This vegan street food business listening test page covers Section 2 of Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3: the complete answer key for Questions 11–20, playable audio, an explanation for every question with the transcript line that proves it, and the full recording script. A trader called Jon advises an audience on starting a vegan street food business, and the section combines two Choose TWO questions, two multiple choice questions and a matching task with a four-option box.

The Choose TWO pairs accept their two letters in either order, exactly as the official key prints them. Follow the talk from why street food sells to where to trade, what equipment to buy and how to serve the food with the multiple choice strategy, because every wrong option borrows words Jon mentions only to dismiss. Then set your ten marks against the complete Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3 answers page covering all four sections.

Listening Audio — Section 2

Play the recording once, without pausing, and answer Questions 11–20 before you check the key. In the real exam you hear each section exactly once.

Questions 11–20

Questions 11–12

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

11–12. Which TWO explanations for the popularity of street food are given? low price locally sourced freshly made convenience unusual food

• A — low price
• B — locally sourced
• C — freshly made
• D — convenience
• E — unusual food

Questions 13–14

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

13–14. Which TWO places are recommended for new street food businesses? music festivals food markets weddings parties parks

• A — music festivals
• B — food markets
• C — weddings
• D — parties
• E — parks

Questions 15–16

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

15. What does the speaker say about getting equipment for a street food business? High quality equipment is a good investment. It’s best to buy second-hand equipment. Renting equipment can be cheap.

• A — High quality equipment is a good investment.
• B — It’s best to buy second-hand equipment.
• C — Renting equipment can be cheap.

16. What advice is given about creating a product for a street food business? Provide information about the ingredients. It is important to have an original product. The presentation is an important factor.

• A — Provide information about the ingredients.
• B — It is important to have an original product.
• C — The presentation is an important factor.

Questions 17–20

What problem did the owners of each of the following street food businesses experience?

Choose FOUR answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-F.

• A. Some ingredients were too expensive.
• B. The meals took a long time to prepare.
• C. They had no money for marketing.
• D. It was difficult to get a permit to sell food.
• E. A competitor was selling similar food in their area.
• F. They worked very long hours.

17. Thai Basil

18. Basque

19. Lou’s kitchen

20. Chip Chop

Vegan Street Food Business Listening Answers

Questions and Answers

Vegan Street Food Business Answer Explanations

11. C (freshly made) — one reason street food thrives is that customers like “seeing food prepared in front of them” and food that “hasn’t come straight out of a freezer”. A fails because “fast food is cheap and easy to find” pins low price on fast food, the very thing street food is a reaction against. Questions 11 and 12 score with C and E in either order.

12. E (unusual food) — the second appeal is novelty: “People like the idea of trying something they can’t get anywhere else”. D fails because fast food, not street food, is faulted for being “the same everywhere”, so convenience is a mark against the competition rather than a reason for street food’s popularity.

13. B (food markets) — the recommendation is plain: “Food markets, on the other hand, are great”, because customers there will “give great feedback”. A fails twice over, since “the cost of renting a space can be huge” and festival competition is always fierce.

14. E (parks) — the local park wins warm approval in “if you can get a spot in your local park”, with “lots of customers passing by”. C and D fail because weddings and parties arrive only after experience: “Once you get established you’ll start getting asked to do parties”.

15. B (It’s best to buy second-hand equipment.) — Jon’s direct advice is “I’d try to get things like hobs and fridges second hand if you can”. C fails because renting means “you’ll end up spending more money rather than saving it”, and A fails because better equipment waits for success: “better quality stuff if your business takes off”.

16. C (The presentation is an important factor.) — the overlooked decision is “how you’re going to serve it”, and the standard is “It’s got to be easy to eat and look attractive”. B fails because checking the competition is routine research — “to find out if anyone else is selling a similar product” — rather than the advice he singles out.

17. F (They worked very long hours.) — Thai Basil’s owners kept two jobs at once, “working til midnight in the restaurant all week” and then they “took their food truck to markets on their days off”. Their “work-life balance was non-existent”, which is option F in different words.

18. A (Some ingredients were too expensive.) — Basque could not make a profit because “the price of fish” behind their key dishes “was so high”, and “it was hard to charge customers a lot more”. The costly fish is an ingredient, which is exactly option A.

19. B (The meals took a long time to prepare.) — Lou’s kitchen served food that was slow to produce: “some of their dishes were quite complicated”, and the result was “people standing in a long queue for more than 15 minutes” until “many of them lost patience”.

