Shadowing Practice: Which Menu Will Make It? ⏲️ | MasterChef Australia | S18 Ep59 | Clip - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
It's almost an hour into the cook, and Vinny hasn't got anything in the oven yet.
2
I'm a little bit worried about how he's gonna get these huge, huge porchetta rolls nice and consistently cooked in time.
3
I'm so excited.
4
This menu is a representation of who I am as a chef.
5
It's a nod to where I've been and a reflection of where I want to go.
6
You know, I really want to have Asian-inspired dishes that have French techniques and, like, bring my little flair to things that I learned along the way.
7
Just trying to get into my zone right now, trying to set myself up well for the service later.
8
For the main, I'm making a pork loin chop with crispy skin and three sauces.
9
But I won't actually start with that yet because I have to start working on my dessert.
10
With the dessert, I'm making a basil and white pepper ice cream, a strawberry and tomato granita, and a hazelnut crumb.
11
This dessert is reminiscent of my tomato salad dessert that I did early in the season, and that went exceptionally well.
12
Now I need to try and elevate that to show how far I've come.
13
Right now, I'm working on the basil ice cream anglaise, and from there, I'm going to do my granita as well granita as well.
14
My dessert has a lot of things to set
15
and I have to do that now because I need that churned or frozen and ready for later.
16
Once that's all done I'm gonna start prepping my pork.
17
20 minutes down lads let's keep going!
18
There he is.
19
The Kid Wonder.
20
Is anyone gonna come with me?
21
I can't!
22
I can't!
23
More meat!
24
More meat!
25
The worst thing you can do as a Greek is under-cater.
26
This service challenge is crazy.
27
We have to serve so many people
28
and we have to do it all on our own in three hours and at this high standard.
29
So my strategy today is trying to do something that's achievable but still show off technique, flavour and also my growth and what I've learnt here.
30
So that's why I have a focused plan of attack to execute my menu.
31
Petro!
32
I'm dying to know what you're going to cook.
33
I am doing I fillet with a jus that's going to be infused with pine mushrooms.
34
Right, so Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip puree, stir-fried artichoke, crisps, some roasted pine mushrooms, microsorrel and chervil.
35
Okay.
36
I know that it's daunting trying to get 23 portions of iFillit perfectly, so how are we planning to cook the iFillit?
37
Obviously, I would love to sear it off on the hibachi and get that flavour.
38
Yep.
39
But it's all gonna come down to whether I have time.
40
You need to push yourself.
41
Yep.
42
It's a semi-final.
43
Yes.
44
This is to get into the grand finale.
45
Yes.
46
I think safe isn't gonna get you there.
47
This is your strength.
48
Yes.
49
This is your strength.
50
If you can caramelise that meat over the hibachi, and then we finish it in the oven, like, that could take it from good to amazing.
51
Okay, Chef.
52
That sounds like a plan.
53
Let's go to dessert.
54
I am making what I'm calling a Greek eclair.
55
So I'm doing a fig leaf creme madame.
56
Yep.
57
Some fresh figs and a vergie syrup that's going to be laced with a bit of olive oil and my stiffer.
58
That's my Petro.
59
That sounds like a you dish that you've gone.
60
How am I going to blow the judges away?
61
That is solid, that dessert.
62
Okay.
63
Okay.
64
So now the main, let's get that to the same level as the dessert.
65
Yes, Chef.
66
Let's cook like the wind today.
67
Yep.
68
And put a smile on your face.
69
Thanks, Chef.
70
Well, I'm nervous right now because my relationship with the hibachi is a little love-hate.
71
It didn't get off to a beautiful start and I feel like this could potentially put me behind schedule.
72
But Andy's right.
73
I need to push myself to elevate the steak.
74
So I've got to bite the bullet and do it.
75
Right now, I'm developing my jus, and I need to also get started on my Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip puree.
76
I am motoring.
77
I'm not leaving anything to chance today.
78
I'm going to work as fast as I can.
79
Well, fellas, two hours and 20 minutes till dishes leave the past.
80
Let's go!
81
Go, guys!
82
Come on!
83
Yeah, you did.
84
Now that's a time call.
85
I feel like this is a perfect challenge for me to showcase my journey here and how far I've come.
86
For my main, by playing on a dish that I started the competition with, it's going to show how far I've come and how much I've grown as a cook.
87
For my audition, I made a porchetta panini.
88
And I'm reimagining it today as the cook that I want to be, keeping, like, a rustic heart of my food and keeping true to my Italian roots.
89
But I'm definitely trying to be a little bit more ambitious.
90
All right, V, talk to me.
91
I guess we're cooking pork.
92
My main's gonna be a porchetta.
93
Ooh, full circle.
94
Throwback to day one.
95
So I'm gonna do a marinade, roll it back up, truss it, get that in the oven, low and slow for as long as I can, pump it up right at the end just to get that puff.
