Practice Conversation About Food: Topics and Tips

Talking about food is one of the most natural ways to practice English conversation. In this guide, you’ll explore common food-related topics, categorized vocabulary, practical phrases, and sample dialogues. Ideal for ESL learners, teachers, and test-takers preparing for IELTS or TOEIC.

I. Common Topics for a Conversation About Food

Food is a universal topic that connects people from different cultures, making it a great subject for English practice. In language learning, a conversation about food can appear in ESL lessons, IELTS Speaking tests, TOEIC interviews, or casual daily chats. 

Discussing food not only builds vocabulary but also helps you express opinions, share experiences, and learn about cultural traditions.

Here are some popular topics you can use in food conversations:

• Everyday meals and favorite dishes – Talking about breakfast, lunch, dinner, and special snacks you enjoy.
• Culinary traditions and food culture – Sharing how certain dishes are prepared or celebrated in your country.
• Cooking and recipes – Describing cooking methods, ingredients, and favorite homemade meals.
• Dining out and restaurant experiences – Discussing restaurant visits, service quality, or memorable dining moments, similar to conversations in restaurants.

II. Useful Phrases and Vocabulary for Food Conversations

To speak confidently about food in English, learners need more than just basic words like "rice" or "chicken." Developing fluency in food conversations requires a solid vocabulary and a range of everyday expressions to describe flavors, ingredients, cooking methods, and opinions.

Thematic Vocabulary: Food Categories

Drinks Vocabulary

Main Dishes and Favorites

Desserts and Sweet Treats

Taste and Texture Vocabulary

Practical Phrases for Food Conversations

Idioms and Expressions about Food

III. Sample Conversations About Food

One of the best ways to improve your speaking and listening skills in English is by exploring real conversations.

In this section, you’ll find food-related sample dialogues at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Each conversation reflects real-life communication, common grammar structures, and relevant vocabulary.

1. Beginner-Level Dialogue

These simple dialogues are perfect for English learners who are just starting to speak about food. Using present simple tense, they focus on talking about daily eating habits, food preferences, and favorite meals. Learners can use these examples to practice pronunciation, rhythm, and basic question–answer exchanges.

Dialogue 1: Talking About Breakfast

Context: Two friends talking at school

Tense Used: Present Simple

• Anna: What do you usually eat for breakfast?
• Ben: I usually eat toast and eggs.
• Anna: Do you drink coffee?
• Ben: Yes, I drink one cup every morning.
• Anna: Sounds nice! I prefer cereal with milk.

Dialogue 2: Favorite Food

Context: Small talk between classmates

Tense Used: Present Simple

• Leo: What’s your favorite food?
• Nina: I love pizza!
• Leo: What topping do you like?
• Nina: I like mushrooms and cheese.
• Leo: That’s my favorite too!

Dialogue 3: At a Food Court

Context: Friends choosing what to eat for lunch

Tense Used: Present Simple

• Sam: I’m hungry. What do you want to eat?
• Jade: Let’s get some noodles.
• Sam: I don’t like noodles.
• Jade: How about a burger?
• Sam: Great idea. Let’s go!

Each of these dialogues can be used for:

• Pair speaking practice
• Role-plays in class
• Repetition and substitution drills (e.g., change pizza to sushi)

2. Intermediate-Level Dialogue

At the intermediate level, food conversations typically involve sharing past experiences, talking about food preparation, or describing your thoughts and feelings about meals. These dialogues use the simple past tense and may include past time expressions (last night, yesterday, a week ago), helping learners practice storytelling and logical flow.

Dialogue 1: A Memorable Meal

Context: Two friends chatting about past experiences

Tense Used: Past Simple

• Emma: Did you try anything new during your trip?
• Paul: Yes! I ate grilled octopus for the first time.
• Emma: Really? How was it?
• Paul: A bit chewy, but full of flavor. It surprised me.
• Emma: That sounds amazing. I want to try it too someday.

Dialogue 2: First Time Cooking Alone

Context: Talking about cooking at home

Tense Used: Past Simple

• Lily: What did you cook last night?
• Tom: I made pasta with homemade sauce.
• Lily: Wow! Did it turn out well?
• Tom: Not bad, but I overcooked the noodles.
• Lily: That happens! At least you tried.

Dialogue 3: A Family Dinner

Context: Recalling a family event

Tense Used: Past Simple

• Rachel: Did your mom cook for the holiday dinner?
• David: Yes, she made roast chicken and mashed potatoes.
• Rachel: Sounds delicious! Did you help?
• David: I peeled the vegetables — nothing fancy.
• Rachel: Still, helping means a lot!

