Speaking Part 2 · Activities & habitsIn the May–Aug 2026 forecast
Describe a Dish You Like to Cook or Eat
In short
“Describe a Dish You Like to Cook or Eat” is a common IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card. You get 1 minute to prepare and should speak for 1–2 minutes, covering all four points below. This page gives you a Band 9 model answer, an idea map so you can make it your own, the Part 3 follow-up questions with answers, and the vocabulary examiners reward.
The task card
Describe a Dish You Like to Cook or Eat. You should say:
- •What the dish is
- •How it is made
- •Who taught you or where you eat it
- •And explain why you like it so much
Band 9 model answer
The dish I'd like to talk about is chicken biryani, which is something I both love to eat and, over the last few years, have finally learned to cook properly myself. It's a spiced rice dish layered with marinated chicken, and where I'm from it's the sort of thing that turns up at every celebration you can think of — weddings, birthdays, big family gatherings, you name it.
In terms of how it's made, it's honestly a bit of a labour of love. You marinate the chicken in yoghurt and spices for a few hours, cook the rice separately until it's just done, and then layer the two up in a heavy pot and let it steam very slowly so all the flavours mingle together. It's not difficult exactly, but it takes real patience — you can't rush it, and if you get the timing even slightly wrong the rice goes mushy and the whole thing is ruined. I usually make it from scratch on a Sunday when I've got the whole afternoon free to potter about the kitchen, and I'll often make a huge batch so there's plenty left over for the rest of the week.
I actually learned to make it from my grandmother, and that's a big part of why it means so much to me. She never used a single recipe or a measuring cup in her life — everything was done by eye and by smell, and she'd just say 'add spices until it looks right'. I remember standing in her tiny kitchen as a teenager, absolutely useless, watching her hands move while she quizzed me about school. Now that she's getting older, I feel like I'm keeping a little piece of her alive every time I cook it.
But the real reason I love this dish isn't the taste, delicious as it is — it's what it represents. For me it's the ultimate comfort food, the thing I make when friends come round or when I'm feeling a bit homesick. There's a lovely ritual to serving it in one big pot in the middle of the table and having everyone dig in together; it just brings people together in a way that a quick meal on the sofa never could. And there's something deeply satisfying about watching people's faces when they take that first bite and go completely quiet — that, to me, is the whole point of cooking in the first place.
So yes, chicken biryani is far more than just a meal to me. It's a link to my family, a way of showing the people I care about that I've made an effort, and a dish I very much hope I'll still be cooking, and hopefully passing on, for many years to come.
Make it your own: three angles
A family recipe you cook yourself
Perfect for a personal anecdote about who taught you, which naturally answers the third bullet and shows off past tenses.
A national or regional speciality
Lets you connect the dish to culture and celebrations, giving you a ready-made angle for Part 3 questions on tradition.
A simple everyday comfort food
Easy to describe step by step and gives you honest, relatable reasons for liking it rather than forced praise.
What the examiner is listening for
The middle bullets are a trap — don't get bogged down listing every ingredient. Sketch the method quickly, then pour your time into the anecdote about who taught you and why the dish matters, because that emotional angle is where the high-level vocabulary and evaluation come from. Aim to sound like you're describing a memory, not reading a recipe.
Part 1 warm-up questions
- Do you enjoy cooking?
- What kind of food did you eat as a child?
- Is there any food you dislike?
- Do you prefer eating at home or in restaurants?
Part 3 follow-up questions & answers
Do you think cooking is an important skill for young people to learn?
Definitely — I'd say it's one of the most useful life skills there is. If you can cook, you eat more cheaply and far more healthily than someone who lives on takeaways. Beyond the practical side, I think there's something grounding about being able to feed yourself and others; it makes you a bit more independent and self-sufficient.
Why do you think fast food has become so popular?
It really comes down to convenience and price, I think. People are working longer hours and simply don't have the time or energy to cook from scratch every night. Fast food is cheap, quick and, let's be honest, engineered to taste good, so it's no surprise it's taken over — even if most of us know it isn't doing our health any favours.
How have eating habits changed in your country in recent years?
Quite a lot, actually. On one hand, people are eating out and ordering in far more than they used to, which has moved us away from traditional home cooking. On the other, there's a growing group of younger people who are really into healthy eating and cooking from scratch, so it's a bit of a split — convenience for the majority, and a mindful minority pushing the other way.
Do you think people cook less than they used to?
On the whole, yes, I'm afraid so. Previous generations cooked out of necessity because there weren't many alternatives, whereas now you can have almost anything delivered to your door in half an hour. That said, cooking has become a hobby for some people rather than a chore, so those who do cook often do it with a lot more enthusiasm than before.
Is traditional food in danger of disappearing?
I think some of it is at risk, particularly the more complicated dishes that take hours to prepare. Younger people often don't have the patience or the time to learn them, so recipes can be lost when older relatives pass away. Fortunately, social media has sparked a bit of a revival, with lots of people filming and sharing old family recipes, which gives me some hope.
Should schools teach children how to cook?
Yes, I'm strongly in favour of that. Given how much diet affects health, teaching basic cooking feels just as important as maths or science to me. Even a handful of simple, cheap recipes would give children the confidence to feed themselves properly once they leave home, and it might help tackle some of the obesity problems we're seeing.
Do you think expensive restaurants are worth the money?
Occasionally, yes, but not as a habit. For a special celebration, paying for beautiful food and faultless service can be a genuine experience worth the money. Day to day, though, I honestly think a home-cooked meal shared with people you love beats an expensive restaurant hands down — it's about the company as much as the food.
Useful vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| comfort food | food that makes you feel emotionally better, often something familiar from childhood |
| a family recipe | a set of cooking instructions handed down through generations of a family |
| a labour of love | a task done for pleasure or devotion rather than for reward, often taking a lot of effort |
| to make something from scratch | to prepare food using basic raw ingredients rather than ready-made ones |
| to whip something up | to prepare a meal quickly and easily |
| mouth-watering | looking or smelling so delicious that it makes you hungry |
| to bring people together | to unite people and create a sense of closeness |
| to acquire a taste for something | to gradually come to like something you didn't enjoy at first |
| hearty | (of food) large in quantity, filling and nourishing |
| a staple | a basic food that is eaten regularly and forms a large part of the diet |
More cue cards
Preparing for the whole test, not just Speaking?
Practise Reading with unlimited AI-generated Cambridge-style passages and trap-level feedback, and check your Writing against the official criteria — free to start.