Cooking: IELTS Speaking Part 1 Sample Answers

Nehasri Ravishenbagam

6 min read

Updated On May 20, 2025

Are you interested in learning about the questions asked in the Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1? Improve your speaking skills with the cooking IELTS speaking part 1 sample answers, vocabulary, and answer-improvement advice in this blog.

Audio for Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1
Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions with Sample Answers
Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 Vocabulary
Tips to Answer Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions

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Cooking is one of those life skills that every individual finds handy at some point in their lives. Whether you like to cook during your leisure time, are passionate about this skill, or just do it for survival, you need to share your opinion or experiences during IELTS Speaking when you answer the Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1, 2 & 3 questions.

However, framing a high-scoring response in a limited time might be challenging for some, even with lots of experience. So, here, we have compiled some sample responses to cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 related questions. Additionally, we will look at some IELTS Speaking vocabulary and IELTS Speaking tips that you can use to frame your answers and achieve a high IELTS band score.

Audio for Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1

Listen to the audio for cooking IELTS speaking part 1 questions, and it will serve as an IELTS pronunciation guide for these answers.

Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions with Sample Answers

Given below are some important cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions with sample answers for better guidance.

1. Do you like cooking?

Moderately. Since I’m a vegetarian in a town with few options, I’ve no option but to cook for myself. I wouldn’t say that I love it, but it is growing on me (starting to like). I feel accomplished when my own concoctions turn out well!

2. How often do you cook?

Pretty much everyday. Since I’m a busy bee (busy person), I usually prepare meals for the week on Sunday afternoons. For example, I prep some tofu, beans, and rice then just heat them up with some stir-fried vegetables throughout the week.

3. How good are you at cooking?/ What dish are you best at cooking?

I would consider myself to be average. I’ve mastered some dishes, but could still use work (need to practice) on others. For example, I’m quite good at preparing vegetable curry and falafel. That it what I usually prepare when I have guests.

4. What cooking experience have you had?

Not too much actually; it’s been self-created. My family had a housekeeper when I was a child so I never learned from her or my parents. As I got older, I started to look up more recipes online from sites like Tasty and then tried them out on my own. It’s been trial and error (learning by trying and failing!

5. Does anyone in your family like to cook?

Not really. I can remember that my grandmother enjoyed entertaining and preparing food for family and friends. I distinctly remember her corned beef and cabbage. However, she died when I was quite young along with that tradition.

6. Who taught you how to cook?

No one really, considering my family members do not cook and I didn’t have a close relationship with the housekeeper. So, I taught myself thanks to Facebook and online pages with video tutorials like Tasty.

7. When you were a child, did you ever help your parents to prepare a meal?

Very rarely. There were a few incidences in which our housekeeper could not make it, so then my parents would cook for us. I can only recall one time that I helped them stuff dumplings before boiling them.

8. Do you want to learn how to cook?

Yes I do! I want to keep improving the skills that I have. Moreover, I want to learn how to prepare Chinese style dumplings and Polish perogies, which are among my favorite foods.

9. Who usually do the cooking in your home?

As I live alone, now just me. I eat at home nearly everyday and often invite my friends over for meals on weekends.

10. Who is the best cook you know?

My ex boyfriend. He had magic hands! Everything he cooked was packed with (full of) flavor and never missing anything. I was lucky to have been with him for 4 years!

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Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 Vocabulary

Boost your speaking score and improve your IELTS vocabulary by learning relevant words and phrases related to cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 .

Word/Phrase/Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Whip up	to prepare food quickly and easily	I usually whip up some scrambled eggs when I’m short on time.
Simmer	to cook something gently in liquid just below boiling point	I let the soup simmer for an hour to bring out the flavours.
Home-cooked	made at home, not bought from a restaurant or shop	I prefer home-cooked meals because they’re healthier and more comforting.
A recipe for disaster	something likely to go wrong or cause problems	Not preheating the oven is a recipe for disaster when baking.
Season to taste	add salt, pepper, or other spices until the flavour is right	I always season my pasta sauce to taste with basil and oregano.
To eat like a horse	to eat a lot of food	After cooking for two hours, I ate like a horse!
Mouth-watering	smelling or looking very delicious	The aroma of the curry was absolutely mouth-watering.
Cooking from scratch	to make a dish using basic ingredients rather than pre-prepared items	I enjoy cooking from scratch on weekends when I have more time.
Chop up	to cut something into small pieces, especially food	I chopped up some onions and tomatoes for the salsa.
Too many cooks spoil the broth	too many people trying to manage a task can cause problems	We all tried to help in the kitchen, but too many cooks spoiled the broth.
Grill	to cook food using direct heat, often on a metal frame	I grilled some vegetables for a light and healthy dinner.
Bite-sized	small enough to be eaten in one bite	I served bite-sized appetizers at my birthday party.
Sweet tooth	a strong liking for sweet foods	I have a sweet tooth, so I often bake cookies and cakes.
Trial and error	a way of solving problems by trying different methods until one works	Learning to cook well was all about trial and error for me.
Put on the back burner	to delay or postpone something temporarily	I’ve put baking on the back burner while focusing on healthy meals.

Tips to Answer Cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions

Explore some topic-specific, useful IELTS Speaking tips to impress the examiner and for responding to questions on cooking IELTS Speaking Part 1 given below.

Mention a specific dish and how you prepare it: Instead of saying general, short sentences like ‘I like cooking’, specify what you like to cook and describe the food, the process and your emotion. If possible. This shows fluency and the ability to describe a process clearly.
Use cooking-related phrasal verbs naturally: Incorporate terms like ‘whip up’, ‘boil over’, or ‘chop up’, etc. It demonstrates lexical resource and natural usage of topic-specific vocabulary.
Include sensory details (taste, smell, appearance): Describe the result of your cooking with sensory language. Sensory descriptions make your response vivid and engaging.
Talk about your cooking frequency and habits in detail: Don’t just say ‘I cook sometimes’. Be specific. This helps with the fluency & coherence score.
Connect your cooking habits to your lifestyle or values: Make your answer personal and reflective. It adds depth to your response and shows ability to speak with reasoning.

To conclude, cooking is a common and relatable topic in the IELTS Speaking Part 1, and being prepared with specific vocabulary, phrases, and personal examples can make your answers stand out. Practice more IELTS Speaking Part 1 topics and questions with answers regularly, and you will feel more confident expressing your thoughts clearly and fluently when cooking comes up in the IELTS exam. In case you need any help, you can leave a comment below or you can sign up and talk to our IELTS experts!

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