B1 · Intermediate · The Breakthrough · 170 words · ~2 min read

🍯 The Final Ingredient

Language focus: Following a lead · networking

The Secret Recipe of Borough Market

Word of Nadia’s spiced loaf spread quickly through the market. Yet she still felt that one final element was missing — the exact blend of flour that her great-grandmother had used. It was, quite simply, the last missing piece of the puzzle.

Then, against all odds, the answer arrived. While clearing out the cellar one final time, Nadia tracked down the lost notebook itself, wedged carefully behind a loose brick in the wall. Her grandmother must have hidden it there years ago for safekeeping and then forgotten.

Trembling, she opened it. Every faded page pointed out a tiny detail that the suppliers had only half-remembered: the precise blend, the timing, the exact temperature. A pressed flower slipped from between the pages — a single fern, the bakery’s very namesake.

Nadia telephoned her grandmother at once to fill her in on the wonderful news. “You found it,” Gran whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. “Now you have everything you could possibly need.” At long, long last, the recipe was finally complete.

Key vocabulary (6 words)

elementnoun
One part of something larger.
blendnoun
A mixture of different things combined together.
cellarnoun
A room below the ground in a building.
wedgedadjective
Pushed tightly into a narrow space.
preciseadjective
Exact and accurate.
emotionnoun
A strong feeling such as joy or sadness.

Phrasal verbs in this episode

  • track down — To track down means to find something after a long search.
  • point out — To point out means to show or draw attention to something.
  • fill in — To fill someone in means to give them information they need.

Comprehension quiz

  1. What is the last missing element?

    • The exact blend of flour
    • A new oven
    • More staff
    Show answer

    The exact blend of flour

  2. Where was the notebook hidden?

    • Behind a loose brick in the cellar
    • In the oven
    • At Pemberton’s house
    Show answer

    Behind a loose brick in the cellar

  3. “Against all odds” means…

    • despite great difficulties
    • very easily
    • by cheating
    Show answer

    despite great difficulties

  4. “The missing piece of the puzzle” is…

    • the last thing needed
    • a jigsaw toy
    • a type of bread
    Show answer

    the last thing needed

  5. What falls from the notebook’s pages?

    • A pressed fern
    • A coin
    • A photograph of Tom
    Show answer

    A pressed fern

  6. “Fill her in” means to…

    • give her the news
    • pour a drink
    • complete a hole
    Show answer

    give her the news

All 20 B1 episodes

More graded reading & practice