The hidden life of buffets (Medium)

Introduction

Buffets are big meals when people can eat as much as they want. They are a feature of many cultures.Neil and Sam discuss buffet meals and the history behind them. As usual, they teach related vocabulary as well.

This week’s question

Buffets are present in countries all around the world. In which country did buffets begin?

a) The United States of America
b) Sweden
c) China

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

eyes bigger than your belly
(idiom) used when someone has taken more food than they can eat

pile up

gather a large quantity of something into a one place to form a pile

get your money’s worth

get good value for the money you have spent

vicious circle

problem or difficult situation which has the effect of creating new problems which then make the original situation even worse

knock your socks off

(idiom) amaze and impress someone

caterer
person or company which provides food and drink for special social occasions

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

Sam

And Im Sam.

Have you ever been to an all-you-can-eat buffet, Sam? You know  � a meal in a restaurant where you eat as much food as you like.

Sam

Yes, I went to an Indian buffet once. I didnt all day before the meal, but I only managed to finish three or four plateswell…, maybe five!

Neil

sounds like your eyes were bigger than your belly, or stomach  � a phrase describing someone who has more food than they can eat. In this programme well be discussing buffets  � a feast of many different dishes where diners are allowed to eat as much as they want  � or as much as their stomachs allow. And, of course, well be learning some new vocabulary as well.

Sam

The popularity of buffets is , especially in Middle Eastern and Asian countries where the variety of foods means theres something for everyone. But feasts big and boastful - usually too much is cooked, and buffets have been criticised for waste.

Neil

Well more soon, but first I have a question for you, Sam. The word ‘�buffet��’ originated from the French name the table on which food was served, but buffets themselves dont come from France. So in which country did begin?

a) The United States of America

b) Sweden

) China

Sam

Well, the US is famous for supersizing food so Ill guess ) America.

Neil

OK, Sam. Well find out the answer later in the programme. John Wood, owner of cooking Kitchen Cut, knows a lot about buffets  � he used to run a one thousand seat breakfast buffet at five-star Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. Here John shares his observations on human buffet behaviour with BBC World Service , The Food Chain.

John Wood

There are different people that treat buffets in different ways. Some people think is a great opportunity to try little bits and lots of everything, and we come back as many times I like. And other people just - whether they don't like getting up and down, which is understandable from table - just want to pile it high, and people they want to getvalue for money. So, if youre $100, $200 a head for a buffet, youre gonna pile it up high and take the most expensive things can you know, and get your money's worth.

Sam

John says buffet diners want to get their moneys  � get good value for the money they spend, so they often pile up food on their plate. If pile something up, you gather a large amount of it into one place to build whats called a pile.

Neil

But buffets are not just about eating until you explode - theyre also an opportunity to show off your friends. Weddings are big in India, and usually include a buffet. The richer the people getting married, the the buffet, sometimes inviting as many as five thousand guests. If each guest eats around six dishes, were taking a seriously big buffet!

Sam

Sandeep Sreedharan is a wedding caterer from Goa in South India  � he a company which provides the food and drink for special social occasions. Here he talks with Ruth Alexander, presenter BBC World Service, The Food Programme, about organising an Indian wedding buffet:

Sandeep Sreedharan

It's a very vicious , I think, right? Everybody wants to overwhelm everybody around you.

Ruth Alexander

OK. That's the aim. They are to impress - they want to ‘�wow��’ the guests - knock their socks off.

Sandeep Sreedharan

Knock their off. They should just go back saying, ‘I couldn't eat even half of it!’, you know. Some people come for eating. They don't even worry about who's wedding is it… They know that… ‘'‘Who's the caterer? Ah, guys are catering. Oh my God, this is gonna be great.

Sam

Wedding buffets are designed to amaze overwhelm the guests with their huge displays of food. They need to ‘�wow��’ the guests, or knock their socks  � an idiom meaning to amaze and impress someone.

Neil

The problem is that no matter how extravagant expensive one buffet is, the next one has to be even more impressive, something Sandeep calls a vicious circle  � a difficult situation which has the effect of creating new problems which then make the original situation even worse.

Sam

It seems the secret to enjoying a buffet is trying a little bit of everything, without stuffing yourself you cant move  � although in the past, I think, that was exactly the idea.

Neil

OK, its to reveal the answer to my question - where did the buffets originally come from?

Sam

I guessed was from the United States. Was I right?

Neil

That was… the wrong answer, Im afraid, Sam. In buffets are thought to have come from Sweden in the Middle Ages.

Sam

OK, lets recap the vocabulary learned, starting with the expression, eyes bigger than your belly, or eyes bigger than your stomachused when someone has more food than they can eat.

Neil

If you pile up your plateyou gather a large quantity of together into a pile.

Sam

The phrase to get your moneys worth means to get good value for money you have spent .*%

Neil

A vicious circle is a problematic situation, having the effect of creating problems which then make the first situation even worse.

Sam

The idiom to knock your socks off means wow, amaze or impress someone.

Neil

And finally, a caterer is a person or company which provides food drink for special social occasions. Once again, our six minutes are up. Bye for now!

Sam

Bye!

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created with the online Cloze Test Creator © 2009 Lucy Georges

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