Learning focus:

• Using food-related verbs in the past (made, ate, cooked, tried, helped)
• Practicing turn-taking and follow-up questions
• Building fluency through storytelling

3. Advanced-Level Dialogue With Expressions

At the advanced level, conversations about food become more expressive, opinion-based, and layered with idiomatic language, phrasal verbs, and complex sentence structures. Learners use food not just to describe preferences, but also to debate ideas, reflect cultural differences, or express emotion and experience.

Dialogue 1: Fast Food vs Healthy Food

Grammar Focus: Complex sentences, opinion expressions

Language Features: Idioms, contrast structure (although, whereas, even if)

Context: Two colleagues discussing lunch choices

• Daniel: I know fast food is convenient, but eating it every day feels like a recipe for disaster.
• Amy: I get it. Although it saves time, it definitely takes a toll on your health in the long run.
• Daniel: Last month, I bit off more than I could chew — working overtime and eating junk every day.
• Amy: That must’ve been tough. I've started prepping my own meals. It makes a big difference.

Idioms Used: “a recipe for disaster,” “bit off more than I could chew” 

Dialogue 2: Cultural Differences in Eating Habits

Grammar Focus: Present Perfect, Relative Clauses, Opinion-based Language

Language Features: Expressing contrast, cultural perspectives, food phrasal verbs

Context: International students sharing their food experiences

• Rina: Since coming to the UK, I’ve realized that people don’t always sit down for meals together.
• Marco: Same here. Where I’m from, we never skip dinner with family — it’s non-negotiable.
• Rina: I miss that too. Back home, we bond over food. It’s more than just eating — it’s a tradition.
• Marco: Absolutely. I tried ready meals here, but they honestly lack the heart that home-cooked food carries.

Expressions Used: “bond over food,” “home-cooked,” “ready meals,” “non-negotiable” 

What Learners Will Practice:

• Using idioms and expressions in meaningful context
• Expressing opinions with balance and fluency
• Contrasting ideas, giving examples, showing emotional depth
• Enhancing speaking scores in IELTS Speaking Part 3, academic interviews, or workplace discussion

IV. Using Food Conversations in Real Exams

Discussions about meals, cooking, eating habits, or food culture often appear across different parts of IELTS, TOEIC, and TOEFL testing formats. Mastering how to answer and expand on this topic with confidence, structure, and accurate grammar can can improve both your fluency and coherence scores significantly, especially if you practice IELTS Speaking regularly.

IELTS Speaking: How Food Topics Appear

• Part 1 – Personal Preferences & Habits

  • Do you like cooking?
  • How often do you eat out?
  • What’s your favorite dish?
  • Tip: Use the present simple and elaborate with reason and example.

• Part 2 – Long Turn / “Cue Cards”

  • Describe a meal you enjoyed with friends or family.
  • Talk about a traditional dish from your country.
  • Tip: Use past simple + past continuous + food-related adjectives.

• Part 3 – Discussion & Opinion

  • Do people in your country eat differently now than in the past?
  • Should children learn how to cook? Why or why not?
  • Tip: Use complex sentences, contrastive linking words (however, while, although), and topic-specific vocabulary.

TOEIC Speaking and Listening Contexts

• Topics often include workplace lunch chats, restaurant reservations, or catering services.
• Sample dialogue task: You receive a voicemail from a coworker about changing lunch plans. Respond with a polite solution.
• Phrases to use:
  • “I’d prefer something lighter today.”
  • “Let’s order from the same restaurant as last time, if possible.”

Tips:

• Practice expressing preferences and making formal suggestions.
• Use polite language and food-related vocabulary naturally.

V. Learn English conversations about food through videos

To enhance your practice of English conversations about food, PREP provides high-quality video resources. These videos will help you immerse yourself in the language and gain a better understanding of vocabulary within the context.

• Food | Talking about Food | Beginner English | A Conversation about Food
• Basic Cooking Verbs for Beginners | Learn English Conversation: Do you like to cook?
• What did you eat this morning? Listening Conversation Practice
• Food | Talking About Food in English
• What Is Your Favorite Breakfast? - English Speaking Practice Conversation
• English Conversation (Talking About Favourite Foods & Drinks) English Speaking Practice

PREP hopes that after reading this article, you have acquired valuable vocabulary, useful phrases, and high-quality English conversations about food. Let’s follow PREP for more exciting English conversation content!