Translating recipes (Medium)

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Im Sam.

Rob

And Im Rob.

Sam

British are not famous for their food, or rather they are famous  � for bad food! While French and cooking is admired around the world, the UK has a reputation for overboiled vegetables, mushy peas, and black pudding  � a dish made from pigs blood!

Rob

Ugh, that doesnt sound very tasty, does it?! But I dont our reputation for bad cooking is still true today, Sam. The last twenty years have seen big changes as have fallen in love with international foods like Indian curry and Asian rice dishes, and with non-traditional cooking like and vegan food.

Sam

Some of the most popular food in Britain comes from other countries, and includes recipes, flavours and tastes of those faraway places. But how do recipes and cooking ideas from all over the make their way onto the British dining table? In this programme, well be finding out.

Rob

Well be the recipe translators. These chefs translate recipes  � the instructions explaining how to combine the different items, the ingredients, will cook - from their own language into English. And, of course, well be learning some new vocabulary as .

Sam

Sounds good, Rob, but first I have a question for you. It may be true that British is better than it used to be, but theres still some pretty bad food out there. So, according to 2019 YouGov survey, which UK food was voted the worst? Was it:

a) steak kidney pies?

b) scotch eggs?

c) haggis?

Rob

Hmm, say scotch eggs  � Ive never liked them much!

Sam

OK, Rob, Ill reveal the answer later the programme. Now, as anyone who speaks more than one language knows, translating involves more than getting the dictionary . Recipe translators need to know the vocabulary for different ingredients and cooking techniques, while also preserving the heart of recipe. Listen as BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain, talks with recipe translator, Rosa Llopis…

Rosa Llopis

… story short, I began to work as an interpreter for Le Cordon Bleu, the French cuisine school, and I there was no such a specialisation, in Spain at least, like, in gastronomy or cooking translation.

Rob

translation is closely connected to gastronomy  � the art and knowledge involved in preparing and eating good food. This contained in a countrys traditional recipes, written in its own language, not English, hence Rosas decision to specialise in translation. If you specialise in a subject, you focus on studying and learning all about it.

Sam

When is asked how she became a recipe translator, she begins by saying ‘to cut a long story short…’. This can be used when you are explaining what happened in a few words, without giving all the details.

Like most recipe translators, Rosas goal is to produce a cookbook in English containing the best recipes from her country, Spain. But doing this is not so easy, as she explained to BBC World Service programme, The Food .

Rosa Llopis

If my readers cant replicate those recipes, they wont buy the book, so I what I is, I dont only have to find, for instance, the translation of the name of an ingredient… If its ingredient that we dont use or we dont have in Spain, I always try to offer an alternative so can mimic the flavour or the results.

Sam

Rosas cookbook allows readers to replicate her dishes - to them again in exactly the same way. But this isnt easy when the recipe includes ingredients which are difficult find, something like lemongrass which is used in some Spanish cooking but can be hard to find in the .

Rob

For this reason, Rosa gives an alternative  � a substitute ingredient which mimics, or copies, the flavour a certain food. To mimic the flavour of lemongrass, for example, she recommends using lemon juice.

Sam

Its easy work, but thanks to recipe translators like Rosa, people here in the UK can cook something a little than meat and boiled vegetables. Speaking of which, its time to reveal the answer to my question, Rob.

Yes, you asked which food was voted the worst by a recent UK YouGov survey, and I said it  � scotch eggs… thats boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat and breadcrumbs  � yuk!

Sam

Well, in fact correct answer was c) haggis, which doesnt sound much nicer because the Scottish dish haggis is made using sheeps !

Rob

Ugh! OK, lets quickly move on to recap the vocabulary weve learnt from this programme starting with  � an item of food that is combined with other food to prepare a particular dish.

Sam

Gastronomy the art and knowledge involved in preparing and eating good food.

Rob

If you specialise in something, you spent time studying and learning all about it, becoming an expert in that subject.

Sam

The phrase, to a long story short is used in British English when you want to explain what happened in a few , without giving all the details.

Rob

To replicate something means to make or do it again in exactly same way.

Sam

And finally, to mimic something means to copy the way in which it is done, in a funny way.

Rob

Once again, our six minutes are up! Bye for now!

Sam

Bye!