Planning to do an ESL lesson about cooking? You want to give your students a practical and appealing introduction to cooking vocabulary?
Perfect! We got it all for you: lists, definitions, activities and worksheets.
Use the resources on this page to engage your students and make them learn cooking vocabulary.
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Why Should You Spend Time Teaching Cooking Vocabulary?
Cuisine is one of the most cultural aspects of persons every day’s life. People associate emotions and identify themselves with their home kitchen.
If your students are ever in another country, they can easily connect with the person they are talking to, using cooking vocabulary.
How Can You Incorporate Cooking Vocabulary Into Your Lessons?
There are various ways to include these lists and exercises into your lesson.
You can ask your students to explain the vocabulary to each other. The other person has to guess the words and rate the explanation of the classmate.
Another option is to divide your students into groups. Then they can ask each other questions about how to prepare their favorite dish. After such a lesson, you can give your students a homework to write a recipe about their favorite dish.
ESL Cooking Vocabulary List & Definitions
| to bake | cook something in the oven (We can bake the potatoes in the oven) |
| to boil | heat something up in water so that it gets hot or cooked (Let us boil the spaghetti in the next step) |
| a bowl | Round container that is open at the top and is deep enough to hold soup or fruits. (We need a bowl to serve the soup) |
| to carve | cut something big into small pieces (We have to carve the turkey now) |
| to cook | to prepare food for your meal |
| a cook | The person in a restaurant preparing the food (The cook starts to prepare your food now) |
| a chef | The head cook in the kitchen of a restaurant (The chef tells the cooks, what to do.) |
| a cookbook | A book with recipes and guides to help you cook (In the cookbook we can find the full instructions.) |
| a dish | A type of food (My favorite dish is Thai Curry.) |
| a fork | The silverware you need to eat most food. |
| to grill | to cook food directly under a hot flame (I like steak best, when it is grilled.) |
| herb | Ingredients used to spice up dishes. (You could add some herbs.) |
| ingredient | A component of a dish. (The ingredients for spaghetti bolognese are meat, spaghetti, tomatoes, salt, pepper etc.) |
| a knife | The silverware you need to cut your food. (The knife is blunt. I can’t cut the meat) |
| melt | to turn solid food into a more liquid one (The cheese on my burger melts.) |
| mix | to combine two or more elements and put them together (You have to mix the butter and flour.) |
| a pan | The kitchen utensil you need for cooking. (I need a pan to cook the eggs.) |
| peel | to cut off the skin of a fruit or vegetable (You have to peel the apple.) |
| preheat | to heat something up before cooking it (We have to preheat the chicken in the oven.) |
| prepare | to make the vegetables, fruits, and other food ready for cooking (Can you prepare the apples for the cake?) |
| recipe | An instruction that helps you to cook a dish. (Can you hand me the recipe, so I can see what else we need?) |
| roast | to cook vegetables or meat in the pan (ideally with a brown, crispy skin). |
| salt | A seasoning used for most food (I need some salt for my eggs.) |
| serve | to bring the dishes to the table (The waiter serves the food.) |
| stir-fry | to fry something quickly in the pan (with oil for example). |
| spoon | The silverware you need to eat a soup. (Do we have spoons for the soup?) |
| waiter | The person in the restaurant bringing the drinks and food. (We have to call a waiter.) |
The 5 Best Activities to Teach Cooking Vocabulary
Food Quiz
Two students should get together and talk about their favorite dish. They should not mention the name of the food, but describe the ingredients that are used, the preparation and the taste of it.
Cooking Vocabulary Pantomime
The students should go together in small groups of persons and each explain two vocabularies. The team with more points wins.
Make a list of the above listed vocabulary. Give each student one piece of paper with a word on it. Tell them to explain the verbs and nouns with pantomime.
Cooking Show Time
Let your students watch a video of a cook preparing a dish. They should observe the preparation, instructions and ingredients. After watching the TV, they should explain, how to do the dish.
Restaurant Conversation
Two students should get together and make a role play. One student acts as the guest, one as the waiter.
To make it easier, let them act as if they were in a local restaurant. If necessary, give them some phrases in advance, that will help them to complete the dialogue.
Recipe Writing
Students should take pen and paper or their tablet and write an instruction on how to cook or bake a certain dish. They should list the ingredients, give tips and provide a step-by-step instruction.
Free Printable ESL Cooking Worksheets
Download, edit and print all of the following worksheets for ESL teachers – completely free!
