Shadowing Practice: Life of a Cook - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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The Music
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Morning bro, you're lucky, the chef is still doing administration.
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Did you already see him?
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Yes, he is not having a good day.
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Nice, that's going to be a horrible day for us too then.
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Please let this be a good day.
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Damn, the knife is missing.
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Let's get one.
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Did you even call behind when you walked past me?
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You already saw me, right?
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That's not the point, Wojak.
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We have systems.
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I don't care.
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It is not busy yet.
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That doesn't mean the rules don't apply.
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Ruben, please.
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This job is already draining enough.
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Keep your mouth shut unless it's important.
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Two burgers for table 5, steak for table 12, heard.
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Heard.
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Three salads for table 7 and one pizza pineapple for table 13.
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Heard.
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Everybody drop your stuff now.
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Table 7 is vegan and gluten free.
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Can we do that?
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What is that for a question?
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Hey don't be a jerk Jimmy!
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Shut up Ruben!
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Well?
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You seriously want an answer to that?
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Yes.
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Tell Table 7 to f* off!
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I suppose that's a yes.
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Yes.
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I'm not happy with this.
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Wojak, Table 8 is not happy with their food.
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What's wrong with- They didn't order this.
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Why do you come to me?
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I don't know.
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I'm also new here.
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Guys, who made this? made this.
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Alright.
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What exactly did table 8 order?
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The steak with red sauce.
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This is literally the steak with red sauce.
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I'll check with them.
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Okay, so hear me out.
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Yes?
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They ordered the steak with red sauce but this is brown sauce.
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This is a joke right?
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Number?
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They expected red sauce.
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What hex code red did they expect?
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Obviously the sauce is not actually red.
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Well they want red sauce?
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What in the OCD is this discussion?
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I'll throw ketchup on it if that makes them happy.
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Here they go.
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Send them my apologies What the bloody hell is going on here?
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Is this a donkey shed?
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What are we all waiting for?
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My retirement?
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Get back to work right now.
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We have a restaurant to run you all.
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What's this supposed to be?
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Chicken breast.
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Not good enough.
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What on earth is this?
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You think people will eat this?
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Hello chef.
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I am making pasta.
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I don't need to hear it.
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Ruben, continue working.
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Why is there ketchup here?
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I don't know.
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Don't lie to me.
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I know you like to eat that when nobody's watching.
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Remember everybody.
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We are a restaurant.
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As soon as they walk in these doors, our customers suddenly think they are the most important person in the whole universe.
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We must live up to this fantasy of them and deliver the best possible service.
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Leave your ego outside of the kitchen and treat them like the king.
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Mocking and whining only happens inside your head or at the smoking break.
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Lunch rush is over, shall we do a quick smoke?
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Yeah sure.
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I seriously got a customer asking if we serve our chicken sticks without chicken and put carrots on it instead.
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Bro, it's not on the menu for a reason.
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That stuff always happens during rush hours too.
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Like, do they even know how much those custom orders slow us down if we have to make them on the fly?
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And then they try to compensate by giving us a 3% tip.
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You mean the waiter?
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We barely get anything from the tips.
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Table 8 sent back their steak again.
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Said the red sauce was not red enough.
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I heard, but the manager comped it.
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Let it go, bro.
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I know, but it's like they think our suffering doesn't matter.
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Our suffering doesn't matter though.
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Where did you come from?
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Were you standing here the whole time?
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Yes.
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Now 86 your smoke skies.
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It's time to go back to work.
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Everybody listen.
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We survived another night.
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I am proud of what we've achieved today and now that the last guests have left, it's time for a good family meal.
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I think you get better food in prison.
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If you're not happy with it you can leave the kitchen.
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Don't disrespect me like that.
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Now eat everybody.
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Whoa Jack, how are you doing?
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I survived.
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Yeah.
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I wanted to talk to you about the steak with red sauce this afternoon.
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I heard you comped it.
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I did indeed.
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The customer was tough and it wasn't worth it.
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I understand, thank you.
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Now to compensate, I'd like you to do some dishwashing.
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Jerry is sick and we need the hands.
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What?
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I saved you today.
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Now you can do something for me.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 123 sentences and 758 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:04. The speaker talks slowly, about 94 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- steak /steɪk/ (noun) — Beefsteak: a slice of beef, broiled or cut for broiling.
- rush /ɹʌʃ/ (verb) — To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
- suffer /ˈsʌfɚ/ (verb) — To undergo hardship.
- chef /ʃɛf/ (noun) — The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
- comp /kɒmp/ (verb) — To accompany, in music.
- compensate /ˈkɑm.pənˌseɪt/ (verb) — To do (something good) after (something bad) happens.
- meal /ˈmiːl/ (noun) — Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
- horrible /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/ (adjective) — Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
- custom /ˈkʌstəm/ (noun) — Frequent repetition of the same behavior; way of behavior common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; method of doing, living or behaving.
- pizza /ˈpi.tsə/ (noun) — A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables.
- knife /ˈnaɪ̯f/ (noun) — A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge…
- breast /bɹɛst/ (noun) — Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands; also the analogous organs in males.
- menu /ˈmɛn.juː/ (noun) — The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.
- salad /ˈsæl.əd/ (noun) — A food consisting principally of raw vegetables (especially greens, e.g. lettuce), other savoury ingredients (typically cooked), fruit, or confectionary; often…
- burger /ˈbɝ.ɡɚ/ (noun) — A hamburger.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- get back to (verb) — Return to (an activity)
- go back to (verb) — To stem from; to originate in.
- go on /ˈɡoʊˌɒn/ (verb) — To continue in extent.
- send back (verb) — To return (something) to its origin.
- shut up /ʃʌt ʌp/ — Stop talking (usually in the form of making annoying, irrelevant, or false comments, during a period of peace and quiet, or when one is not allowed to talk)…
- wait for (verb) — To wait until the specified event occurs.
- walk in (verb) — To come without an appointment to a place that would normally require one.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, doesn't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, chef /ʃɛf/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like steak, rush, suffer.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most important · the best |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is still doing · is not having · is missing |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll check · I'll throw · will eat |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | need to hear · must live · have to make |
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.