In your IELTS Speaking test, you might be asked the simple part-one question, “What food do you like?”
Let’s look at some tips on how to answer this question well, including 10 example answers (go straight to the answers here).
What You Can Say
You can talk about:
- Your favorite kind of food (if you have a favorite food)
- What you usually eat
- What nationality of food you like (Indian, Chinese, Italian…)
- What people from your hometown usually eat
- Any dishes or snacks you really like
- Any restaurants you really like
- If you like healthy food, fast food, or snacks
- If you prefer to cook or eat out
- How the food you eat has changed since you were younger
- What you’ve been eating recently
- What you’ve eaten today
- Anything else you can think of
Keep It Simple and Fluent
It’s important not to think too much about your part-one answers.
Just say the first thing that comes into your mind, and speak as quickly as you can, without hesitation.
In part one, you should just focus on fluency.
Don’t struggle to use advanced grammar or vocabulary. This will only slow you down.
In part two, you can show off your more advanced vocabulary and grammar. You will have more time to prepare.
Use The Three-Step YES Method
Don’t speak too much in your part-one answers.
If you talk for 10 to 20 seconds, that will be enough.
Practice using the three-step YES Method to help you give the right length of answer. Just say:
- Your answer (say what kind of food you like to eat)
- Explain your answer (say why you like it) or add more details
- Stop talking (stop talking, and let the examiner know you’re ready for the next question)
Example Answers
Read the following 10 good example answers for ideas.
Healthy Food
1. I really like healthy food, like different kinds of salad, fresh fish, red meat, and lots of vegetables. I like eating healthily because eating this way makes me feel fantastic.
Fast Food
2. My favorite food is fast food. I love burgers with plenty of sauce and french fries on the side, or pizza, or fried chicken. It’s all so yummy.
Home-Cooked Food
3. I love home-cooked food because it’s delicious and super healthy. And to be honest, I like home-cooked food because it doesn’t cost me anything: I still live with my parents and my mom cooks all my meals for me.
Chinese Food
4. I’m a big fan of Chinese food because I’m from China originally, so I grew up eating noodles and rice dishes all the time, and often hotpot too.
Italian Food
5. You can’t beat Italian food, in my opinion. My favorite restaurants are all Italian bistros. And my favorite Italian dishes are lasagna and spaghetti bolognese.
Sushi
6. I went to Japan three years ago and since then my favorite food has definitely been sushi. I like sushi because it’s so fresh and interesting and tasty, and I think it’s really healthy too. I also like eating with chopsticks. It’s fun.
Mexican Food
7. I would eat Mexican food every day if I could. I love burritos packed with chicken and lettuce and sauce, and chili peppers, as well. I love chili peppers and anything spicy.
Indian Food
8. I suppose like eating Indian food most. I’m a huge fan of curries with popadoms on the side. But I can’t eat the really spicy curries, I prefer them to be quite mild.
Desserts
9. To be honest, I mostly like desserts. Anything that’s sweet and delicious, especially chocolate-flavored desserts like choc-chip ice cream, chocolate cake, or chocolate mousse.
All Kinds of Food
10. Well, that’s a difficult question for me because I like all kinds of food. As long as it’s delicious, I can eat it. I tend to go to a different restaurant every weekend. I just love variety and trying new things.
Now It’s Your Turn
Set up the recorder on your phone and ask yourself, “What food do you like?”
Answer as quickly as you can using the three-step YES Method. Just say whatever comes into your head.
Afterward, listen to your recording, and also write down what you said.
See if you made any mistakes, and try to find one or two ways to improve your answer.
Then repeat the process a few times, trying to get better each time.
This is how you can prepare for a band-seven score in part one of your IELTS Speaking test.
