16
2.2
CREATIVE LIVES
READING AND SPEAKING
1
Discuss these questions with a partner.
1
Are you creative? Can you sing, draw, paint, design
or cook?
2
Which famous creative people do you know or like?
3
Which famous cooks or cookery writers do you
know about?
2
a
Read the text quickly. Write down two interesting
things you remember. Compare with other students.
2
b
Correct these sentences about the text.
1
There aren’t as many cookery programmes on TV
now as there were in the past.
2
Sam Stern is a chef who started cooking when he
was 14.
3
Sam Stern was the oldest of a family of five.
4
Sam sent his first book of recipes to a publisher for
feedback.
5
He learnt most of his skills at a cookery school in
Ireland.
6
He took a break from writing books while he was a
student at university.
2
c
Find words in the text that mean:
1
brothers and sisters. (paragraph 2)
2
someone who doesn’t eat meat or fish. (paragraph 2)
3
someone who doesn’t eat any meat, fish or animal
by-products. (paragraph 2)
4
a person who reads a summary or manuscript of a
new book, to see if it is worth publishing.
(paragraph 3)
5
someone we admire and want to be similar to.
(paragraph 5)
3
Increasing your understanding
Answer these
questions with a partner.
1
Sam Stern’s books have had a positive influence on
young people. Why do you think this is?
2
Who do you consider to be a role model for young
people? Why?
He is a very inspiring young man. I didn’t know
anything about him. How did you hear about
him? I want to know more about his life. Where
was he born? What kind of recipes do his books
contain?
Seth 546
Comment
15 September
Cooking has become very fashionable these
days. There are more cookery programmes on TV
than ever before, and many different competitions
to find new talent. A young chef I really admire is
Sam Stern. He started cooking as a young child, and
wrote his first cookery book for young people at the
age of 14. His seventh cookery book came out in
2015.
Sam grew up in a big family with three older
sisters and a brother. Two of his siblings were
vegetarians and the other a vegan, and one of them
didn’t like vegetables. Sam always helped his mother
cook family meals, which was never an easy task!
One day he wrote some notes for an idea for
a cookbook, which his mother passed on to some
literary agents she knew. Sam was surprised and
very pleased when a publisher contacted him with
positive feedback about publishing his first recipe
book.
Although Sam went to a well-known cookery
school in Ireland for three months, where he learnt
some valuable lessons and skills from professional
chefs, he is largely self-taught.
Despite being a successful author, Sam went on
to study for a degree at university. He worked hard
on his studies and at the same time, he managed to
publish yet more books. This young man is a role
model for us all.
Ken’sblog