96
Yep.
97
We serve that with a pork jus with a celeriac puree and a radicchio and fig salad.
98
Mate, it sounds so you, which I think is the most important thing in this cook.
99
I want to see who Vinnie is on the plate, okay?
100
Yep.
101
But we've had some ordinary porkettas in this kitchen.
102
Yep.
103
From very, very good cooks, right?
104
They want crispy skin.
105
Yes, correct.
106
So we need to make sure that it puffs in the end and make sure it's, you know, tender and fall apart like...
107
Yes, 100%.
108
OK, let's go for your dessert.
109
My dessert is going to be like a tiramisu tart.
110
Flavours inspired of tiramisu.
111
I'm going to do a few big circle tarts and then slice one on each plate.
112
So it's going to have a chocolate cremeux layer, coffee gel and then the top layer will be a whipped mascarpone cream with the baileys in there.
113
Right.
114
Okay.
115
Mate, tarts are not easy.
116
You know, people devote their whole careers to tarts.
117
Yeah.
118
You know, and you just don't have that experience yet.
119
So we need to make sure that we can finesse this dessert and execute this like flawlessly mate.
120
Yeah.
121
I feel like it's a great idea.
122
This is really ambitious for today's challenge, I feel like.
123
To get both of these dishes as good as they need to be to get you into the grand finale.
124
You need to work like an absolute demon. For sure.
125
Thank you.
126
Thank you, Andy.
127
I know I've got my work cut out for me, but I need to back myself.
128
I've started my pork jus.
129
So now I need to get onto my porketta.
130
And to make porketta for, you know, 20-plus diners, I need a lot of pork.
131
Normally when you go to the shops, you buy pork bellies about that big.
132
Today it's about that big.
133
There is a lot to do here, because I need to butcher, marinate, roll and tie this pork and get it in the oven as soon as possible.
134
And I need to nail not only one but two big slabs of porchetta.
135
And I really need to keep it nice and tight, otherwise it will cook unevenly.
136
That is so much pork.
137
Come on, Vinnie!
138
Vinnie, quit!
139
This is definitely a risk for Vinny, like those porchettas are massive and he really is pushing it for time to get them cooked.
140
It's almost an hour into the cook and Vinny hasn't got anything in the oven yet.
141
I'm a little bit worried about how he's gonna get these huge, huge porchetta rolls nice and consistently cooked in time.
142
Yeah!
143
Enjoying the lands in that one!
144
Vinny, quick!
145
He spent so long to butcher that.
146
Can't believe it.
147
It's just crazy.
148
Vinny, Eddie, mate, this is gonna be the first of many little love taps that I give you today, okay?
149
Yes.
150
Because I feel like we need to get these porchettas done.
151
Yeah.
152
I'm looking at the clock.
153
You've had an hour.
154
Yep.
155
And you've got your stock on.
156
Yep.
157
And you've done a a bit of butchery.
158
OK?
159
That's nearly a third of your whole cook time, right?
160
So you've got to think about it like that.
161
We need to get them in the oven.
162
I am going to push you so hard.
163
Thank you, please.
164
Please do.
165
Don't hate me.
166
Love me.
167
It's going to be a battle, but we've got this.
168
I need to get this pork marinated, rolled and tied tired, time is slipping away and I'm not used to cooking with cuts of meat this big.
169
That's huge, they are huge.
170
That's not the biggest thing ever to think.
171
You need to push harder than you ever have before!
172
Two hours till service!
173
Come on guys, keep pushing!
174
I know that my mains are gonna be served first, but right now my focus is to finish working on my dessert.
175
Nice Aaron, keep going buddy.
176
Because it's time consuming, and it has to be perfect.
177
Right now I'm working on the basil ice cream anglaise, and my granita as well.
178
With the tomato granita I have to blend up some heirloom and Roma tomatoes, put them through a strainer, make sure I get all the pips out, and do the same with some strawberries to add a bit of sweetness.
179
Aaron, hit me with the menu.
180
Dessert.
181
Dessert is a basil white pepper ice cream, tomato, strawberry and white balsamic granita.
182
OK.
183
And fried basil leaf and a hazelnut crumb.
184
OK.
185
It's very similar to a dish.
186
Yeah, it is.
187
Isn't it?
188
I mean, that was the ice cream taste test?
189
Yeah, it was, yeah.
190
What I remember with that dish, it was near on perfect.
191
That was the turning point for me.
192
I felt that, you know, wow, I can actually do dessert.
193
And, you know, I'm actually pumping it full of new flavours, new ideas just to elevate it a bit more.
194
The ice cream with the pepper, that really adds a nice fruitiness and a little heat and interest.
195
Then that's quenched by the granita.
196
And the granita now has the strawberry through it, so it makes it less vegetal.
197
OK.
198
The hazelnuts with the skin on it adds sort of like a toasted sesame flavour, which is really interesting.
199
OK.
