Practise this cue card out loudPrepare for 1 minute, speak for up to 2 minutes, then compare with the Band 8 sample and try the Part 3 questions.
A memorable meal is rarely memorable because of the food alone. It’s the occasion, the people and what happened. Use this card to combine food vocabulary with a small story. Here is a plan, a Band 8 sample answer and the Part 3 questions about eating and family meals.
How to plan your answer in one minute#
You get one minute and a pencil. Don’t write sentences: note one or two key words per point, plus a detail or two that will make your story vivid. For example:
- what the occasion was: grandmother’s 80th birthday
- where you ate: long table in her garden, under the walnut tree
- what you ate: everyone cooked one of her recipes; I made the bread
- explain why it was memorable: four generations; speeches; she cried; last big family gathering in years
Practise, then compare: Band 8 sample answers
Record your own answer first, listen back, then compare. Don’t memorise these: examiners spot memorised answers. Borrow the structure and the highlighted vocabulary instead.
Part 2 sample answer (cue card)
Cue card
Describe a memorable meal you had with family or friends.
You should say:
- what the occasion was
- where you ate
- what you ate
- and explain why it was memorable.
Sample answerShowHide
The most memorable meal I’ve had was my grandmother’s eightieth birthday dinner, about two years ago.
Instead of booking a restaurant, the family decided to hold it in her garden in the village, because that’s where she’s happiest. We set up a long table under the big walnut tree, borrowed chairs from the neighbours, and hung some lights in the branches. There were about thirty people, four generations of the family, from her baby great-grandson to her oldest friend, who was ninety-one.
What made the food special was that it was a kind of surprise. Without telling her, every family cooked one of her own recipes, the dishes she’d made for all of us over the years. So there was her lamb stew, stuffed vegetables, a huge pot of rice with herbs and three or four kinds of cake. I was given the job of making her bread, which I’d learned from her, and I was terrified it wouldn’t be good enough!
It was memorable for several reasons. When she realised what we’d done, that she was eating her own recipes cooked by her children and grandchildren, she was completely overwhelmed and cried for a few minutes. Then several people gave short speeches, mostly funny stories about her, and we ended up sitting at the table until well after midnight, talking and laughing.
It also turned out to be the last time the whole family was together in one place, as some cousins have since moved abroad. So when I think about it now, I don’t really remember the taste of the food, although the bread was fine! I remember the feeling of everyone being there for her.
Useful language:hold it in her gardenfour generationsstuffed vegetablesI was terrified it wouldn’t be good enoughcompletely overwhelmeduntil well after midnightturned out to be
Part 3 sample answers
Are family meals still important in your country?
Sample answerShowHide
They are still valued, especially at weekends and on special occasions. But on weekdays, many families eat at different times because of work, school and activities, and people often eat in front of screens. I think family meals matter because they are one of the few times everyone talks to each other.
Useful language:valuedin front of screens
Why do people celebrate important events with food?
Sample answerShowHide
Sharing food is one of the oldest ways humans show hospitality and generosity. Preparing a special meal takes effort, so it shows people that the occasion matters. Many traditional dishes are also linked to specific celebrations, so the food itself becomes part of the tradition.
Useful language:hospitalitypart of the tradition
How has the way people cook changed?
Sample answerShowHide
People cook less from scratch than they used to, because of busy lifestyles, ready meals and delivery apps. At the same time, cooking has become a hobby for many, with people learning recipes from videos. So daily cooking has declined, but cooking for pleasure has grown.
Useful language:from scratchready meals
Is it important to keep traditional recipes?
Sample answerShowHide
Yes, I think so. Recipes carry a lot of family and cultural history, and once they are lost, they’re very hard to recover. Writing them down, or better, cooking them with older relatives, is a simple way to keep that heritage alive.
Useful language:cultural historykeep that heritage alive
Want your own answer scored? With Worddemy Pro, the AI examiner asks you real Part 1–3 questions and gives a band score for fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Why this answer would score well#
- A clear occasion and setting described with detail (a long table under a walnut tree, lights in the branches).
- Food vocabulary used naturally: lamb stew, stuffed vegetables, a pot of rice with herbs.
- A turning point (the grandmother realising it was her own recipes) that makes the story memorable.
- A reflective ending that explains why it matters now, with a touch of humour about the bread.
Other ideas you could talk about#
You don’t have to use a true story, and you can adapt one you know well. Other good choices:
- A meal in a restaurant for a graduation
- A picnic or barbecue with friends
- A meal you cooked for others for the first time
- A meal you had while travelling
Mistakes to avoid#
- Only listing dishes. Describe the occasion and the people, too.
- Saying “the food was delicious” without detail. Mention one or two dishes and how they tasted.
- Confusing meal (the event) with dish (one item of food).
Want more? Practise a random card with the 2-minute timer in the cue card generator, or see every Speaking topic with sample answers.