IELTS Speaking Part 1: Food & Cooking (Band 9 Sample Answers)
This IELTS Speaking Part 1 topic asks about food and cooking — an easy, familiar area to speak about naturally. A band-9 answer gives a clear reply and rounds it out with a preference, a reason or a small personal detail, then stops cleanly. Below are five common food questions with band-9 model answers in a relaxed spoken register, plus why they score 9 and the collocations worth stealing.
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01 · Questions & Band 9 answers
Q: What kind of food do you enjoy most?
I'm a big fan of Vietnamese food, which is what I grew up on — dishes like phở and bún chả, where the flavours are fresh and there's a real balance of herbs, spice and sourness. I'm quite adventurous too, though; I'll happily try almost anything once, and I've picked up a real taste for Japanese and Thai cooking over the years.
name it, then add rangeQ: Who usually does the cooking in your home?
It's mostly me these days, actually. I find cooking quite therapeutic after a long day at the screen — chopping vegetables and following a recipe is a nice way to switch my brain off. My mum is still the one I call whenever I want to get a traditional dish exactly right, though.
answer, then add a personal touchQ: Do you prefer eating at home or eating out?
It depends on my mood, but on balance I lean towards eating at home. It's cheaper, healthier, and I know exactly what's going into the dish. That said, I do love eating out now and then — not just for the food, but for the whole experience of being somewhere lively with friends.
weigh both, then commitQ: Have you ever tried cooking a dish yourself for the first time?
Plenty of times — I actually enjoy the challenge. The first time I attempted to make fresh spring rolls it was a complete disaster; they kept falling apart. But I stuck with it, watched a few videos, and now they're one of my go-to dishes when friends come over.
tell a short before-and-after storyQ: Do you watch any cooking shows?
Occasionally, yes. I wouldn't say I'm hooked on them, but I'll put one on to relax, and I've genuinely picked up a few techniques that way — how to season properly, that sort of thing. They can make even a simple dish look like something worth aspiring to.
give a measured yes, with a reason02 · Why this scores Band 9
Each answer commits to a position and develops it with a reason or a quick story, then stops. Natural signposts ("actually", "that said", "on balance") link the ideas the way a fluent speaker's would, so nothing stalls.
Food vocabulary is precise and idiomatic — "a taste for", "therapeutic", "go-to dishes", "hooked on", "season properly" — and the answer describes flavour ("a balance of herbs, spice and sourness") rather than reaching for flat words like "delicious".
Structures vary comfortably: a relative clause ("which is what I grew up on"), a past narrative ("it was a complete disaster; they kept falling apart"), and a conditional-flavoured comparison ("It depends on my mood, but on balance..."). All accurate.
Answers are chunked into speakable phrases with natural stress on the content words, giving the easy, enthusiastic intonation this friendly topic invites — no tongue-twisting clusters.
03 · Useful phrases for this topic
Tap a phrase to see what it means and how to use it. Natural phrases like these lift your Lexical Resource score.
04 · Frequently asked questions
Can I talk about food from my own country?
Absolutely — and you should. Naming real dishes ("phở", "bún chả") and describing their flavours gives you specific, believable detail that comes out far more fluently than generic answers, and examiners welcome cultural detail.
What if I don't cook at all?
That's fine — just say so and extend it. "I rarely cook because I'm always short of time, so I tend to eat out or order in" is a perfectly good band-9 answer, as long as you add the reason.
How do I describe taste without just saying "delicious"?
Reach for specific flavour words — "fresh", "spicy", "rich", "a balance of herbs and sourness". Describing why you like a food scores higher under Lexical Resource than repeating "very nice" or "delicious".
Should my answers be exactly the same length?
No — natural speech varies. Some answers are two sentences, others three or four. Aim to answer, add a reason or example, and stop when you've made your point rather than padding to a fixed length.
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