Hello there! Today, we’re going to talk about British food!
I recently made a worksheet about how people in Japan have a dim (low) view of British food. Generally speaking, it’s considered (thought of as) basic and plain. One of my students told me that she heard British people are more interested in having a full belly (stomach) than enjoying the taste of food. Personally, I can’t disagree. I’m very happy to stuff (fill) my face with something boring, like cheese on toast, if it fills my stomach.
Childhood Food
When I was a child, growing up in a small town in the southeast of England, a typical day’s menu was cornflakes for breakfast, baked beans on toast for lunch, and a dinner which usually consisted (was made up) of potatoes, sausages and veggies (vegetables). My mum made every effort to vary (change up) our dinners with some ethnic (international) meals, such as pasta, curry, chicken fried rice or chilli con carne. We’d occasionally have English classics like macaroni and cheese, fish and chips, or shepherd’s pie. And Sunday lunch was reserved for a traditional Sunday roast with Yorkshire puddings. Mmmm… I’m enjoying these memories! 🙂
It’s surprising that British food in Japan is only available in pubs. I’ve never seen an actual British restaurant here, which makes me a bit sad. Fortunately, I can still buy crisps and chocolate, two very important parts of an English diet! 😀
Notice here, that the word diet doesn’t mean “lose weight”. As a noun, it simply means the kinds of food that a person regularly eats.
On the Topic of Food…
I made a social media post describing an American couple that still eat a 60-year old cake! Check it out!
Back to British English
Here are some common English phrases used to talk about English food:
- Fancy a cuppa? (= Do you want a cup of tea?)
- Shall we have a fry-up for breakfast? (= bacon, eggs, sausages, baked beans, toast)
- I’m craving some fish and chips. (I really, really want fish and chips.)
- Let’s pop down the chippy. (= Let’s go to the fish and chips shop.)
- Bangers and mash (= sausages with mashed potato)
- I could murder a curry (= I really, really want to eat curry)
- A ‘butty‘ or ‘sarnie‘ (= a sandwich)
Did you notice that (6) and (7) came up in English Tea Time #4 😉
Motivation
The interview part of the Eiken English test, a national test in Japan, was held this weekend and last. Since I made a bunch of practice videos for YouTube, I always get a lot of new subscribers over the test period. In fact, those videos have been watched over 1.5 million times! Incredible, I know!
What’s funny, though, is that those videos only get watched on the weekend of each test! People leave comments about being really nervous, or not doing very well. I try to reply nicely to them all, but sometimes I want to say, “Well, why didn’t you start practising earlier!”
So my tip of the week is, if you’re planning to take an English test this year, please prepare in advance. It’s not Netflix. Binge-watching practice videos the day before the test isn’t the best strategy. 😀
binge-watching = watching episodes of a TV show in a row, back-to-back.
New Worksheets and Videos
Before I finish my cup of tea, I want to show you what I’ve made since the last newsletter:
Worksheets:
- True Story – The woman who survived three shipwrecks
- News – Disco parties in Kentucky convenience store toilets
- News – Deer crashes into Old Navy store
- Easy English – Tessa’s tower of shoes
Videos:
- English News Lesson – Deer Crashes through Glass Door!
I also uploaded 5 short videos and 1 post. You can find them on my Instagram or YouTube.
Wrap-up
And that’s it! Thank you for joining me for tea! If you’re enjoying my blog and would like to get new posts in your email, please subscribe. If you have friends who might like these posts, please share this link with them. I really appreciate it!
All the best,
Nick
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