What does gourmet mean?
Word: Gourmet
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Gourmet means a person who knows a great deal about good food and enjoys it. Used before a noun, it describes high-quality food, as in a gourmet meal.
How do you spell gourmet?
Syllables: gour - met
Tricky part: This word comes from French, so the t at the end is silent. Gourmay and gourme are the usual slips.
Watch out for: gourmay, gourme
Memory tip: Ballet and buffet also end in a silent t; put this word in the same French family when you write it.
Gourmet in a sentence
Example 1: The new cafe near the station serves gourmet sandwiches with homemade chutney.
Example 2: Even a gourmet would enjoy Dadi's simple dal and rice.
Example 3: The food festival in Lucknow attracts gourmets from across the country.
Fun Fact
The French word is thought to come from gromet, a servant or helper, before it came to mean an expert in fine food.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
g__rmet
a) u, o
b) o, u
c) o, o
d) a, u
Show answer
b) o, u. The vowel sound after the g is spelt ou, as in tour.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The hotel's outmrge chef treated every plate like a small work of art.
a) garment
b) grommet
c) doormat
d) gourmet
Show answer
d) gourmet. Garment needs an a and an n, grommet two m's, and doormat a d and an a; only gourmet uses all seven letters given.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word gourmet as used in the sentence:
Uncle Farhan is a true gourmet who can name every spice in a curry after one taste.
a) kitchen helper
b) fast eater
c) food expert
d) hungry guest
Show answer
c) food expert. Naming every spice takes real knowledge of food, which is what a gourmet has.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. restarant 2. cuisene 3. gourmet 4. delicasy
a) someone who knows a lot about fine food
b) a place where you pay to eat a meal
c) a style of cooking from a country or region
d) a rare or special food
Show answer
a) someone who knows a lot about fine food. Restaurant has au after the t, cuisine ends in -ine, and delicacy has a c before the y, so gourmet is the correct one.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A gourmet visiting a restaurant would care most about ____.
a) the colour of the waiters' shirts
b) the number of parking spaces
c) the size of the menu card
d) the quality and taste of the dishes
Show answer
d) the quality and taste of the dishes
2. The shelves of a gourmet food shop would hold ____.
a) nails and tins of paint
b) fine cheeses and rare teas
c) plastic buckets and mops
d) school uniforms and shoes
Show answer
b) fine cheeses and rare teas
