Reading Comprehensive Test

Read the article about celebrity chefs.

Celebrity chefs

Today we can switch on our TVs and see famous chefs with their own cooking programmes every night of the week! Here are just three of those famous faces. 

A Leo Pattern 

Leo has become famous because of his excellent restaurant in the heart of the New Forest. He says that his success is due to the fact that he uses all local produce from farms near his restaurant. ‘I don’t have to travel more than five miles to get my vegetables,’ says Leo. ‘This means everything I cook is fresh and tastes wonderful. I’m near the coast, so there is always fresh fish on the menu too. I think people enjoy my food because it’s simple, fresh and tasty. I’m very lucky to have a job that I love doing and I have some very good people to help me. Now, with my own TV show, I can share my cooking secrets with everyone. That makes me very happy!’ 

B Diane Wakefield

Diane trained with a famous French chef in a Paris restaurant for several years. After that she worked in some of the top restaurants in Paris. You can see and taste the French influence in her city restaurant. The programme follows life in the kitchens of that restaurant where her team of chefs always try to create exciting and original dishes. ‘I like cooking and creating classic English meals with a French angle,’ says Diane. ‘I am always looking for something new and interesting. My work gives me that opportunity.’ 

C Paul Varney 

Everyone knows Paul Varney as a judge on the cooking competition programme Best Chef, but he is also famous for his chain of restaurants across Europe. Paul is Irish and he learned to cook in his grandmother’s kitchen in Ireland. ‘I lived in that kitchen,’ he says. ‘My grandmother gave me my love for cooking when I was a teenager, and in my career I have tried to use the basic traditional Irish recipes that she taught me. The TV competition shows give other people a chance to do what I have done and I think that’s great!’ 

1. Match the sentences (1–6) with the people (A–C). You can choose the people more than once:

1. Which person became a chef because of someone in his family?

2. Which person has restaurants in different countries?

3. Which person likes to combine different cooking styles?

4. Which person is pleased to tell people how to cook his/her meals?

5. Which person likes to try different things?

6. Which person likes to cook seafood?

2. Read the article about celebrity chefs and choose the best answers:

Celebrity chefs

Today we can switch on our TVs and see famous chefs with their own cooking programmes every night of the week! Here are just three of those famous faces. 

A Leo Pattern 

Leo has become famous because of his excellent restaurant in the heart of the New Forest. He says that his success is due to the fact that he uses all local produce from farms near his restaurant. ‘I don’t have to travel more than five miles to get my vegetables,’ says Leo. ‘This means everything I cook is fresh and tastes wonderful. I’m near the coast, so there is always fresh fish on the menu too. I think people enjoy my food because it’s simple, fresh and tasty. I’m very lucky to have a job that I love doing and I have some very good people to help me. Now, with my own TV show, I can share my cooking secrets with everyone. That makes me very happy!’ 

B Diane Wakefield

Diane trained with a famous French chef in a Paris restaurant for several years. After that she worked in some of the top restaurants in Paris. You can see and taste the French influence in her city restaurant. The programme follows life in the kitchens of that restaurant where her team of chefs always try to create exciting and original dishes. ‘I like cooking and creating classic English meals with a French angle,’ says Diane. ‘I am always looking for something new and interesting. My work gives me that opportunity.’ 

C Paul Varney 

Everyone knows Paul Varney as a judge on the cooking competition programme Best Chef, but he is also famous for his chain of restaurants across Europe. Paul is Irish and he learned to cook in his grandmother’s kitchen in Ireland. ‘I lived in that kitchen,’ he says. ‘My grandmother gave me my love for cooking when I was a teenager, and in my career I have tried to use the basic traditional Irish recipes that she taught me. The TV competition shows give other people a chance to do what I have done and I think that’s great!’ 

1. How far does Leo travel to buy produce for his restaurant?

2. How does Leo feel about being a chef? 

3. Where did Diane learn to cook? 

4. Why does Diane like her job?

5. What is Paul’s job on Best Chef?

6. Why does Paul like the show?