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Hello, this is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
And I'm Becca.
Do you enjoy cooking Neil?
Yes, I do enjoy cooking.
I think it's quite relaxing,
especially after a busy day.
How about you, Becca?
I enjoy cooking
when I'm feeding other people,
but usually after a busy day at work,
I don't enjoy cooking for myself.
Well, we're talking
about cooking today,
and most of us can at least boil an
egg, but not everyone could make it
as a professional chef
in a world-famous restaurant.
Mmm. Being a top chef requires
passion, dedication, and hard work.
Many chefs work 15 hours a day,
six days a week,
and busy kitchens cooking expensive food
are very stressful places to work.
So, why do they do it?
In this episode, we'll hear from
one South African chef who started
her own award-winning restaurant
in the country known
as the home of fine dining – France.
As usual, we'll be learning
some useful new words and phrases.
And remember, you'll find
all this episode's vocabulary,
along with a transcript, on
our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
But first,
I have a question for you, Neil.
The top prizes for any professional
chef are Michelin stars,
awards given to restaurants offering
outstanding cooking.
But who is the winner
of the most Michelin stars ever?
Is it: a) Italian chef
Enrico Bartolini,
b) French chef Joël Robuchon,
or c) British chef
Gordon Ramsay?
I'm going to say a) the Italian chef,
Enrico Bartolini,
because I went to Italy recently
and the food was amazing!
Mmm! OK.
We'll find out the answer later
in this episode.
Born in South Africa, chef Chantel
Dartnall started her culinary career
at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
in the exclusive Mayfair area of London.
Here, she tells Ruth Alexander,
presenter of BBC World Service programme
The Food Chain, how it all got started:
What happened is I had graduated from
the Prue Leith College of Food and Wine
and decided to send my CV to all
the three-Michelin-star restaurants
that I could find at that moment
in the Michelin Guide.
So, you aimed high from the off.
I aimed high.
The only thing that they could say
was no, and what would I lose?
I received a call
from chef Paul Rhodes
to say, When can you start?
Wow.
And this, sort of,
just catapulted my career.
Chantel sent her CV
to the world's top restaurants.
CV is short for curriculum vitae,
a document listing someone's education,
qualifications and work experience,
which they write when looking
for a job.
In American English,
it's called a résumé.
Chantel applied to only
Michelin-star-winning restaurants.
She aimed high,
meaning she was ambitious.
Chantel says,
The worst they could do is say no,
a phrase which means
you shouldn't be afraid
of trying to do something
because the worst outcome
is being rejected.
Luckily for Chantel,
the answer was yes,
and learning her trade in
a top London restaurant catapulted,
meaning accelerated, her career.
At the age of 26,
Chantel left London and returned home
to open her own restaurant, Mosaic,
near Pretoria in South Africa.
She'd been inspired by
botanical cuisine,
the use of edible flowers and herbs
to decorate and flavour food.
Here, Chantel tells more to BBC World
Service programme The Food Chain.
When I opened Mosaic in South Africa,
I knew I wanted
something entirely different
and something
which diners had not seen.
I wanted to have my own signature
and to stand out,
and I think especially for
botanical cuisine in South Africa,
it was very much unknown.
Chantel developed her own signature.
A signature item is something
that is typical of,
or strongly associated with,
a particular person or place.
For example,
whisky is Scotland's signature drink.
Chantel's signature is cooking
botanical food.
Chantel's Mosaic restaurant
is currently
at the Château des Tesnières
in northern France,
where it's listed among
the top 200 restaurants in the world.
And in 2017 she won the title
Best Female Chef in the World.
These achievements have helped Chantel
stand out – to be more noticeable
and better than other chefs.
Chantel is still waiting,
but surely it's only a matter of time
until she wins
those coveted Michelin stars.
Speaking of which, what was
the answer to your question, Becca?
Ah yes, I asked you earlier,
Who is the winner
of the most Michelin stars ever?
I said that it was
the Italian chef Enrico Bartolini...
...but unfortunately,
it was incorrect.
Oh no!
The right answer is
b) Joël Robuchon,
our French chef with 31 stars –
the most decorated chef in history.
OK. Let's recap the vocabulary
we've learned,
starting with curriculum vitae, CV,
or résumé in American English –
a document outlining
someone's education, qualifications
and work experience, which
they prepare when looking for a job.
To aim high means to be ambitious
and set high goals.
The phrase, the worst they can do
is say no, means:
don't be afraid of trying to do
something for the fear of rejection.
If something is catapulted,
it's suddenly accelerated
or launched forward.
A signature item is something
that a person or place is known for.
And finally, to stand out
means to be more noticeable
or better than other similar things.
Once again, our six minutes are up.
If you enjoyed this episode, you'll
find a quiz and worksheet to practise
the vocabulary we've learnt on
our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
See you again soon.
But for now it's goodbye.
Goodbye!
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15dedication
word
0:41
"the willingness to give a lot of time and energy to something."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Find out what it really takes to become a professional chef and the realities of working in a kitchen in this 6 Minute English episode.