![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-142584050.jpg\")
\n\t\tRachel in her Little Paris Kitchen (Picture: PIERRE VERDY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tRachel in her Little Paris Kitchen (Picture: PIERRE VERDY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Welcome back to What\u2019s Cooking<\/a>, Metro\u2019s food series, taking a peek inside the nation\u2019s kitchens.<\/p>\n This week, we\u2019re at home with cook, author, and TV presenter, Rachel Khoo, rifling through her kitchen in Sweden<\/a>.<\/p>\n Originally from Croydon<\/a>, the 45-year-old is a judge on the Australian version of Bake Off, but is best known for opening the smallest restaurant in Paris,<\/a> a supper club experience which inspired her cookbook, The Little Paris Kitchen, as well as a BBC series of the same name.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever wondered how someone could run a restaurant out of a 21-square-metre flat in Belleville, we\u2019ve got the answer to that question, and so much more. <\/p>\n First, we have to know\u2026 How did the smallest restaurant in Paris come about?<\/p>\n In my 20s, I quit my job in graphic design to pursue a dream of training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I left London<\/a> and moved with very little money and limited French. To make ends meet, I worked as everything from an au pair to a tour guide, an English teacher, and a perfume sales assistant. <\/p>\n After completing my training, I began working on a cookbook and started a supper club in my flat, to test out the recipes and avoid waste. <\/p>\n There was one table and two chairs, as that\u2019s all I had space for, and I was doing absolutely everything \u2013 cooking, serving, washing up, and then doing it all over again. I didn\u2019t have a proper oven, so everything was being made in a tiny toaster oven, which looked like a mini air fryer.<\/p>\n \t\t The guests were strangers, mostly found through word of mouth, and I served them three courses and wine for a suggested donation of about 20 euros. <\/p>\n What they\u2019d eat on the day was always a mystery to them, and the menu changed seasonally, based on what I could afford. <\/p>\n It was a really interesting experience, and I\u2019ve just written a memoir all about it, called The Smallest Restaurant in Paris.<\/p>\n \t\t A sandwich made with cold butter, cold brioche, cold Divine chocolate gold coins (I have some leftover from Christmas<\/a> \u2013 don\u2019t ask me how) straight from the fridge, and a pinch of flaky salt.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tHey, foodies! Add us as a Preferred Source\t\t\t<\/p>\n At Metro Food, we’re here to bring you all the latest foodie news, delicious recipes, restaurant reviews, and cooking tips. As a loyal reader and a part of our vibrant community, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories<\/p>\n Click the button below and tick\u00a0Metro.co.uk\u00a0to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.<\/p>\n \nAdd us as a Preferred Source<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \t\t I know how that sounds, but it\u2019s my favourite kind of pain au chocolat.\u00a0<\/p>\n The butter has to be properly cold, almost waxy, the brioche has to be thick-sliced, and the chocolate has to be eaten straight from the fridge so it snaps.\u00a0<\/p>\n Which dish always transports you back to your childhood?<\/p>\n K\u00e4sesp\u00e4tzle. It\u2019s proper Alpine comfort food, with soft egg noodles, loads of melted cheese, and caramelised onions on top.\u00a0<\/p>\n My Oma (grandmother) made it in a way that I have never quite been able to replicate, and I\u2019ve tried many times. She was also responsible for my love of butter. She never skimped on it, and neither do I. \u00a0<\/p>\n Name one item that\u2019s always in your fridge\u2026<\/p>\n Umeboshi, Japanese salt-pickled plums. <\/p>\n I work from home, which means lunch is usually last night\u2019s leftovers reheated, and umeboshi is my secret weapon for making a lacklustre leftover bowl lively again. One umeboshi, torn over the top, and it\u2019s a completely different thing. <\/p>\n \t\t Salty and sour, they make your tongue tingle. \u00a0<\/p>\n What about in your store cupboard?<\/p>\n Islands Chocolate 70% dark buttons, supposedly for baking, realistically for eating by the handful while standing at the counter. <\/p>\n They also make the best chocolate mousse. Friday is now chocolate mousse day in our house, a tradition I started with my kids, and we make it every week. There is a recipe in the memoir for it.<\/p>\n \t\t The freezer is currently empty because it broke and I had to throw everything out, which felt like a small bereavement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Is there anything you can\u2019t resist splurging on at the supermarket?\u00a0<\/p>\n Mariage Fr\u00e8res tea. When I worked at Printemps, the Parisian department store, selling perfume, I couldn\u2019t afford it, but I used to sneak over to the tea counter on my break and sniff the tins and taste the odd sample. <\/p>\n My favourite is their Marco Polo Rouge, a fragrant, floral rooibos, which is also very good cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t Pickled things, generally. I have Felix syltl\u00f6k \u2014 little Swedish pickled onions \u2014 in the fridge at all times, and they\u2019re a supermarket brand and absolutely fine.<\/p>\n Finally, what\u2019s been cooking lately?<\/p>\n Dishes I don\u2019t have to think too much about, because I\u2019m usually trying to squeeze in everything before the school pickup.\u00a0<\/p>\n Eggs are my go-to \u2013 oeufs en cocottes or eggs in pots. I made this in the Little Paris kitchen TV show \u2013 it\u2019s a favourite from my au pair years to now. <\/p>\n You can either make a bechamel or use seasoned cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche. Add that to a small ramekin with the egg, then bake in a bain-marie. Serve with toasted buttered soldiers and crudit\u00e9.<\/p>\n The Smallest Restaurant in Paris<\/a> by Rachel Khoo (Maison Khoo, \u00a318.99, hardback and ebook) is available now at all good bookshops.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share?<\/p>\n Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FxVEDlvg-f4b1.jpeg\")
\n\t\tShe ran a supper club in Paris out of her tiny flat, which became known as \u2018the city\u2019s smallest restaurant\u2019 (Picture: Emilie Griottes)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GdbKJTDw-c807.jpeg\")
\n\t\tThe 45-year-old has written a memoir about the experience (Picture: Rachel Khoo)
\nNow, tell us a secret. What\u2019s your most unhinged snack obsession?\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI280789670-f364.png\")
\n\t\tFrom the latest Walkers flavours to the secret McDonald’s menu, Metro Food has it all<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ti396-3Q-b51f.jpeg\")
\n\t\tShe\u2019s always got Umeboshi in the fridge (Picture: Rachel Khoo)<\/p>\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8YhxNAQw-2981.jpeg\")
\n\t\tYou can spot the Islands Chocolate 70% dark buttons in the cupboard (Picture: Rachel Khoo)
\nAnd in the freezer?<\/p>\n![\"Rachel's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BTUxkE4g-3f7c.jpeg\")
\n\t\tFancy tea is something Rachel will always splurge on (Picture: Rachel Khoo)
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