The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks

Level 2 l Upper intermediate

1 Warmer
Briefly discuss these questions.

• How long is your lunch break?

• Where do you usually eat lunch?
• What do you usually eat for lunch? For example, a sandwich, a three-course meal, leftovers …

2 Key words
Match the key words with the definitions. Then find them in the article to read them in context. The paragraph
numbers are given to help you.

outmoded establishments reluctant executives fixture gentrification

maintain gig economy cornerstone honour regular face

1. If you __________________________ a problem, it is likely or certain to happen and you have to deal with it.
(para 1)
2. the basic part of something, on which everything depends __________________________ (para 2)
3. when an area of a city where poor people live becomes an area where middle-class people live, as they buy
the houses and repair them __________________________ (para 2)
4. businesses, for example restaurants __________________________ (para 4)
5. something that is considered to be permanently established in a place __________________________
(para 4)
6. no longer useful, suitable or relevant __________________________ (para 5)
7. a labour market where there are a lot of short-term contracts or freelance work and not many permanent jobs
__________________________ (para 6)
8. provide someone with the things that they need in order to live __________________________ (para 7)
9. not willing to do something __________________________ (para 7)
10. do what you promised to do or what it is your duty to do __________________________ (para 9)
11. a customer who often goes to the same bar, restaurant or shop __________________________ (para 13)
12. senior managers in a business or other organization __________________________ (para 15)
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Upper intermediate
CA O
H
•P
The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 2 l Upper intermediate
No more two-hour lunch breaks: the
slow death of Spain’s menú del día
Stephen Burgen
11 November, 2019
1 Food is at the heart of Spanish culture. From
social life to business deals, everything revolves
around food – especially lunch. How did Mariano
Rajoy, then prime minister, react in 2018 when
faced with a vote of no confidence? He went to
lunch. For eight hours.
2 The three-course menú del día (menu of the day)
has been the cornerstone of Spanish restaurants
and social life for generations. Consequently, the
restaurants serving these menús – generally simple
and good value for money – have been a feature of
city life. Now, though, their existence is threatened
by a combination of rising rents, changing tastes
and working hours, tourism and gentrification.
3 The fixed-price menú del día as we know it
was introduced in the mid-1960s to ensure an
affordable meal was available to all Spaniards. All
of these restaurants had to offer one until the law
changed in 2010.
4 These family-run establishments soon became
a fixture for millions of Spaniards who had long
days, typically working from 9 am to 2 pm and 4 pm
to 7.30 pm, but who couldn’t go home for lunch.
5 But now working life has changed. Fewer people
split the work day with a two-hour break for lunch.
“People are realizing that an hour is long enough
for lunch,” says José Luis Casero, president of
the National Commission for the Rationalization
of Spanish Schedules, which campaigns against
the long working day, seen by many as outmoded
and harmful to work–life balance.
6 Furthermore, a decreasing percentage of Spaniards
have full-time jobs or any job at all. Trade unions
estimate that 33% of jobs created since 2012 have
been temporary and a high proportion are also
part-time. Deliveroo riders and others in the gig
economy do not get paid lunch breaks.
7 Restaurants serving menús del día often make
just enough to maintain the families that run
them. When owners retire, the next generation
can be reluctant to take over.
8 All over Spanish cities, family restaurants are
being reopened as a kebab shop or, in tourist
areas, a tapas bar. “There are certainly fewer
menús del día in major Spanish cities than there
were 15 years ago, but there are also fewer
Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.
NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Upper intermediate
Spanish and Catalan restaurants,” says Sally
Davies, author of the Time Out guides to Madrid
and Barcelona.
9 “There’s been a huge increase in the number
of Asian and South American restaurants, in
particular, and those are less likely to honour the
menú tradition.”
10 Twenty years ago, a vegetarian risked dying of
hunger in Spain; now many restaurants offer
vegetarian or even vegan options. Sushi and
kebabs arrived about 15 years ago, ramen within
the last five and poke bol less than two years ago.
11 In central Barcelona, on top of rising rents,
existing restaurant licences are changing hands
at an average of €350,000 because the city
authorities are no longer giving new licences.
Opening a new restaurant in the popular
Ciutat Vella area would cost around €1m,
and consequently, the days are numbered for
independent establishments.
12 Nevertheless, Joan Fumaz, head chef at LaVolta
restaurant, believes menú culture has made a
bit of a comeback since the financial crisis. “In
2006, the place I worked at didn’t offer a menú
del día because we thought that ordering a menú
was for poor people,” he says. “But it came back
when companies took away staff credit cards.
At LaVolta, we offer two dishes for €12.50 – we
have six dishes to choose from.”
13 Bar Restaurant Cervantes in central Barcelona has
survived by not changing at all. Just around the
corner from city hall and with Mayor Ada Colau a
regular, Cervantes has been a family-run restaurant
since the early 1980s. It is now managed by the
Esteve sisters: Glòria, Cristina and Gemma. The
€13 menú of classic Spanish and Catalan dishes
is written in chalk on a board in Catalan. It changes
with the seasons but only slightly.
14 “I cook more or less what my mother cooked,”
says Glòria. “People like that. It’s all homemade.”
15 “We don’t mind if tourists come, but we don’t need
to make an effort to attract them,” adds Gemma,
who says Cervantes supports five families. “I grew
up right here; it’s a family restaurant. All kinds of
people eat here, from executives to builders. There
are people who come to Cervantes for the first time
and say: ‘Wow, I didn’t know this sort of place still
existed.’ ‘Well,’ I say, ‘we’ve always been here.’”
© Guardian News and Media 2019
First published in The Guardian, 11/11/19
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA
M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O
CA O
H
•P
The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 2 l Upper intermediate
3 Comprehension check
Choose the correct options to complete the sentences about the article.

