mains and deserts. Usually by the time we get there I am dying of hunger so we order a starter to calm the hunger pangs. We usually also share a bottle of bubbly. It is after all a celebration. Having finished our starter we take our time, savouring the food.

This is not the type of restaurant where you would ask for a doggy bag, so we waste nothing. We end the evening with a delicious dessert. I do have a sweet tooth, and all the food cooked there is incredible. After finishing the flan and settling the bill, we head off home, satisfied that we have enjoyed a scrumptious meal.

Describe a café you like to visit

You should say

where it is
what kind of food and drink it serves
what you do there
explain why you like to go there

Read and listen to the sample answer here

IELTS speaking part 3 questions

Examiner: Do you believe that the 21st-century diet is a healthy one?

Answer: Far too many people are overweight and need to eat a balanced diet with proper meals instead of a quick snack multiple times a day. I believe that people should cut down on the sugars and refined carbohydrates in processed food and replace them with leafy vegetables and seasonal fruits. A balanced diet with more food cooked at home would help them to regulate their weight. If we avoid eating processed food and eat organic food wherever possible, everyone’s health can improve.

Examiner: Starvation is a problem in many parts of the world. What do you think should be done about it?

Answer: From what I’ve read current global food production can cover the daily consumption needs of the world. We need to find a way to economically transport it to where it is most needed or find alternate food sources. Nobody should starve when there is no shortage of food. It must be possible for everyone to eat a balanced diet – nobody should be dying of hunger in the 21st Century.

Examiner: In homes where both parents work do you think cooking has become just another job at the end of the day?

Answer: I know that food preparation can be time-consuming and more challenging if a child is a fussy eater, but if everyone helps with ideas and recipes and everyone takes a turn and lends a hand, cooking can be fun for the family. Even little children can help prepare a quick snack of fruit or healthy veggies with a dip. Home cooked meals rather than commercially prepared food bought from supermarkets are also often healthier and packed with vitamins. Hopefully, the children will grow up able to prepare a light and quick meal for themselves most evenings rather than just heading for the nearest fast food restaurant.

Vocabulary to talk about cafés

not look like much: the appearance is not very attractive
the first thing that hits you is: the first impression or sensation you have
be after something: want something
home-made: not commercially bought
run something: in charge of or responsible for
happen to pass by: be there by chance
fancy a bite to eat: have the desire to eat something
give them all a miss: to avoid or say “no” to
go for: to make a choice out of preference
come back for more: return and ask for the same again
soak up the atmosphere: enjoy listening to people and looking at your surroundings
feel like a home from home: a place where you feel welcome and comfortable
hurry you up: make you finish quickly and leave
put so much into the place: work very hard to make something successful
find the time to pass the time of day with someone: make time to talk about everyday things

Food vocabulary

A balanced diet – A diet of mostly healthy food that has the right amount of nutrients
A bottle of bubbly – Sparkling wine
A decadent chocolate pudding – Luxurious or self-indulgent chocolate pudding
A doggy bag – The leftovers of a meal in a restaurant taken home
A scrumptious meal – A delicious meal
A slap up meal – an expensive or very indulgent ‘treat’ meal
A sweet tooth – An enjoyment of sweet food
An English breakfast – A large cooked breakfast that includes egg and bacon
Calm the hunger pangs – To reduce the discomfort caused by hunger
Candle lit dinner – A romantic dinner by candlelight
Covered in a rich sauce – Covered in a creamy gravy
Cut down on – To reduce consumption
Daily consumption – The amount that you eat everyday
Dying of hunger – Very hungry
Exotic meals – Meals that originate in other countries
Fine dining – Food catering to expensive tastes in a formal setting
Food preparation – Preparing food
Food production – Producing food
Fussy eater – Someone dislikes many foods
Home-cooked meals – Meals cooked at home
Homemade food – Food made at home
Junk food – Food with little nutritional value
Leafy vegetables – Vegetables such as spinach and cabbage
Mouth-watering meals – Delicious meals
Nutritious food – Food with many nutrients
Quick snack – a small meal that’s easy to eat ‘on the go’.
Packed with vitamins – Full of vitamins
Piping hot cup of coffee – Very hot coffee
Pub lunch – Lunch served in a bar
Rabbit food – Salad vegetables
Ready meals – Heat and eat meals
Refined carbohydrates – Foods such as white rice, white bread
Savouring the food – Enjoying the food
Scrumptious meal – An exceptionally tasty meal
Seasonal fruits – Fruits that grow in season
Starving hungry – Extremely hungry
Wining and dining – Entertainment that includes good food

More IELTS vocabulary tutorials to help you prepare for your IELTS exam:

IELTS Speaking Vocabulary about Food and Nutrition