Are you a foodie? 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello welcome to 6 Minute English.

I'm Neil.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Neil: Now Rob, you look like you enjoy a

good meal.

Rob: Ha. Well, I do like eating out and I

like to think I know a good meal

when I have one.

Neil: Well that should give you an advantage

with today’s quiz. In 2016, which is the

last year we have statistics for, how many

restaurants and mobile

food services were

there in the UK? Was it: a) about 75,000,

b) about 83,000, or,

c) about 93,000?

Rob: Well, I know there are a lot, so I’m

going to say 93,000 –

but that is just a guess.

Neil: I’ll reveal the answer a little later

in the programme. Today we’re

talking about

being a foodie. Rob, what is a foodie?

Rob: Well I would describe a foodie as

someone who has a strong interest

in food. They like

preparing it as well as eating it –

they like using good ingredients

and they’re

probably not fans of fast food.

Neil: Angela Hartnett is one of Britain’s

top chefs. In the BBC podcast

The Bottom Line

she talked about this topic. In this first

clip how does she describe

people who say

they are foodies?

Angela Hartnett : I think people who say

they are foodies buy the books, watch TV

and will cook a little bit.

Rob: She is saying that people who say

they are foodies may not actually know

that much about food. They buy books

and watch cookery programmes on TV

and will cook a little bit.

Neil: A little bit is a common phrase that

means ‘a small amount’ and

if you do something

a little bit it means you don’t do it a

lot. You could just say 'a little’, but

adding ‘bit’ to the phrase makes it

very natural.

Rob: Well, we heard a little bit of Angela

Hartnett there. Let’s hear more now.

What’s her description of a foodie?

Angela Hartnett : My idea of a foodie is

the very European idea that

people go and shop

every day, they understand one

end of a pig from another. And maybe

that's a bit romantic

but I look at my mother, I look at my

grandmother and our background, you

know. They made food,

they knew about what was expensive,

they knew about quality and stuff like that.

Neil : Rob, do you know one end of a pig

from another?

Rob: I hope so, but the point Angela

Hartnett is making is that a true foodie

has a good

understanding, for example, of the

different parts of an animal that are used

in cooking

and what they are used for. She says that

idea might be a bit romantic.

Neil: We normally think of the word

romantic when we are talking about love

and relationships,

but that’s not what it means here, is it?

Rob: No. Romantic can also describe a

pleasant ideal - an imaginary perfect way

of life that

forgets about the difficult things of

everyday existence.

Neil: Let's hear some more from chef

Angela Hartnett now. What is

she worried about?

Angela Hartnett: I think we think we're

foodies but I think food is expensive in

this country.

I don't think it's affordable for lots of

people and I think we are in danger of not

knowing, you know, how to cook any

more, how to make a meal for a family

of four for five pounds.

Neil: So Rob, what is Angela Hartnett

worried about?

Rob: She commented that food was very

expensive here in Britain.

Many people don’t have

enough money to buy it, as she said it’s

not affordable. She thinks we might be in

danger of not being able to feed our

families cheaply.

Neil: Can you say a bit more about the

phrase 'in danger of'?

Rob: Sure, the phrase to be in danger of is

followed by a gerund and it means

that there

is the possibility of something bad

happening. It’s not happened yet, but it

could happen.

Neil: Thanks Rob. Right, well we’re in

danger of running out of time

so let’s get to the

answer to the question I asked at the

start of the programme. I asked how

many restaurants

or mobile food services there were in the

UK in 2016.

Rob: And I said – it was a guess – 93,000.

But was I right?

Neil: I'm afraid you're 10,000 out!

The answer is approximately 83,000.

Rob: Right, well I’ve still got a few more

to get to before I can tick them all off my

list!

Neil: Me too! Well, before we go, let’s

recap the words and phrases

we talked about

today. The first was foodie.

Rob: Yes, foodie is a modern word to

describe someone who is very interested

in all aspects

of food, from buying, preparing and

cooking to eating.

Neil: And someone who may or may not

know which end of a pig is which!

Rob: I think you’re being a little bit silly

there, aren’t you?

Neil: Well a little bit was our next phrase,

wasn’t it?

Rob: Yes, a little bit: a very simple but

a very natural conversational phrase that

means a small amount.

Neil: The next word was the adjective

romantic. Not used in the

context of love here though

was it?

Rob: No, it wasn't. A romantic idea here is

one that is not realistic but is an imagined

perfect situation. For example, we have a

very romantic view of our childhoods

when every Christmas was a white

Christmas and every summer holiday

was baking hot and spent

on the beach. Of course, it wasn’t like

that at all. In reality both Christmas and

summer were cold and rainy.

Neil: Then we had the adjective

affordable, for something we have

enough money to buy.

Finally the phrase to be in danger of.

Rob: Yes, for the possibility of something

bad happening.

Neil: Well, that's it for this programme.

For more, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter,

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course our website

bbclearningenglish.com where you

can find all kinds of videos and audio

programmes and activities to help you

improve your English.

Thanks for joining us and bye!

Rob: Bye-bye!

Neil: Well I have to say, I’m a little bit

hungry and if I don’t get some food soon

I’m in danger of getting very grumpy.

Rob: You're always grumpy, Neil. But there

is a very affordable café around the corner,

let’s head over there now, shall we?