Describe a special meal that someone made for you: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

Who did it
When and how he/she cooked
What and why he/she cooked for you
And explain how you felt about the meal

17 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 17 answers

Cue 1:Who did it

Introduce the person who made the meal, mentioning your relationship with them.
Share a brief background about their cooking skills or experiences.

Example

The special meal was prepared by my grandmother, who is an excellent cook. She has been making delicious meals for our family for as long as I can remember, and her culinary skills are well-known among our relatives.

Cue 2:When and how he/she cooked

Describe the occasion when the meal was made, such as a festival or family gathering.
Explain the cooking process briefly, highlighting any special techniques or ingredients used.

Example

It was during Diwali last year when she decided to cook a traditional feast for the family. She spent the whole day in the kitchen, preparing various dishes like biryani, paneer tikka, and her famous gulab jamun. She used fresh spices and ingredients from the local market, which made the meal even more special.

Cue 3:What and why he/she cooked for you

List the specific dishes that were prepared and their significance.
Explain why your grandmother chose to cook these particular dishes for you.

Example

She made a variety of dishes, including my favorite butter chicken and fragrant basmati rice. She wanted to celebrate the festival with a grand meal, and knowing how much I love these dishes, she made sure to include them in the feast.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt about the meal

Share your feelings about the meal, focusing on taste and presentation.
Reflect on the emotional connection and memories associated with the meal.

Example

When I sat down to eat, I felt a wave of happiness. The aroma of the food was incredible, and every bite was bursting with flavor. It reminded me of my childhood, and I felt grateful for my grandmother's effort. It was not just a meal; it was a celebration of love and family.

Conclusion

Example

In conclusion, that special meal prepared by my grandmother was more than just food; it was a heartfelt expression of love and tradition. It brought our family together and created lasting memories that I will cherish forever.

Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

Tips to answer this Cue Card

1: Lack of Detail in Description

Failing to provide specific details about the meal can make your answer less engaging. It may leave the examiner with unanswered questions about the experience.

Tip

Include vivid details about the ingredients, cooking process, and the atmosphere during the meal to create a more immersive response.

2: Ignoring Emotional Impact

Not expressing how you felt about the meal can make your answer seem flat. Emotions add depth and personal connection to your story.

Tip

Share your feelings during and after the meal, explaining why it was special to you, to enhance the emotional resonance of your answer.

Rushing Through the Answer

Speaking too quickly can lead to unclear communication and missed opportunities to elaborate on important points.

Tip

Take your time to think and speak clearly, ensuring you cover each cue point thoroughly without feeling rushed.

IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

Answer

I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.

Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

Answer

The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.

Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

Answer

As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.

Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

Answer

When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.

Describe a book you recently read

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

Answer

It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

All Answers

Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

Band 6

Coming to think of a special meal that someone made for me, it reminds me of a day when my dad prepared me with some beef liver roast. That is one of my favourite dishes that I love and whenever my dad cooks, he makes some awesome meals that are so mouthwatering. The smell itself is enough for us to have a lot of food and it will make our tummy feel. He made it for me when I was away from home for a few months and when I got back, it was on a Sunday. Even without me asking for the beef, he bought it from the butcher shops and made it clean and everything and he started preparing it for me. So it was a special day. My dad knows all the things that I love and that day he made it in a different way than normal that I still remember the taste of the beef liver that I had and it's still making my mouth water. It was an awesome meal and after having that food, I am, what do you call that?

Band 6

My wife did a special meal for me. It was very awesome. I enjoyed a lot that she made the way for me. She loved to make a meal for me because she loved me a lot. She loves me a lot. She made the meal one year back ago. It was an anniversary. So she made a meal for me. It was so special and so delicious. I enjoyed a lot. It was so delicious and fascinating. The day when I had the meal, it was a very mesmerizing experience. I felt it was an occasion. It was an occasion she made a meal for me because we family together combined had a lot of discussion.

Band 6

Basically I would say my aunt who make special meal for me on my special day. Basically she does biryani very well. So on my birthday she makes biryani, mutton curry, chicken 65 and all those things which I love to eat. And she knows my taste and what I am loving, what I look for. She knows everything about me moreover. Since I am a child who was grown up, my grandparents don't know about cooking those biryani and those things. I missed that in my young age. So when I come and send my aunt's control and she makes for me, she knows that I love that biryani and the thing which I missed for the whole of my young age. So during my special day she would make it for me and moreover she is very nice with me and she takes care of me as her own child.

Band 6

A few months back when I was sick, I was being very reluctant to eat any hospital food because I thought the food was very pale and very tasteless. So my father and my brother decided to make something that I like. As my mother was also away, they both decided to watch a YouTube video. However they have done a really great job by creating the most favourite food of mine was a curd rice and a beetroot cutlet. My brother is 10 years younger than me and it was a very overwhelming feeling for me seeing my brother helping my father out in absence of my mom. As I felt he is very matured enough to handle these kind of situations and take a step and take these kind of steps.

Band 5-6

I would like to say about the last year on vacation that I spent with my family because I didn't spend on vacation with my family normally because I studied in Bangalore. Onam is one of the main festive season for Kerala and for last 3 years I didn't get a chance to spend time with my family on vacation. Because I work in Bangalore and work schedules and busy schedules so I didn't get that time to spend that time with my family. But last year I got a chance to, I got a tent and sleep on vacation and I come to my hometown and my mother prepare me a beautiful meal and Onam Sathya that we call Onam Sathya. And for a long time I miss that meal because from my childhood onwards we have been tasted and we have been tasted that meal. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya. Onam Sathya.

Band 5-6

Yesterday, I have been to my friend's home, Ria. She has cooked noodles for me. She cooked herself for me and when she was cooking, and she has cooked the meal for me and when she has cooked, she has cooked by herself and the cook has been very, it was very delicious though. And it merely took 5 to 10 minutes for cooking the noodles.

Band 5

Well, when, well, okay, so this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a, this is a I caught the scent of biryani, which my mom cooked for me and the aroma and the aroma was, was, the aroma was very strong and I just knew from the, from the scent only that it, it was biryani and it was the best biryani I, I ever had and till date also it is the best biryani that I ever had and you know it really made me, made me feel special.

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