20. D (It was difficult to get a permit to sell food.) — Chip Chop’s beach site was empty of rivals — “there weren’t any other street food trucks” — but “they’d need a special licence” to trade there, and “in the end they gave up”. A licence is a permit, so D fits.

Listening Transcript — Section 2

Good evening everyone. My name’s Jon and I run Veg Out, a street food business selling vegan food. Since 2012 I’ve been travelling all around the country cooking vegan food in my converted van and selling it at all kinds of outdoor events. I’m here to give you some advice based on my experience.

The good news is that there’s never been a better time to start your own street food business. Street food continues to grow in popularity. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that street food is a reaction against fast food. Street food ranges from high quality burgers to vegan curries and everything in between. But while fast food is cheap and easy to find, it’s not particularly good for you. It’s also the same everywhere. What you get with street food on the other hand is something different. People like the idea of trying something they can’t get anywhere else. They also like seeing food prepared in front of them and which hasn’t come straight out of a freezer.

You need to think about the best place to sell your street food. People always think music festivals are an obvious place to start but the cost of renting a space can be huge. And there’s always a lot of competition. Food markets, on the other hand, are great because customers are always really interested in food and give great feedback. And if you can get a spot in your local park – fantastic. Usually very relaxed but with lots of customers passing by. Once you get established you’ll start getting asked to do parties – which can be really challenging but lots of fun. Having street food at weddings has become quite fashionable too – but you need to really know what you’re doing as everything needs to be perfect.

Setting up a street food business costs a lot less than opening a restaurant or café but you’ll have to buy some basic equipment. I’d try to get things like hobs and fridges second hand if you can. You can replace them with better quality stuff if your business takes off. Renting is another option but you’ll end up spending more money rather than saving it.

You’ve probably got a good idea about the food you’re planning to sell. I expect you’ve done some research to find out if anyone else is selling a similar product. And you’ll have thought about any possible allergies to nuts or eggs etc. But there’s one thing people don’t always think about and that’s how you’re going to serve it. On a plate? In a bag? Will you provide a fork? Will it all be easily recyclable or reusable? It’s got to be easy to eat and look attractive or customers won’t come back.

Once you get started, you should be prepared for things to go wrong. Every business faces problems and here are a few examples from street food businesses that I know.

My friends who run Thai Basil started by juggling their street food business with their day jobs in a restaurant. Their work-life balance was non-existent as they were working til midnight in the restaurant all week and then took their food truck to markets on their days off.

The owners of Basque found it was hard to make a profit because the price of fish – essential for some of their dishes – was so high. And it was hard to charge customers a lot more for those dishes. So they had to stop focussing on fish dishes and include more vegetarian food.

The owners of Lou’s kitchen were making salads to order from their van and some of their dishes were quite complicated. At one of their first events they ended up with people standing in a long queue for more than 15 minutes – and many of them lost patience. So make sure whatever you offer can be served quickly and efficiently.

The owners of Chip Chop had found a perfect venue near a beach where there weren’t any other street food trucks. But what they hadn’t realised was that they’d need a special licence – which individual businesses don’t need at markets or festivals. It was a complicated process and in the end they gave up.

So I hope that’s given you a flavour of ….

Key Vocabulary and Spelling

Study Tips

Choose TWO questions score with both letters in any order, so when you hear the second correct point at Questions 11 to 14, capture its letter and move on; the key marks C and E, and B and E, as pairs in whichever order you enter them. What costs marks is an option that merely sounds familiar, such as low price at Question 11, which Jon attaches to fast food rather than street food.

Prepare the matching box before the four business stories begin. Thai Basil, Basque, Lou’s kitchen and Chip Chop arrive in order, and each problem comes as a paraphrase of the box: a special licence is a permit, the price of fish makes ingredients expensive, and complicated dishes plus a long queue mean slow meals. Predicting answers before you hear them keeps the whole box in mind while each mini story unfolds.

Questions 15 and 16 punish surface matching. The cheapest route to equipment is buying hobs and fridges second hand, not renting, which Jon rejects because it ends up costing more; and the neglected factor in creating a product is presentation, because the food must be easy to eat and look attractive. Eliminate every option the speaker raises only to dismiss, and both answers hold steady.

Practice More Listening Tests

Take your Section 2 total to the full Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 3 answers page, which collects keys, explanations and transcripts for all four sections. The free IELTS listening practice course from Simply IELTS drills the task types this talk loads up: Choose TWO pairs, multiple choice and box matching built on paraphrase. Then try this interactive listening test: labyrinths on a completely fresh topic, and keep the paper in order: the Shetland ferry conversation in Section 1, the fashion project discussion in Section 3 and the invasive species lecture in Section 4.