Unit 8 meals

Eat at pleasure, drink with measure.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Restaurant Management

In any establishment that cooks and serves food  from restaurants to sports complexes, school campuses to prison kitchens  food service managers coordinate business, human resources and operations-related activities. Their primary objective is to make sure customers are happy with the service and food they receive. Their biggest challenge is hiring, training and retaining good employees.

The standards of service and quality at any given restaurant are set by the restaurant manager. The restaurant manager is responsible for managing every aspect of the restaurant's operation.

Pre-reading task

Task 1. Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.

1. Do you eat any breakfast in the morning?

2. What do you have for breakfast?

3. Who cooks breakfast for you?

4. When do you have breakfast on Sundays?

5. What is a traditional Russian breakfast?

6. Do you have lunch at home or at university?

Meals and Mealtimes in Britain

Task 2. How much do you know about English food? Work with your partner. Ask and answer the following questions.

1. Have you ever eaten English food? If yes, what did you think of it?

2. Would you choose to eat it again?

3. If you have never eaten English food, would you like to try it? Why/Why not? 4. How does English food compare to the food in Russia? 5. Do you think British food has a good reputation or a bad one? Why?

Task 3. True or false?

a) Most British people eat a full English breakfast every day. b) Most British people eat their evening meal between 8pm and 9pm.

c) Many British people eat a roast dinner on Sundays. Read and translate the text

In the UK they have many different names for mealtimes, including ‘Breakfast’, ‘Brunch’, ‘Elevenses’, ‘Lunch’, ‘Tea’, ‘Dinner’ and ‘Supper’. What people eat and when can vary greatly – in some parts of the UK, people may eat their meals at different times, and in some parts of the UK, ‘dinner’ means ‘lunch’, and ‘supper’ means ‘dinner’.

Nowadays, people usually eat breakfast between 7:00 am and 9:00 am. Breakfast is considered a very important meal, and is essential to having a good start to the day. In fact, once a year there is a weekly campaign called ‘Think Breakfast’ to encourage people to eat better breakfast! A traditional English breakfast includes sausages, bacon, fried eggs, mushrooms, baked beans, fried tomatoes, and toast with butter. However, these days most people don’t eat a traditional breakfast every day, or even at all. This is because it is very unhealthy, and many people don’t have time to cook. These days, most people eat a bowl of cereal (made from grains like corn, wheat and oats) with milk, or have a slice of toast with butter. In the winter many people eat a hot cereal called ‘porridge’, which is made from oats. This is especially popular in Scotland.

Lunch is normally eaten between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm. Because school-children and people at work are very busy, this is normally a quick meal. In fact, many parents give their children a ‘packed lunch’ in a plastic ‘lunch-box’. This usually consists of a sandwich and a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and a drink. However, on Sunday people usually have a longer and larger lunch called ‘Sunday Roast’.

Dinner is eaten in the evening. Children usually eat this earlier, at about 6:30 pm, though many adults eat later, between 7:00 and 8:00 or later. This is usually the main meal of the day, and a time for people to relax and enjoy a cooked meal with friends or family after a hard day at work.