B1 · Intermediate · A Failing Bakery · 186 words · ~2 min read

🥖 The Bakery on Its Last Legs

Language focus: Describing problems · culinary descriptions

The Secret Recipe of Borough Market — A young chef races to save her family’s beloved Borough Market bakery by tracking down a missing, generations-old recipe notebook — one supplier and eccentric food critic at a time.

Nadia had grown up in the warm, flour-dusted kitchen of Ferns & Flour, her grandmother’s little bakery in the bustling heart of Borough Market. Now, with her grandmother newly retired, Nadia had taken over the business — and discovered, to her dismay, that it was on its last legs.

Fewer customers came through the door each week. The famous sourdough no longer tasted quite right, and the rent kept creeping higher and higher. “This bakery has always been a labour of love,” her grandmother often said gently, “but love alone, sadly, won’t pay the bills.”

Nadia simply refused to let the place run down without a fight. She knew that the real secret had always been her great-grandmother’s sourdough starter and one particular blend of flour. Yet the exact recipe lived in only one place: a battered old notebook that had mysteriously vanished.

“I’ll find it, Gran, I promise,” Nadia whispered, gazing at the faded photographs on the wall. If she truly wanted to carry on the family tradition, she would have to track that notebook down — and she would have to do it fast.

Key vocabulary (6 words)

bakerynoun
A shop that makes and sells bread and cakes.
retiredadjective
Having stopped working, usually because of age.
dismaynoun
A feeling of worry, sadness and disappointment.
sourdoughnoun
Bread made using naturally fermented dough.
rentnoun
Money paid regularly to use a building.
traditionnoun
A custom passed down over many years.

Phrasal verbs in this episode

  • take over — To take over means to take control of something.
  • run down — To run down means to become weaker or worse over time.
  • carry on — To carry on means to continue.

Comprehension quiz

  1. What has Nadia taken over?

    • Her grandmother’s bakery
    • A restaurant
    • A flower shop
    Show answer

    Her grandmother’s bakery

  2. “On its last legs” means the bakery is…

    • about to fail
    • very tall
    • brand new
    Show answer

    about to fail

  3. What is missing?

    • A battered old recipe notebook
    • The oven
    • The keys
    Show answer

    A battered old recipe notebook

  4. “A labour of love” is work done…

    • for love, not money
    • only for money
    • by machines
    Show answer

    for love, not money

  5. “Carry on the family tradition” means to…

    • continue it
    • end it
    • sell it
    Show answer

    continue it

  6. Why is the bakery struggling?

    • Fewer customers and rising rent
    • Too many staff
    • A new oven
    Show answer

    Fewer customers and rising rent

All 20 B1 episodes

More graded reading & practice