Everyone loves food, no matter what language you speak. It’s especially fun to prepare and share a meal with someone from another country or culture. Even if you can’t communicate with words, in this kind of situation it’s easy to make yourself understood.
But think how much more enjoyable these experiences would be if you knew how to explain yourself in English. Not only could you explain yourself better in the preparation stage, but you could compliment the food afterwards, too! That’s why we put together this list of English cooking words.
In this lesson, you will learn all of the vocabulary you need to prepare and speak about food in English.
This lesson is part of the English Vocabulary Illustrated Word Lists section. Let’s get started!
People and places related to cooking
Many students of English have doubts about the difference between the words cook, chef and cooker. What is the difference?
- Cook vs. chef (nouns)
Cook vs. chef (nouns)
A cook is a person who prepares food. He or she can do this either for a living, or in his or her house. A chef is a fancy word for a cook. If you go to an expensive restaurant, the person who cooks the food will be a chef, not just a cook.
Chefs often wear chef hats, although it can be fun to wear these in your house when you do the cooking, too.
Whether you are a chef or a cook, it’s always a good idea to wear an apron(a piece of cloth the covers your clothes while you cook).
Cooker (noun)
Contrary to common belief, a cooker is not a person at all! A cooker is a large piece of kitchen equipment that is made of an oven and a stove. (Stove is the top part, where you cook, and oven is the bottom part, where you bake.)
A cooker is also a pot used for a special purpose (such as a rice cooker).
Supermarket (noun)
Before you do the cooking, you of course also need to do the shopping. One option is to go to the supermarket, but you can also go to more specialized shops. Are you familiar with these other places to buy food?
Grocery store (noun)
A small store that sells a little bit of everything.
Butcher’s (noun)
A store that sells meat.
Fishmonger’s or fish store (noun)
A store that sells fish.
Health food store (noun)
A store that specializes in healthy food. Vegetarians often shop here when they want to buy things like tofu and soy milk.
Farmers’ market (noun)
An event where farmers sell fresh food in the street or in an open area.
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