The Little Paris Kitchen: Classic French recipes with a fresh and fun approach

Rachel Khoo was determined to get to grips with French cooking, so to learn more she moved to Paris, despite not speaking a word of French, and enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu, the world-famous cookery school. Six years later, she still lives and works in Paris, cooking up a selection of classic French dishes from all over the country and giving them a fresh makeover with her own modern twists.

The Little Paris Kitchen includes all the big name dishes that you would expect in a French cookbook, such as Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq au vin, but it's not simply another collection of classic French recipes. It's the story of how Rachel discovered them, whether picnic-ing along the Seine on a sticky summer's night, having dinner with friends, chatting to her local butcher or baker, or experimenting with flavours in her kitchen at home. From a Croque Madame muffin, to a deliciously fragrant Provencal lavender and lemon roast chicken, Rachel celebrates the culinary landscape of France as it is today and shows how simple these dishes really are.
 
Her 120 recipes range from easy, everyday dishes like Omelette Pipérade, to summer picnics and afternoon goûter (snacks), to meals with friends and family and delicious desserts including much-loved classics like Crème brulee and Tarte tatin. It's a book that celebrates the very best of French home-cooking in a modern and accessible way, proving that real French food is no longer something only served in fancy restaurants. With Rachel's help, you can add a little French culinary touch to your everyday life at home, no matter where you are in the world, or how big your kitchen is!

Living and cooking in Paris, Rachel is the British Amelie of the kitchen. A graduate of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, her passion for patisserie lured her to Paris, where she obtained a pastry diploma. She then put her skills to use at the delightful Paris culinary bookstore and tea salon, La Cocotte, where she catered for book launches and hosted cookery classes. Working as a freelancer, she now travels the world working on a variety of projects, from workshops to catering for huge blue-chip client events to smaller, intimate pop-up restaurants. She is also running 'La petite cuisine à Paris' (Paris' smallest underground restaurant) from her tiny kitchen.