Using il faut with food, etc

Question

How does one express "this soup (or whatever) needs pepper! That is to say, this soup must have pepper (in order for it to taste ok)? Is 'il faut' acceptable or is 'avoir besoin de' the way to express?

La soupe, il faut du poivre!

Accepted Answer

Bonjour John,
You can say ‘la soupe a besoin de poivre’ or’ ‘il faut du poivre dans la soupe’.
As Chris mentioned you would use 'avoir besoin de' here.
Although, ‘il faut’ implies that the soup cannot do without pepper (necessity AND obligation). It is unimaginable without it.
I hope this helpful.
Bonne journée!

Answer

I think you would most commonly say:
La soupe a besoin du poivre. Or, even more likely,Il manque du poivre dans la soupe.