Food & Cooking
Words for ingredients, cooking methods, and meals
Overview
25 A2 words for talking about food preparation, ingredients, cooking, and eating out.
Words
bake /beɪk/
verb — A2
Meaning: to cook in an oven
Examples:
- She baked a chocolate cake.
- I love baking bread at home.
Collocations: bake a cake, freshly baked, bake in the oven
Word Family: bake (v.) → baker (n.) → bakery (n.)
bean /biːn/
noun — A2
Meaning: a seed you can eat, from a climbing plant
Examples:
- I’ll have beans on toast.
- Coffee beans come from tropical countries.
Collocations: green beans, coffee beans, baked beans
boil /bɔɪl/
verb — A2
Meaning: to heat water until it bubbles; to cook in boiling water
Examples:
- Boil the water before adding the pasta.
- She boiled some eggs for breakfast.
Collocations: boil water, boiling point, bring to a boil
chef /ʃef/
noun — A2
Meaning: a professional cook
Examples:
- The chef prepared an amazing meal.
- She wants to become a chef.
Collocations: head chef, chef’s special, famous chef
cream /kriːm/
noun — A2
Meaning: a thick white liquid from milk; a soft substance
Examples:
- Would you like some cream in your coffee?
- She put cream on her hands.
Collocations: ice cream, whipped cream, cream cheese, sun cream
dish /dɪʃ/
noun — A2
Meaning: food prepared in a particular way; a plate
Examples:
- What’s your favourite dish?
- Put the dirty dishes in the sink.
Collocations: side dish, main dish, traditional dish, do the dishes
flour /ˈflaʊər/
noun — A2
Meaning: a fine powder from grain used for making bread and cakes
Examples:
- We need flour to make the cake.
- She added two cups of flour.
Collocations: plain flour, self-raising flour, wheat flour
fry /fraɪ/
verb — A2
Meaning: to cook in hot oil or fat
Examples:
- Fry the onions until golden.
- She fried two eggs for breakfast.
Collocations: stir-fry, deep fry, fried egg, fried rice
ingredient /ɪnˈɡriːdiənt/
noun — A2
Meaning: one of the things used to make food
Examples:
- List all the ingredients you need.
- Fresh ingredients make the best meals.
Collocations: key ingredient, natural ingredients, list of ingredients
meal /miːl/
noun — A2
Meaning: an occasion when food is eaten (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Examples:
- Dinner is the main meal of the day.
- We had a lovely meal at the new restaurant.
Collocations: main meal, evening meal, enjoy a meal
menu /ˈmenjuː/
noun — A2
Meaning: a list of food available in a restaurant
Examples:
- Can I see the menu, please?
- The menu has a great vegetarian section.
Collocations: dinner menu, on the menu, menu item
mix /mɪks/
verb, noun — A2
Meaning: to combine different things together
Examples:
- Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl.
- The mix of cultures makes the city exciting.
Collocations: mix together, cake mix, mixed feelings
Word Family: mix (v./n.) → mixture (n.) → mixed (adj.)
nut /nʌt/
noun — A2
Meaning: a hard-shelled fruit with a seed inside
Examples:
- She’s allergic to nuts.
- Would you like some nuts with your drink?
Collocations: nut allergy, mixed nuts, coconut
order /ˈɔːdər/
verb, noun — A2
Meaning: (v.) to ask for food or goods; (n.) a request; arrangement
Examples:
- Are you ready to order?
- Your order is ready.
Collocations: place an order, in order, order online, out of order
pepper /ˈpepər/
noun — A2
Meaning: a spice used for flavouring; a vegetable
Examples:
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- I’ll have a red pepper salad.
Collocations: salt and pepper, black pepper, red pepper, bell pepper
pour /pɔːr/
verb — A2
Meaning: to make liquid flow from a container
Examples:
- She poured milk into the glass.
- It started pouring with rain.
Collocations: pour a drink, pour water, pour with rain
recipe /ˈresəpi/
noun — A2
Meaning: instructions for making a particular dish
Examples:
- Can you give me the recipe for this cake?
- She found the recipe online.
Collocations: recipe book, follow a recipe, secret recipe
roast /rəʊst/
verb, adjective — A2
Meaning: to cook meat or vegetables in an oven
Examples:
- We roasted a chicken for Sunday lunch.
- Roast potatoes are my favourite.
Collocations: roast chicken, roast dinner, roast beef
sauce /sɔːs/
noun — A2
Meaning: a thick liquid eaten with food for flavour
Examples:
- This pasta sauce is delicious.
- Would you like some tomato sauce?
Collocations: tomato sauce, soy sauce, hot sauce, pasta sauce
slice /slaɪs/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: (n.) a thin flat piece cut from something; (v.) to cut thinly
Examples:
- Would you like a slice of cake?
- She sliced the bread.
Collocations: slice of bread, slice of cake, thinly sliced
spice /spaɪs/
noun — A2
Meaning: a substance used to flavour food
Examples:
- Indian food uses a lot of spices.
- Add some spice to the sauce.
Collocations: herbs and spices, spice up, spice mix
Word Family: spice (n.) → spicy (adj.)
steak /steɪk/
noun — A2
Meaning: a thick piece of meat or fish
Examples:
- I’ll have a steak, please.
- How would you like your steak?
Collocations: rare steak, well-done steak, steak and chips
taste /teɪst/
verb, noun — A2
Meaning: (v.) to have a particular flavour; to try food; (n.) the flavour of food
Examples:
- This soup tastes amazing.
- She has good taste in music.
Collocations: taste good, good taste, bad taste, taste test
Word Family: taste (v./n.) → tasty (adj.) → tasteless (adj.)
tip /tɪp/
noun, verb — A2
Meaning: (n.) extra money for good service; a helpful piece of advice; (v.) to leave extra money
Examples:
- We left a 10% tip for the waiter.
- Here’s a useful tip for cooking pasta.
Collocations: leave a tip, top tip, tip of the iceberg
waiter /ˈweɪtər/
noun — A2
Meaning: a person who serves food and drinks at tables
Examples:
- The waiter brought us the menu.
- She called the waiter over.
Collocations: waiter service, ask the waiter
Word Family: waiter (n.) → waitress (n.)
Quick Review
| Word | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bake | v. | cook in oven |
| bean | n. | edible seed |
| boil | v. | heat until bubbles |
| chef | n. | professional cook |
| cream | n. | milk product |
| dish | n. | prepared food; plate |
| flour | n. | grain powder |
| fry | v. | cook in oil |
| ingredient | n. | food component |
| meal | n. | eating occasion |
| menu | n. | food list |
| mix | v./n. | combine |
| nut | n. | hard-shelled fruit |
| order | v./n. | request food |
| pepper | n. | spice; vegetable |
| pour | v. | flow liquid |
| recipe | n. | cooking instructions |
| roast | v./adj. | oven cook |
| sauce | n. | flavour liquid |
| slice | n./v. | thin piece; cut |
| spice | n. | flavouring |
| steak | n. | thick meat |
| taste | v./n. | flavour |
| tip | n./v. | service money; advice |
| waiter | n. | food server |