BBC Learning EnglishEntertainmentDescribing Food
Jackie:Hello, I'm Jackie Dalton, welcome to the programme. Today we're going tolook at food and the language used to describe food – whether it's atsomeone's house after you've just had a lovely meal and you want tocompliment them, or if you want to tell someone about a dish that you've
just had and describe what it's like. And the best possible place to do all thisis at London's Good Food Show, which is held every year, and we're goingto wander round and talk to some people here and ask them to describe thekind of food that they're eating.

Now I'm at a food stand belonging to one of Britain's most famous chefs –Gordon Ramsay. Diane, a visitor here, has been eating some of his duck.
She seems to like it. What are some of the words that come up which showthat she likes it?

Diane
My name's Diane and I've been eating a confit of duck, with salad.
And what was it like?
Very tasty, sweet but gamey …it was nice, it was really good. It's a fairly light meal.. very,very tasty, moreish!
And what about the texture – sort of chewy or…?
It was more of a 'melt in the mouth' taste, which I didn't expect.

Jackie:Well, lots of expressions there which show Diane liked her food. They
included simple words like 'nice' and 'good' which are all fine to describe
food that you like. The first one she used was 'very tasty'. 'Tasty'. ThisEntertainment© BBC Learning English
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means it's nice, it tastes good. It's a fairly informal word but a nice way tosay that you enjoyed food.

DianeVery, very tasty, moreish!

Jackie:What was that other word at the end there? Moreish – It's the kind of foodthat makes you want to have more. Moreish is basically the word 'more' withand i-s-h or 'ish' on the end to make it into an adjective.

Diane..moreish
And what about the texture – sort of chewy or…?

Jackie:Next I asked about the duck's texture – not so much what it tastes like, as
what it feels like. Here are some of the expressions you might use todescribe the texture of food.

Voice:

Tough – Chewy - TenderJackie:Let's break those down.

Voice:ToughJackie:

It's usually not a compliment to describe food as tough. If you say 'this meatis quite tough', it means you have to bite quite hard into it – it's not very easy
to crush with your teeth. This is often seen as a bad thing, so if you want tobe nice to someone who has cooked you dinner, don't say the meat is 'tough'.
What about the next word?

Voice:

Chewy

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Jackie:

This also means the food is not very easy to eat. If something is chewy, youhave to spend quite a long time biting it in your mouth before you canswallow. Your teeth often get stuck in it. Chewing gum is the perfect
example of something chewy. But, again, to describe meat as 'chewy' is not
usually a compliment; we tend to think of good meat as being 'tender'.

Voice:TenderJackie:This means it's soft, it's easy to chew. It's a word that we usually use only
when talking about meat, or maybe some kinds of meaty fish, like tuna.
Diane uses an expression which describes something that is really tender.
What is that expression?

Diane…was it sort of chewy or…?
It was more of a 'melt in the mouth' taste, which I didn't expect.

Jackie:'Melt in the mouth' – that means it's so tender, you hardly have to chew it. It
breaks up very easily and smoothly. To say it's the kind of food that melts inyour mouth is a big complement. I think this is the expression the reallyshows how much Diane likes the food.

Jackie:Well, now it's time to check if you've understood the expressions we've
heard. Here are some questions. Number 1. What expression did we hear
which you might use to describe something that you can't stop eating?
(Answer) - I usually find chocolate cake quite 'moreish' – I might have one
slice, but then I just want more and more.

Jackie:Question 2. Your friend bites into a steak and says it's 'tasty'. Does this mean
it's difficult to eat or that she likes it? (Answer)

Voice:

Hmmm that pizza is really tasty.

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Jackie:

Question 3. What word, also beginning with 't', describes something that isdifficult to bite into? (Answer).

Voice:

I'm not eating any more of that meat, it's too tough.

Jackie:Question 4. And what expression did Diane use to mean that something is sotender you hardly have to chew it? (Answer)

Voice:The lamb is incredibly tender – it just melts in your mouth.

Jackie:To finish off, let's listen once again to the conversation I had with Diane
about her duck, cooked by top chef, Gordon Ramsay.

Diane
My name's Diane and I've been eating a confit of duck, with salad.
And what was it like?
Very tasty, sweet but gamey …it was nice, it was really good. It's a fairly light meal – very,very tasty, moreish!
And what about the texture – sort of chewy or…?
It was more of a 'melt in the mouth' taste, which I didn't expect.

Jackie:Well, I have to say, here at the food show, there's plenty of food I would callmoreish, so I'm off to have some more. But hopefully next time you want totell someone about food you've eaten, some of these phrases will come inuseful.

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