Shadowing Practice: Chef Curtis Stone Showcases Foods From Around the World - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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All right, so you're originally from Australia.
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All right, so you're originally from Australia.
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I am.
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And you travel all over the world.
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Yeah, I lived in England for about seven years,
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lived in Europe for quite a while, bit of Southeast Asia.
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So you know, my favorite way to travel is through your stomach.
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So travel with a good appetite.
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All right, so do you have a favorite?
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No, not really.
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You know what I mean?
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There's good stuff from everywhere.
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So I figure let's start in Europe.
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All right, let's start in Europe.
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We're in England, OK?
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All right, is cabbage from England?
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Cabbage, they serve a lot of cabbage in England, actually.
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All right.
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The English cuisine was quite a poor cuisine originally.
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So this is called bubble and squeak.
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It's predominantly potatoes.
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Right.
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There's a bit of cabbage chopped up and put through it.
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And it's served hot.
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So the bubble comes from when the potatoes and the vegetables are boiled,
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then they're cooled, crushed up together.
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And then the squeak comes from when you fry them.
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So it's sort of bubble and squeak.
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Bubble and squeak.
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Sure.
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And it's just vegetables and what's this stuff on top?
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Potato.
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OK.
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A little bit of crispy bacon.
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OK.
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So it's really good with breakfast.
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If you're going to have poached eggs or something like that,
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A bit of bubble and squeak,
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fried up in the morning is spot on.
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What do you think?
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I love it.
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Okay, next, we're jumping all the way over to Africa, to Morocco.
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This is a big tagine,
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which is what they do a lot of their cooking in.
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And these are called bastires.
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And usually they're made with pigeon.
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But I was in Hollywood Boulevard for like 25 minutes this morning.
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I couldn't catch one.
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I've done this with chicken.
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It's filo pastry.
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And if you break into it, you see this.
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And where is this from, Morocco?
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This is from Morocco.
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OK.
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Now, Morocco has got all these different influences from all over the world.
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So the Portuguese, the Spanish influence, the African influence.
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And this has got all these funny flavors.
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There's egg, there's potato, there's chicken,
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there's saffron, all these spices,
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and then sugar and cinnamon on top.
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So it's a bit of a weird combo.
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OK.
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I'm going to let you taste it first.
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You're gay, Malin, I'm impressed.
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Mmm.
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What do you think?
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Amazing.
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With cinnamon and chicken.
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Yeah, it's bizarre, isn't it?
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Very weird combinations, but good.
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Now, let's skip right over to the South...
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Southeast Asia.
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OK.
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You're gonna love this one.
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I don't know if I will.
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We've got all sorts.
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I see what's there right now.
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Now, these are little deep-fried scorpions.
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Mm-hm.
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We've got some frog's legs around the outside of the plate here.
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Uh-huh.
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These are little, um, ocean white worms.
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Uh-huh.
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OK, see that?
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Beautiful.
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Where is this from?
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These are water beetles.
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Who eats this stuff?
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Southeast Asia.
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So this is Thailand.
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Uh-huh.
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Yeah.
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Scorpions.
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Are you game to try?
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Who would even think to let's fry them up?
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No, I'm not game.
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What's that?
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This is a water beetle.
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No. Does anybody want to try?
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Does anybody want to try a water beetle?
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Is anyone game enough?
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Come on down.
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Right here in the front.
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Come on back here.
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Come around.
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Come around then.
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Wow.
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You either really want to be on TV, or you're really.
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It's a.
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OK.
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Oh my god.
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What's your name?
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I'm looking at a shake.
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Molly.
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Molly.
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Yes.
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Do you have a next of kin we can contact, or anything?
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Because look what you're eating.
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Well, he said he'd eat it if I eat it.
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Well, but so.
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All right.
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Go, Molly.
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You first.
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Me first?
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OK.
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What's the best place to start?
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The head or the wing?
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In your mouth.
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OK.
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OK.
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Oh, god.
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I can't believe you're doing that.
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Oh, Molly, no. No. It doesn't taste like anything, really.
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It's kind of crunchy.
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Are you going to eat one or not?
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You said you would.
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I was only joking.
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Yeah.
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But let's give her a finger at the board.
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Yeah.
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Put it down.
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Thank you, Molly.
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All right, you want to wait.
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Stay in case you want to eat.
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Wait, stay with me, because I might want you to eat something else.
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You're going to eat the scorpion?
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Ready for the scorpion?
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I am a Scorpio, so.
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Oh, that's gross.
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All right.
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All right, so now we're skipping to dessert,
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which is supposed to be delicious.
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It is delicious.
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What is this?
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This is one of my favorite desserts in the world.
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Comes from Australia, so we're in Australasia now.
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And this is called a pavlova.
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Now, in Australia, everybody's auntie makes a good pav.
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You know, it's what your auntie shows up to a christening or a party or Aunt Pat.
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She's always doing a good pav.
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So plenty of fruit.
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What's in it?
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What is that?
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It's basically a meringue.
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So it's egg whites and sugar.
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You whisk it up, and then you cook it really slowly in the oven,
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covered in cream, plenty of fruit.
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So there's just nothing but cream and meringue in there?
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Cream and meringue.
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So it's one on the Weight Watchers diet.
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Yeah, exactly.
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I'll have a little tiny, tiny bite.
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Yeah, no, it's got plenty of sugar.
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But it tastes really good.
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You must have had this before, Alan.
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I have not.
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But the only reason Portia came today is because it's here.
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Is she here?
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Yeah, because she knew you were here and cooking this.
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So she loves this.
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It's delicious.
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It's very, very rich.
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Very rich.
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It is, isn't it?
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You can't have too much.
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But the berries are good.
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The berries are good.
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I like the berries.
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The berries break it up a bit.
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So you know, that's my advice.
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Whenever you're traveling, travel with a hungry belly.
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All right.
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And find your way through the food.
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All right.
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And where's the place that,
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oh, Southeast Asia has the scorpions and stuff like that.
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That's Thailand.
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Oh, Thailand.
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OK.
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Well, and you ate it, and you're still OK.
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All right, we'll keep an eye on you throughout the show.
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All right, Take Home Chef airs on TLC.
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And be sure and pick up a copy of Curtis's book,
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Cooking with Curtis, which is right here.
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And we'll check in with Mike Holmes and see how the Twos family home is looking after this.
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Don't go away.
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you

