What? Why? How?: “My Favorite Food” – Descriptive Essay Sample

There are many delicious dishes from different cuisines – American, Indian, Mexican, Greek, Chinese, etc. Each has its tastes, peculiarities of cooking. But which country has the best food? The question “What is my favorite food?” may occur to students when they are assigned with essay writing on this topic. Hm… and indeed, what is that? Determining with the favorite food is half the battle. Now, you should start writing about it. It isn’t enough to state, “My favorite food is … I like it because of …”. The descriptive essay writing is meant to be another – describing food as concisely and vividly as possible. Describing your favorite food, don’t be afraid of touching on a taste receptor of the reader.

So, in this article, you’ll be shown how to write a descriptive essay on “My Favorite Food”. Moreover, you are given an essay sample to show how it should be done in practice. Follow it and write your own essay!

Setting an Exposition to the Story

Before going to the juicy part, let`s define the task. You cannot write a good descriptive essay on food without understanding what “descriptive” means. What structure should the essay have? How to make readers comfortable while reading food essay, as if they cozily sit in the restaurant themselves? How to navigate them through the firework of tastes, smells, and emotions you had? No worries, here are some tips for the essay about food. 

A descriptive essay has three main tasks: set the tone, explicitly convey the experience, and make the reader want to repeat it. The main peculiarity of a descriptive essay about favorite food is that it should not bring some information but recreate the eating process to make the reader drool as you did. 

Introduction paragraph

So, to start with, you want an eye-catching introduction. You may or may not describe food here – but the advice is better not to, as it would make the text overly homogenous. Present the environment here. Talk about why the topic excites you, why it is relevant, and make the reader wonder, think, or imagine. 

Body part

If answering the question of “my favorite food” does not do the trick with your brain, try this: what is your favorite memory from childhood related to food? “My favourite food” for you is about flavor, texture, smell, or the person who cooks it? In the body part, use storytelling and imagine yourself retelling your day to a friend. You want this person to visit the place with you next time – so make it colorful and persuasive! 

Conclusion

A descriptive essay about food should leave the reader with some positive emotions – either eager to go eat something or at least feel satisfied with reading your essay. So, use a joke, a call to action, or any sincere commentary on your feelings about the described food. Be memorable and appealing, just like the meal you had!

The Dilemma: Which Food Is My Favorite?

According to a survey, pasta is the world’s favorite food. What’s yours? Because of a huge variety of food today, it is really challenging to choose the most favorite food to describe in an essay. What not try out a quiz to know what your favorite food is? There are some questions to answer and start writing an essay about the chosen food based on the following points:

• How often do you eat it?
• What was the first time when you tasted it? What was your impression?
• What associations do you have with this food?
• Where do you like eating it?
• Have you ever cooked it on your own?

By the way, do you know that your favorite food can say about your personality most? For example, if you like hot sauce, you are an adventure-seeker. Like ice cream with a cherry on top? Don’t lose your child-like innocence or a sense of wonder anyway! Rely on interesting facts in your essay to get the readers interested in reading it. Look at an essay sample below to see what you can present in your own essay and in what way.

Essay Sample – My Favorite Food Is …

How lucky we are today – all delicious food is easily available to us! Sometimes, I wonder how life was in the ancient past when our ancestors did not have easy access to food which we have today. Want to try out the Chinese food? No need to go to China! Just visit any restaurant in the city and get familiar with these hot and salty tastes. Do in the same way when you want to eat an American traditional dish, a burger, for example.

Although I can find food of all kinds in stores, there is food that stands out as my favorite one. I easily walk past the pizzas, the fluffy pastries, pies, and cream cakes. But when I sit in the restaurant and see the words oxtail stew with creamed spinach and potatoes, I drool immediately.

I remember the moment when a waiter of Waitron placed the crispy warm bread rolls beside me on a white plate. In front of me, there were yellow balls of butter. Next, she placed in front of me a bowl of creamed spinach, dark green finely cut with the white cream and steam coming from it advertising it was freshly cooked. I inhaled the warm aroma unique to spinach. Beside it, there was a bowl with smooth white mashed potato. Rich creamy smooth and firm from the butter and milk that had been beaten into it to add to its flavor and smooth texture.

Then the bowl full of oxtail stew came. Its rich dark brown color was set off by the white bowl it was in. The gravy was thick and rich. I could smell the aroma of beef, garlic, and herbs and spices drifting up from it into my nose. Unfortunately, any food has a tendency to get cold. My mouth watered in anticipation to eat it.

Now, I took the silver spoon and dipped it into the bowl of potato. It smoothly penetrated the firm fluffy white mound. I lifted the spoon and turned it over on my plate depositing a mound of potato. I repeated this 3 times. Then using another spoon, I scooped up spinach dripping white sauce and put it on the plate beside the potato. The dark green spinach was hot, the white sauce melted and it contrasted with the creamy potato. After a second helping of spinach, I took another larger spoon. I dipped it into the rich brown stew and stirred it. Then I scooped up a chunky slice of oxtail. Several other pieces followed that one onto my plate, the rich brown meat, contrasting with the dark green spinach and creamy white potato. The succulent meat gleaming with a coating of rich gravy and the aroma of gravy, garlic spinach and potato blending in the steam rising from my plate. I scooped up gravy from the bowl and trickled it over the white potato catching the scent of red wine. I broke the roll and spread butter on it and I was ready to eat.