200
So that's where I'm kind of going with that.
201
I love the idea of this.
202
So now the main.
203
So my main is a pork loin chop.
204
It's roasted on the bone.
205
It's gonna have crispy skin.
206
Right.
207
With that, I've got some charred treviso, a pork and veal jus, and I've got the exo sauce as a garnish.
208
Exo sauce as well?
209
Yeah.
210
And a red miso mustard.
211
Wow.
212
Okay, so there's a fair bit going on here, right?
213
You got miso, you got exo, you've got the jus.
214
Like, there's a fair bit of heavy hitters here.
215
So let's try and think about how they're gonna play with each other, not against each other.
216
Yeah.
217
There need to be harmony on a plate.
218
I'm loving where it's going, though.
219
OK?
220
Good luck.
221
Thanks.
222
I've got to be really intentional with how I use flavors and techniques in both my main course and my dessert course.
223
But I feel like I have a really clear vision on how to execute the Asian-French fusion in my main course.
224
I just need to make sure that I leave enough time to do it.
📺 Same Channel
B21
Cherish Finden Sets an INSANE Pastry Challenge! 🧨 | MasterChef Australia | S18 Ep60 | Clip
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B11
Xiaolong-wow! That's how you eat a soup dumpling 🥟🤯
Travel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B11
Finalists Vs. Two Professional Chefs 🔥 | MasterChef Australia | S18 Ep58 | Clip
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
✨ Recommend Video
B11
49 sentences
Chef Casero | Casi Creativo
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
8 sentences
How To Make Peppercorn Sauce | Cookery School | Waitrose
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
234 sentences
Uncle Roger RECREATE JAMIE OLIVER RAMEN
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B13
34 sentences
*PANIC* mode is in full swing 😰
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
57 sentences
Gordon Ramsay Carves a Chicken Blindfolded | Masterchef
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
172 sentences
I Turned My Apartment Into a Fine Dining Restaurant
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
123 sentences
Cô gái Châu Á bật khóc nức nở sau khi bị Gordon bắt tại trận gian lận nghiêm trọng | Vua Đầu Bếp Mỹ
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
66 sentences
De week van de Michelinsterren ⭐️ | L1
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
821 sentences
Cooking Together Was the Worst Decision | MasterChef USA Season 9
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B1694 sentences
Which AI is The Best Chef?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B26
400 sentences
Michelin-Star Chef Rates Every Fine Dining Scene From 'The Bear' | How Real Is It? | Insider
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Which Menu Will Make It? ⏲️”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: dessert, pork, cook, granita, main. This video has 224 sentences and 2007 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:47. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dessert noun | /dɪˈzɝt/ | The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc. |
| porchetta noun | /poɹˈkɛtə/ | A savory and moist boneless pork roast, part of Italian cuisine. |
| granita noun | /ɡɹəˈniːtə/ | An Italian dessert of fruit purée etc. on crushed ice. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| oven noun | /ˈʌ.vn̩/ | A chamber used for baking or heating. |
| basil noun | /ˈbæz.əl/ | A plant (Ocimum basilicum). |
| flavour noun | British standard spelling of flavor. | |
| tomato noun | /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
| strawberry noun | /ˈstɹɔˌbɛɹi/ | The sweet, usually red, edible accessory fruit of certain plants of the genus Fragaria. |
| chef noun | /ʃɛf/ | The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household. |
| artichoke noun | /ˈɑɹ.tɪˌtʃoʊk/ | A plant related to the thistle with enlarged flower heads eaten as a vegetable while immature, Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus. |
| crispy adjective | /ˈkɹɪs.pi/ | Having a crisp texture; brittle yet tender. |
| elevate verb | /ˈɛləveɪt/ | To raise (something) to a higher position. |
| hazelnut noun | /ˈheɪzəlˌnʌt/ | The fruit of the hazel, especially of species Corylus avellana, which is grown commercially. |
| hibachi noun | A portable brazier, powered by charcoal, used for cooking. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. |
| fall apart verb | To disintegrate, to break into pieces. |
| show off verb | To exhibit the best attributes of something. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Is anyone gonna come with me?
- I'm dying to know what you're going to cook.
- I think safe isn't gonna get you there.
- How am I going to blow the judges away?
- I mean, that was the ice cream taste test?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've been · I've come · I've learnt |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be infused · be laced · be served |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | start working · start prepping · keep pushing |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | The worst · the most important · the biggest |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 71 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, gonna, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: dish /dɪʃ/, chef /ʃɛf/, mushroom /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/, ambitious /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/, garnish /ˈɡɑːnɪʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: tiramisu /ˌtɪɹəˈmisu/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, achievable /əˈt͡ʃivəbəl/, caramelize /ˈkaɹ(ə)məlʌɪz/, mascarpone /ˌmæskə(ɹ)ˈpəʊni/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like dessert, porchetta, granita.
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.