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English listening and speaking skills by watching Chef Curtis Stone's delightful exploration of culinary traditions from around the world. Focus on how he describes various dishes, such as the English classic "bubble and squeak" and Moroccan tagines. This video will enhance your vocabulary related to food and cooking and improve your pronunciation. By actively engaging with the content, you can perfect your speaking abilities and expand your language skills. This lesson is particularly useful for those preparing for the IELTS speaking practice, as it includes rich, descriptive language.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Bubble and squeak: A traditional English dish made mainly from potatoes and cabbage.
  • Tagine: A dish from North Africa, typically slow-cooked in a conical earthenware pot.
  • Bastire: A flavorful pastry often filled with meat, traditionally made with pigeon.
  • Filo pastry: A very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries.
  • Poached eggs: Eggs that have been cooked without their shells in simmering water.
  • Crispy bacon: Bacon that has been cooked until it is crispy in texture.
  • Travel with a good appetite: An expression indicating that one should be open to trying new foods while traveling.

Practice Tips

As you watch the video, try using the shadowing technique to mimic Chef Curtis Stone’s pronunciation and intonation. This involves listening to a small segment of the transcript and then repeating it aloud immediately after, imitating his tone and rhythm. Since this video features a conversational style at a comfortable pace, it's perfect for practicing your speaking skills.

Pay attention to the way Chef Stone emphasizes certain words and phrases, such as "bubble and squeak" and "tagine." Try to shadow speak those specific terms, as these are essential for describing food culture, which may come up in your IELTS speaking practice. Focus on speaking clearly and confidently, gradually building up to longer phrases.

Consider practicing in front of a mirror or recording your voice, allowing you to notice any areas for improvement. By incorporating the shadowspeak method during your lessons and using engaging resources like this video, you can effectively learn English with YouTube while expanding your culinary vocabulary!

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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