Now the decision where to start, so I bit into the fresh crisp roll and tasted its warm soft texture and the melting butter. By then I had decided to sample the potato with gravy and the spinach. The potato was smooth, with a taste of butter overpowered with the tangy gravy, its garlic and hint of good red wine in it. The spinach was a good foil. Smooth with its vegetable texture and plain white sauce it softened the taste of the gravy. Then I used my fork and removed the succulent meat from the bone. Its soft texture, fatty feeling in the mouth, the spice wine and garlic in the gravy made it perfect.

Finally, I sat contented at my table eating as much as I could, and more than I should of my favorite food.

Is this essay written in vivid details so that you would like to taste it as well? So it is your main aim in your own descriptive essay – to make the reader try out your favorite food.

Analysis of ‘My Favourite Food’ Essay Sample

Okay, let’s have some practice. What do you think about the example of a descriptive essay about food above? Was it good? What do you like about it, and what could you add? Give yourself a second to think about it, then look below at what you could miss. 

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Positive points on the descriptive essay example

The presented example is descriptive all above and beyond. You may take some hints from it on how to use adjectives and other descriptive tools to make your text look like a bright advertisement. For instance, the typical mistake when writing a descriptive paragraph about a favorite food is to use only exclamatory sentences. Compare two examples: 

1. There was a bowl of screamed spinach with a dark green color and white cream. It had a stem coming from it, as in the advertisement, showing it was freshly cooked. 
2. Next, she placed in front of me a bowl of creamed spinach, dark green, finely cut with the white cream and steam coming from it, advertising it was freshly cooked.

Which one looks more alive and on a process to you? This essay is a good example of how to make objects interact with each other as if you watch an anime with food looking at you from its bowls. The vocabulary on your favorite food should activate the memories of a mouthwatering, crispy, seasoned peace of chips the readers feel sparkling on the top of the tongue while reading. 

What to improve

Well, nobody is perfect. Even for such a scenic favorite food essay, there is always something to make it better. Look at the introductory paragraph and the concluding one. The first paragraph sets the atmosphere quite good, right? It mentions the relevance of the topic, the author’s curiosity, and engages the reader to explore it together. But what about the conclusion? There is a small joke about “eating more than I should”, as instructed above, but is there a real conclusion? The one that returns the reader back from “my favourite food essay” to the real world. No, there is none, but you will surely add one to your next descriptive essay.

Aspects You Can Discuss in Your Essay

Some students struggle to develop ideas in their ‘Favorite food’ essay. No one wants to write a dull, uninteresting essay. That is why our writers are happy to give you some tips on things you can include in your piece to make it exciting.

Appearance, aroma, taste, and texture

All of these aspects help readers visualize and even feel the taste of the food you write about in your essay. Your task is to describe them using words that evoke strong emotions or memories. Oftentimes, we associate places and life events with the aromas relevant to these memories. On top of that, you can try using comparisons and metaphors to make it easier for readers to imagine the food you describe. For instance, you can appeal to the majority of coffee lovers or chocolate chip cookie lovers by writing something like: 

• The aroma of freshly brewed coffee is rich and inviting, like a warm hug on a cold morning.

• The chocolate chip cookies are like fluffy clouds dotted with dark chocolate stars.

Readers will recall their experience drinking coffee in a cafe or at home. That is how you teleport them from their reality to those inspiring moments of the past.

Using vivid adjectives in your ‘Favourite food’ essay when you describe the food’s appeareance can help you create a realistic image in your readers’ minds. Instead of saying “red,” try “ruby red” or “crimson.” One more thing you can do is use sensory details. Here’s an example:

• The apple pie is a golden brown masterpiece with a lattice crust that resembles a spider web. The edges are slightly crisp, while the center is soft and inviting.

Your personal connection to food

One more way of connecting with readers is establishing your personal connection to that specific food. You are writing a ‘My favourite food’ essay, after all. Here’s how to do it:

• Reflect on memories. write about childhood memories, special occasions, or comforting moments associated with your favorite food. Maybe it is something your mom cooks you for your birthday and which always makes you feel at home. Or maybe you and your father invented this recipe when you were a kid.
• Share personal anecdotes. Tell stories about how the food has impacted your life. For example, you might share a story about a favorite family recipe gets passed on from one generation to the next and how you plan to share it with your kids someday.
• Explain the emotional connection. Discuss how the food makes you feel. Does it evoke feelings of nostalgia, comfort, or joy? It is an especially relevant technique to use when you write about your childhood memories.

Check this example to get a better understanding of how to apply these tips to your writing:

• Whenever I taste my grandmother’s chicken soup, I’m transported back to my childhood. It was the ultimate comfort food, especially when I was sick. The warm broth, tender chicken, and soft vegetables always made me feel better.

Cultural significance 

“How can I address cultural aspects when I write an essay on my favourite food?” – you might ask. Food is a big part of almost all cultures. You can highlight the cultural significance of your favorite food, describing its role in various traditions. No wonder that one of the points on the to-do list for tourists is to taste the traditional dishes of the countries they go to. 

Use these ideas while writing a ‘Describe your favourite food’ essay: 

• Research the history. Learn about the origin of the food and its cultural context. It might be the dish your grandmother used to cook all the time when you were a child, but it may have even deeper roots worth exploring.
• Discuss the symbolism. Explore any symbolic meanings associated with the food. If you write about traditional food for holidays, particularly religious ones, you can dive deep into the research study.
• Connect to personal identity. Describe how the food connects to your cultural heritage or identity to shift from a general description of the food’s significance to your particular case.