Food, cooking, and restaurants

A2 covered the basics — meals, fruits, vegetables, simple cooking verbs. B1 goes three levels deeper:

1. Cuisines and dietary preferences — modern conversation requires fluent talk about Mediterranean, Thai, vegan, gluten-free, etc.
2. Precise cooking verbs — the difference between sauté and fry, roast and bake, broil and grill matters in real recipes.
3. Restaurant culture — US restaurants have specific rituals (the check, splitting, doggy bags, prix fixe) and vocabulary (entrée means main course in the US).

This is also where many false friends live — entrée is a famous one — and where AmE/BrE differences are sharpest in everyday food language.

World cuisines

When asking about food preferences, Americans constantly reference cuisines:

Useful patterns:

• I’m in the mood for Thai.
• Let’s get Italian tonight.
• There’s a great Mexican place down the street.
• I love Mediterranean food.

Notice the article-free pattern: I want Thai, not I want a Thai.

Dietary preferences and restrictions

Modern American restaurants ask about dietary needs almost as a default. Be ready to declare:

Useful patterns:

• I’m vegetarian. / I’m vegan. / I’m gluten-free.
• Are there any vegan options?
• Is this dish dairy-free?
• Can you make this without (the cheese)?
• I have a peanut allergy. (this is taken seriously in US restaurants)
• I don’t eat pork.

Cooking verbs — the precise palette

A2 has cook, boil, fry, bake, roast, grill, steam. B1 adds the verbs that distinguish a recipe from a wave-of-the-hand description.

Heat-based verbs (in order of intensity / method)

Preparation verbs (no heat)

Flavor verbs

• season — add salt, pepper, etc.
• marinate — soak in flavored liquid
• garnish — decorate the finished plate
• drizzle — pour in a thin stream
• sprinkle — scatter
• glaze — coat with shiny mixture
• dress (a salad) — add dressing
• rest (the meat) — let cooked meat sit before cutting

Texture and taste vocabulary

Native speakers describe food in surprisingly specific terms.

Texture

Taste

• sweet, sour, salty, bitter — the basics
• savory — non-sweet, often umami
• umami — the fifth basic taste, savory-rich
• tangy — pleasantly sharp/sour (citrus, vinegar)
• zesty — fresh and tangy
• rich — heavy, full-flavored
• mild — not strong
• spicy / hot — chili-pepper heat
• bland — under-seasoned, flavorless
• flavorful — well-seasoned, tasty
• smoky — wood-smoke flavor
• earthy — mushroom-like, root-vegetable
• nutty — like nuts (sesame, browned butter)

Restaurant deep-dive

Ordering structure (US)

How meat is cooked

When you order a steak or burger, the server asks how you want it:

• I’d like the steak medium-rare, please.
• How would you like that cooked?

The check — and what to do with it

This is where US conventions are sharp:

• the check (please) (US) / the bill (UK) — request to pay
• server / waiter / waitress — server is now the preferred gender-neutral US word
• gratuity / tip — extra payment for service (15-25% standard in US)
• service charge — sometimes added for large parties
• comp (verb or noun) — given for free (they comped our dessert)
• doggy bag / to-go box — container for leftovers
• to-go — for taking home (I’d like that to-go)
• dine-in — eat at the restaurant
• takeout — pickup, don’t eat there
• delivery — they bring it
• drive-thru — order from car
• split the check — divide the total among diners
• separate checks — each person on their own bill (ask in advance)
• on me / I’ve got this — I’ll pay
• go Dutch — each pays their own (less common phrasing now)
• cover (someone) — pay for them

Useful chunks:

• Could we get the check, please?
• Could you split this between three cards?
• We’ll take the rest to-go.
• Can I get a box?
• Is the tip included? (usually NOT in the US)
• Keep the change.

Collocations

• make dinner / lunch / a salad / a sandwich
• prepare a meal / a recipe / ingredients
• cook dinner / a meal / from scratch
• bake a cake / cookies / bread
• grill burgers / vegetables / chicken
• order takeout / a pizza / from a menu
• try a new restaurant / a dish
• leave a tip / tip the server
• make a reservation / book a table
• be on a diet / stick to a diet
• food allergy / poisoning / coma / truck

Phrases and expressions

• piece of cake — easy
• food for thought — something to think about
• I’m starving — very hungry
• I’m stuffed — very full
• a foodie — food enthusiast
• hit the spot — exactly what I needed
• comfort food — nostalgic, soothing food (mac and cheese, soup)
• junk food — unhealthy snack food
• fast food — chains like McDonald’s
• leftovers — food remaining from a meal
• eat out / dine out — eat at a restaurant
• eat in — eat at home
• grab a bite — eat something quick
• have a bite — eat a small amount
• go grab dinner — informally go eat
• catch a meal — informal, eat together
• food coma — sleepy after a big meal
• late-night munchies — hungry late at night
• easy on the eyes / mouth — describing flavor mildness

US-specific food vocabulary

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. Plate meaning dish (false friend nuance). Plate in English = the physical flat object you eat off. Dish = the prepared food OR the wider concept (This dish is delicious). For Russian блюдо (the food), say dish.
2. Receipt meaning recipe (false friend). Recipe = cooking instructions; receipt = paper from a transaction. Two different words.
3. Cook used as a noun for chef. Both work, but a chef is a professional, often the head of a kitchen. A cook is anyone who cooks. Don’t say I’m a cook of my family; say I cook for my family or I do the cooking.
4. Salad used too broadly. In Russian, салат covers many cold mixed dishes including potato/meat salads. In English salad primarily means leafy greens-based or vegetable-based. For a meat-heavy mayonnaise mixture, English uses macaroni salad / chicken salad / potato salad — all named.
5. Spices vs herbs vs seasoning. Herbs = leafy plants (basil, parsley, cilantro). Spices = dried seeds/bark/roots (cumin, cinnamon, pepper). Seasoning = the act/result of flavoring or the seasoning blend.
6. Dinner used for a midday meal. In American English, dinner = evening meal. Midday is lunch. Don’t say I had dinner at noon; say I had lunch at noon. (Supper is occasionally an evening alternative, especially in the South or Midwest, but rarer.)
7. Check vs bill mix. In the US, the restaurant check is what you pay; the bill is for utilities or services. Could I have the bill? in a US restaurant is understandable but slightly Britty.
8. Ordering “fries” and getting confused in the UK. Fries in the US = the McDonald’s-style fried potatoes. Chips in the US = potato chips in a bag (Lay’s, Doritos). UK reverses both.

Summary

• World cuisines you’ll constantly reference: Italian, Mexican, Thai, Mediterranean, Indian, Korean, Japanese.
• Dietary preferences: vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, lactose intolerant.
• Heat verbs: boil, simmer, poach, steam, sauté, sear, fry, bake, roast, grill, broil (US-specific).
• Prep verbs: chop, dice, mince, slice, grate, peel, mash, whisk, fold, knead.
• Texture: crispy, crunchy, tender, juicy, creamy, fluffy, chewy, gooey, flaky.
• Taste: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savory, umami, tangy, mild, bland, smoky.
• Restaurant: appetizer / entrée (= main!) / side / dessert, prix fixe, doggy bag, to-go, dine-in, server, the check, split the check.
• AmE: entrée, fries, cookie, biscuit (savory roll), eggplant, zucchini, cilantro, broil.
• Watch out: entrée (main, not starter), plate vs dish, recipe vs receipt, dinner = evening only.

Next theme: Travel and transport — air travel deep, US road vocabulary (gas, trunk, hood, freeway), and trip types (road trip, staycation, layover).