Ingredients:

various utensils nicked from home

a bunch of empty cartons from the recycling box

a pile of toy fruit & veg

a pinch of suspense

lashings of students

Method:

1.Explain to students how the TV programme Ready, Steady, Cook works (basically someone comes on with a bag of ingredients, cook must make dish, audience vote on favourite dish), or show this youtube clip.

2. Take out your utensils & “ingredients”, elicit vocabulary, add cooking verbs, i.e. what do you do with a whisk? a saucepan? etc. Note on board if necessary. (Plan B would be to prepare a worksheet with exercises such as matching utensils & verbs etc.)

3. Give pairs 10-15 minutes to prepare their recipe.

4. Groups present their recipe to the class, we had one talking while the other carried out the actions.

5. Optional – class laughs hysterically as we realise teacher hasn’t completely rinsed out milk bottle when student pours it all over the table!

6. Class vote for favourite recipe, this pair win the usual laminated diploma, this time with Ready, Steady, Cook logo.