Learn English While Learning About Daily Life in Australia – with Rob McCormack

 Podcast Number 3 – A Barbeque in Melbourne – The Preparation

Hi.

A really common activity for families in summer in Melbourne is to have a barbeque. A barbeque is when you cook your meat outside on a griller or a hot plate. In Australia, we also call the griller or hot plate the ‘barbeque’. For a typical barbeque, you cook steak or sausages. Or maybe you might also cook lamb chops or pork chops. Whatever, it always tastes better when it has been barbequed outside. Together with your cooked meat, you also have prepared salads, like coleslaw, a garden salad, potato salad, and you usually also have bread. The bread can be either sliced or fresh bread rolls. And also, one must never forget the tomato sauce. No barbeque is complete without tomato sauce.

So, let’s describe how you prepare for a typical barbeque where a family decides to go to the local park and have a family barbeque.

First, you get the Esky out. Now the Esky is a cooler (like a refrigerator) that can keep food cold. Then you prepare the salads. I like a good coleslaw and also a potato salad. And you can’t beat a good mixed garden salad with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, olives, tomatoes and maybe some cheese. And don’t forget the dressing. French dressing is nice. Mmm!  You need to put the salads into sealed containers so they don’t leak everywhere when inside the Esky. Now you get the drinks organised – soft drink for the kids and maybe a wine or a few beers for the adults. I like to take large bottles of soft drink for the kids because it’s a lot cheaper than cans or small bottles and also it creates less rubbish for the environment. That means you need cups or mugs for the kids also. Lastly you put your meat into the Esky along with your eating utensils – paper or plastic plates, knives and forks. You also need a pair of cooking tongs, for handling the meat while it cooks. Don’t forget your picnic rug so you have somewhere to sit and eat your food. Oh, and you must also take a football, or perhaps a cricket bat and ball, so that the family can enjoy some exercise in the open space in the park.

Okay, now you are ready to leave for the nearest park. The Esky goes in the boot of the car, then the whole family gets into the car and off you go. At the park you will find public barbeques where you can cook your food and enjoy a great family day out in the bright Melbourne sunshine.

In another podcast, I will tell you more about the parks and picnic areas around Melbourne.

If you have a question or a comment to make, please leave it by clicking the comments link at the top of this story.  Goodbye until next time.

Vocabulary

activity = when you do something

boot =a space in the back of a car used to carry things

bright sunshine = when the sun is shining with no clouds

cheaper = when something doesn’t cost much

complete = when everything is all there

containers = something which holds a drink or some food, for example a box, can, bottle.

describe = when you tell someone about something

dressing = a liquid you put on a salad to make it taste better

environment = the world around us, for example the land, the air, the rivers, the seas.

exercise = to run around or play a game

fresh = when something is new, or made not long ago

handling = when you need to move something

leak = when liquid spills out

local park = a place nearby where there is grass and plants, a place to play or sit.

mixed = where there are many things put together

nearest = the closest

organised = to get everything you need

outside = in the open air

prepared = when something has been already made

public = everybody can use it

refrigerator = something used in the kitchen to keep food cold

rubbish = something that is no longer useful and is thrown away

sealed = when no air can get it

sliced = when you cut something into slices, for example bread.

summer = the hottest season of the year. The other seasons are winter, spring and autumn

tongs = a large metal utensil used to put meat on a hot plate

typical = something that is normal, that everyone knows

usually = most of the time

utensils = things you use to eat your food with