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diet noun: the usual food and drink consumed by an organism (person or animal) Example: My diet in Ireland used to consist of potatoes everyday, now in Korea, my diet consists of rice everyday.

etiquette noun: rules governing socially acceptable behavior. Example: Turning your head away while drinking in front of older people is good etiquette in Korea.

phrase: to have food delivered to your home. Example: "Let's order in, I'm too tired to cook, and I don't want to go out. How about a pizza?"

eat out phrase: eat at a restaurant or at somebody else's home. Example: Let's eat out tonight. I'm too tired to cook.

entree noun: the principal dish of a meal (main course) Example: I'll have steak for my entree, thank you.

bone verb: remove the bones from. Example: I like to bone fish before cooking it so it's safer to eat after.

dice verb: cut into cubes. Example: I try to dice onions quickly before I start to cry.

recipe noun: directions for making something. Example: I found a great curry recipe online. It was really easy to follow and it tasted great afterwards.

recipe noun: directions for making something. Example: I found a great curry recipe online. It was really easy to follow and the curry tasted great afterwards.

scoff (st) down / scoff down (st) phrase: to eat food very quickly. Example: I was so hungry that I scoffed down my dinner in 2 minutes flat.

simmer verb: boil slowly at low temperature Example: After the sauce comes to a boil, you'll need to turn down the gas and simmer it for a further 10 minutes.

marinate verb: to soak meat in mixtures of vinegar or wine and oil with various spices and seasonings (usually the night before) Example: We are having a BBQ tomorrow, I should marinate some meat tonight, so it's ready for tomorrow.

defrost verb: make or become free of frost or ice. Example: I have to ensure that chicken is fully defrosted before I cook it, otherwise it can be extremely dangerous to eat.

home cooked adjective: to describe food cooked at home, usually by your mom or dad. Example: I love my moms home cooked tarts. (pies)

scoff (st) down / scoff down (st) phrase: To eat something quickly. Example: I was so hungry that I scoffed down my dinner in 2 minutes flat.

packed lunch noun: a cold lunch carried in a bag or box to work or school or on an excursion. Example: I used to carry a packed lunch to secondary school, but now I usually have lunch in a cafeteria.

broil verb: cooking by direct exposure to radiant heat (as over a fire or under a grill) Example: I like to broil fish, so I don't have to use any oil.

savory noun: a dish of stimulating flavor served usually at the end of dinner but sometimes as an appetizer Example: "Would you like a savory mam?." " Yes, I'd like some cake please."

stew noun: food, such as meat, fish, vegetables cooked slowly and for a long time in liquid. Example: In the Winter, my mom used to cook a stew, to keep us warm.

palette noun: a comparable range, quality, or use of flavours. Example: Sea food does not agree with my palette but red meat certainly does.

palette noun: a comparable range, quality, or use of available flavours Example: Sea food does not agree with my palette but red meat certainly does.

palette noun: a comparable range, quality, or use of flavours/tastes. Example: Sea food doesn't agree with my palette, but red meat certainly does.

helping noun: an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal Example: Would you like an extra helping of potatoes?

helpings noun: an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal Example: Would you like an extra helping of potatoes?

bland (adjective) lacking taste or flavour Example: This soup is too bland, I think I need to add salt.

bland (adjective) lacking taste or flavor Exanmple: This soup is too bland, I think I need to add salt.

Irish food is known to be pretty bland with our vegetables overcooked, to the point that they are soggy. Our traditional food consists of helpings of potatoes, cabbage and salmon. It is not exactly gourmet food but it appeals to a certain palette.

In my house when I was growing up, my mother did the cooking and we set the table. Generally, we would have fish on Fridays, chicken on Sundays and a mixture of beef, stew, chips, pizza, omelette, curry, potatoes, and greens during the week, (whatever my father wanted really, as he was the breadwinner in those days before his early retirement). I used to love watching my mom cook, trying to steal food, before it was ready. I especially loved the time when she would make savories, like chocolate cake, sponge or trifle. I would always wait to lick the mixture off the spoon or scrape at the mixing bowl before it went into the sink to be washed. I loved the aroma in the kitchen as the food baked or cooked in the oven, the smells filling the air.

We kind of had every type of food growing up, and it was made in various ways, from boiling to frying, to grilling or broiling, to deep fat frying and so on. We would always have a fry-up for breakfast or a bowl of porridge, for lunch, it was a packed lunch of a sandwich, a piece of fruit and a small drink, usually juice or milk. Dinner would be ready when I got in the door after school. I would scoff it down quickly, so I could go and do my homework or more often, go out to play football with friends.

When I left home to go to university, I missed home-cooked food. I had to fend for myself, learning how to cook on my own. I really enjoyed this as I had picked up a few things from my mom over the years. If it was during the week, I would just make a quick snack, whatever I could throw together in a few minutes. At the weekend though, I would always take my time preparing a meal, chopping up the vegetables, defrosting food the night before, leaving things to soak or marinate overnight. I would learn when to put thing on to boil or when to leave them simmer. Sometimes I’d look at cookbooks or TV cookery shows, to get ideas and recipes. Sometimes, I just experimented, not always successful though.

During University, to pay for my tuition, I worked as a chef in a hotel, for about 4 years, prepping vegetables, cooking meat and fish, sometimes working on pastries. I would dice onions, shell shallots, crush garlic, bone fish, tenderize meat, boil live lobsters, mix sauces, serve appetizers, soups, entrees, desserts (a four course meal) and much more. After I would clean the pots and pans, scrub down the chopping board, turn off the ovens and make sure the gas rings were off.

I love cooking a variety of food, from Irish to Indian, from French to Mexican and Italian, and before coming to Korea I learned how to cook Bulgogi (불고기), Kimbap (김밥), and Buchimgae (부침개). In Korea I live alone so I cook, but mostly I eat out or order in. My daily diet has changed, I fell in love with Doenjang chigae (된장찌개), Samgyetang (삼계탕), and even Bundaegi (번데기). One thing I always miss when I go back to Ireland, is Korean food. The barbecue culture of Samgyapsal, the Soju and Cider , the etiquette and customs of drinking and eating with others. These are some beautiful things I love about eating out in Korea.

Today, when I switch on the box, I am surrounded by celebrity TV chefs, like Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, but it was an earlier TV chef I used to love watching, Keith Floyd, who unfortunately passed away last week, but I think it was him, as well as my mom, who gave a me my love for food and cooking.

Verb	Collocation	Example
add in	flour	Slowly add in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until well blended.
bang on/put on/stick on	kettle	Make yourself useful and bang the kettle on, will you?
be off	milk	The milk is off. Don’t drink it!
boil over		Watch the milk carefully when you heat it. If it boils over you'll have a lot of cleaning to do!
chop up	vegetables	Chop all the vegetables up and put them in a pan of boiling water.
clear off	table	After dinner, he helped to clear off the table.
clog up	arteries	Too much fatty food clogs up the arteries.
come off		The skin comes off easily if you dip the tomatoes for several seconds in hot water.
come on		How's dinner coming on? I'm starving.
cool down		This soup is too hot to eat. I'll wait for it to cool down.
cut back on	sugar	Kraft Foods, the maker of brands from Oreo cookies to Oscar Meyer bologna, announced plans Tuesday to cut back on sugar and fat in some products.
cut down on	sugar	If losing weight is a priority it is quite safe to cut down on sugar.
cut off	piece of meat	He cut off a small piece of meat and smelled it.
cut out	coffee	I'm trying to cut out coffee altogether but find what I really miss is having a hot beverage in the morning.
cut up	food	I've heard that it's considered bad etiquette to cut up all of your food at once.