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.
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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?