1. Over the past 60 years, most restaurants in the Spanish countryside / Spanish cities have been offering
daily three-course lunchtime menus.
2. The three-course lunch menus became a regular part of their working day for people who had a long / a short
/ an unpaid lunch break.
3. Many people now believe that an hour is too long / long enough / not long enough for lunch.
4. Family-run / Fast-food / Upmarket restaurants often struggle to stay open because the younger generation
are willing / don’t want to take over their parents’ business.
5. There are now more / fewer Spanish and Catalan restaurants in Barcelona and Madrid.
6. At the same time, there are more / fewer Asian and South American restaurants, which are more / less likely
to offer tapas / kebabs / a menú del día.
7. At the beginning of the last / this century, many people thought that only rich / poor people would order a
menú del día.
8. Some restaurants in Barcelona still offer a menú del día but not to tourists, only to local people / they don’t
need to advertise it to tourists.

4 Phrases
a. Complete the phrases with the missing words.

numbered confidence effort around hands less

1. revolve ________________ something – have something as a very important part or purpose

2. vote of no ________________ – a voting process in which people show that they do not support a person or
group in power
3. change ________________ – get a new owner
4. days are ________________ – used for saying that someone or something is not likely to continue in a
particular situation or to exist much longer
5. more or ________________ – almost, roughly
6. make an ________________ – do something that involves a lot of energy or work

b. Find the complete phrases in the article to check your answers.

c. Use the phrases in sentences of your own about other topics. Which is the most useful phrase
for you?
D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Upper intermediate
CA O
H
•P
 The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 2 l Upper intermediate
5 Discussion
• Describe a typical lunch break in your place of work.
o What lunch options do you have there?
• Describe your typical working hours.
o Who decides what hours you work, you or your company?
o Say how you would feel about working the hours mentioned in the article: 9 am to 2 pm and then 4 pm to
7.30 pm with a two-hour lunch break.
• Are there any unusual lunch traditions in your culture or country?
• Have you experienced unusual lunch traditions when you were visiting other countries?

D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Upper intermediate
CA O
H
•P
The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks
Level 2 l Upper intermediate
KEY

2 Key words 4 Phrases

1. face 1. around
2. cornerstone 2. confidence
3. gentrification 3. hands
4. establishments 4. numbered
5. fixture 5. less
6. outmoded 6. effort
7. gig economy
8. maintain
9. reluctant 5 Discussion
10. honour
11. regular Teacher’s note: if the students are not currently in
12. executives work, the first discussion topic can easily be adapted to
talk about situations students have experienced in the
past at their former places of work.
3 Comprehension check

1. Spanish cities
2. a long
3. long enough
4. Family-run; don’t want
5. fewer
6. more; less; a menú del día
7. this; poor
8. they don’t need to advertise it to tourists

D •
TE DE E
SI A L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE C
N T
O

NEWS LESSONS / The slow death of Spain’s two-hour lunch breaks / Upper intermediate
CA O
H
•P