Shiitake mushrooms comedy sketch

Photo by frankenstoen, at Wikimedia

Shiitake (/ʃɪtɑ:kɪ/ or /ʃɪ:tɑ:kɪ/) are edible mushroom native to East Asia, which are cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries, as well as being dried and exported to many countries around the world. They are a feature of many Asian cuisines including Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Thai. In the East, the shiitake mushroom has long been considered a delicacy as well as a medicinal mushroom. (Wikipedia)

They were also the subject of a short sketch in the popular British comedy series, The Catherine Tate Show, featuring Yorkshire couple 'Janice and Ray'.

Vocab game - Food collocations (mainly British) quiz

This game has twelve quizzes related to the food we eat in Britain.

Most natives of Britain will recognise these easily, but I have to confess it will be difficult for foreign learners. There are some links at the bottom where you can get some information, perhaps before you start. The first three are aimed at learners and will give you some idea of some of the more traditional dishes. The award-winning Woodlands Junior School website is always a good place to start when looking for information about British customs.

The section on foreign origins has some Indian dishes. After the links there is a video clip parodying British drunken visits to Indian restaurants. In fact if you watch it before doing the quiz, it will help you with a couple of questions.

The quizzes mostly consist of collocations, words that often go together, but the UK / US one is about different British and American names for the same things.

• Simply does it - homely food
• Various meat dishes
• Mainly condiments
• Puddings (desserts)
• Baking
• Origins - dishes etc with place names
• Fruit and vegetables
• Foreign origins - but now totally familiar
• Breakfast
• Christmas
• UK / US
• Bits and bobs