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  • Neil: Hello welcome to 6 Minute English.

  • I'm Neil.

  • Rob: And I'm Rob.

  • Neil: Now Rob, you look like you enjoy a

  • good meal.

  • Rob: Ha. Well, I do like eating out and I

  • like to think I know a good meal

  • when I have one.

  • Neil: Well that should give you an advantage

  • with today's quiz. In 2016, which is the

  • last year we have statistics for, how many

  • restaurants and mobile

  • food services were

  • there in the UK? Was it: a) about 75,000,

  • b) about 83,000, or,

  • c) about 93,000?

  • Rob: Well, I know there are a lot, so I'm

  • going to say 93,000 –

  • but that is just a guess.

  • Neil: I'll reveal the answer a little later

  • in the programme. Today we're

  • talking about

  • being a foodie. Rob, what is a foodie?

  • Rob: Well I would describe a foodie as

  • someone who has a strong interest

  • in food. They like

  • preparing it as well as eating it

  • they like using good ingredients

  • and they're

  • probably not fans of fast food.

  • Neil: Angela Hartnett is one of Britain's

  • top chefs. In the BBC podcast

  • The Bottom Line

  • she talked about this topic. In this first

  • clip how does she describe

  • people who say

  • they are foodies?

  • Angela Hartnett : I think people who say

  • they are foodies buy the books, watch TV

  • and will cook a little bit.

  • Rob: She is saying that people who say

  • they are foodies may not actually know

  • that much about food. They buy books

  • and watch cookery programmes on TV

  • and will cook a little bit.

  • Neil: A little bit is a common phrase that

  • means 'a small amount' and

  • if you do something

  • a little bit it means you don't do it a

  • lot. You could just say 'a little', but

  • adding 'bit' to the phrase makes it

  • very natural.

  • Rob: Well, we heard a little bit of Angela

  • Hartnett there. Let's hear more now.

  • What's her description of a foodie?

  • Angela Hartnett : My idea of a foodie is

  • the very European idea that

  • people go and shop

  • every day, they understand one

  • end of a pig from another. And maybe

  • that's a bit romantic

  • but I look at my mother, I look at my

  • grandmother and our background, you

  • know. They made food,

  • they knew about what was expensive,

  • they knew about quality and stuff like that.

  • Neil : Rob, do you know one end of a pig

  • from another?

  • Rob: I hope so, but the point Angela

  • Hartnett is making is that a true foodie

  • has a good

  • understanding, for example, of the

  • different parts of an animal that are used

  • in cooking

  • and what they are used for. She says that

  • idea might be a bit romantic.

  • Neil: We normally think of the word

  • romantic when we are talking about love

  • and relationships,

  • but that's not what it means here, is it?

  • Rob: No. Romantic can also describe a

  • pleasant ideal - an imaginary perfect way

  • of life that

  • forgets about the difficult things of

  • everyday existence.

  • Neil: Let's hear some more from chef

  • Angela Hartnett now. What is

  • she worried about?

  • Angela Hartnett: I think we think we're

  • foodies but I think food is expensive in

  • this country.

  • I don't think it's affordable for lots of

  • people and I think we are in danger of not

  • knowing, you know, how to cook any

  • more, how to make a meal for a family

  • of four for five pounds.

  • Neil: So Rob, what is Angela Hartnett

  • worried about?

  • Rob: She commented that food was very

  • expensive here in Britain.

  • Many people don't have

  • enough money to buy it, as she said it's

  • not affordable. She thinks we might be in

  • danger of not being able to feed our

  • families cheaply.

  • Neil: Can you say a bit more about the

  • phrase 'in danger of'?

  • Rob: Sure, the phrase to be in danger of is

  • followed by a gerund and it means

  • that there

  • is the possibility of something bad

  • happening. It's not happened yet, but it

  • could happen.

  • Neil: Thanks Rob. Right, well we're in

  • danger of running out of time

  • so let's get to the

  • answer to the question I asked at the

  • start of the programme. I asked how

  • many restaurants

  • or mobile food services there were in the

  • UK in 2016.

  • Rob: And I saidit was a guess – 93,000.

  • But was I right?

  • Neil: I'm afraid you're 10,000 out!

  • The answer is approximately 83,000.

  • Rob: Right, well I've still got a few more

  • to get to before I can tick them all off my

  • list!

  • Neil: Me too! Well, before we go, let's

  • recap the words and phrases

  • we talked about

  • today. The first was foodie.

  • Rob: Yes, foodie is a modern word to

  • describe someone who is very interested

  • in all aspects

  • of food, from buying, preparing and

  • cooking to eating.

  • Neil: And someone who may or may not

  • know which end of a pig is which!

  • Rob: I think you're being a little bit silly

  • there, aren't you?

  • Neil: Well a little bit was our next phrase,

  • wasn't it?

  • Rob: Yes, a little bit: a very simple but

  • a very natural conversational phrase that

  • means a small amount.

  • Neil: The next word was the adjective

  • romantic. Not used in the

  • context of love here though

  • was it?

  • Rob: No, it wasn't. A romantic idea here is

  • one that is not realistic but is an imagined

  • perfect situation. For example, we have a

  • very romantic view of our childhoods

  • when every Christmas was a white

  • Christmas and every summer holiday

  • was baking hot and spent

  • on the beach. Of course, it wasn't like

  • that at all. In reality both Christmas and

  • summer were cold and rainy.

  • Neil: Then we had the adjective

  • affordable, for something we have

  • enough money to buy.

  • Finally the phrase to be in danger of.

  • Rob: Yes, for the possibility of something

  • bad happening.

  • Neil: Well, that's it for this programme.

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  • course our website

  • bbclearningenglish.com where you

  • can find all kinds of videos and audio

  • programmes and activities to help you

  • improve your English.

  • Thanks for joining us and bye!

  • Rob: Bye-bye!

  • Neil: Well I have to say, I'm a little bit

  • hungry and if I don't get some food soon

  • I'm in danger of getting very grumpy.

  • Rob: You're always grumpy, Neil. But there

  • is a very affordable café around the corner,

  • let's head over there now, shall we?

Neil: Hello welcome to 6 Minute English.

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