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Great British Food – Top 5 Traditional Dishes | ESL / ESOL Listening Practice

Fish and chips, the full English breakfast, the Sunday roast, shepherd's pie and afternoon tea - what British food actually means, with the cooking verbs to describe it.

British food has a reputation abroad that its actual dishes rarely deserve. Fish and chips eaten out of paper, the full English breakfast with everything on one plate, the Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding and gravy, shepherd's pie under a layer of mashed potato, and afternoon tea with scones and jam – five dishes and the stereotype is done for.

One distinction is worth teaching because it settles an argument: shepherd's pie is made with lamb, cottage pie with beef. The rest of the topic gives cooking verbs – roast, bake, fry, boil, grill – and adjectives that let a student say more than "it is nice": crispy, creamy, savoury, hearty, filling.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best-known traditional British dishes?

Fish and chips, the full English breakfast, the Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, shepherd's pie or cottage pie, and afternoon tea with scones. Between them they cover most of what visitors expect to eat.

What is the difference between shepherd's pie and cottage pie?

The meat. Shepherd's pie is made with lamb – the shepherd looks after sheep – and cottage pie with beef. Both are minced meat under a layer of mashed potato, baked until the top is brown.

What food vocabulary comes with this topic?

Cooking verbs first: roast, bake, fry, boil, grill. Then the words for describing a dish – crispy, creamy, savoury, filling, hearty – which let a student say more than "it is nice".