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The Smallest Restaurant In Paris
‘Next time you wonder if you'll ever reach your goals, grab this book. Rachel Khoo is just like her inspiring, intrepid, and bold.’—Bonnie Garmus, international bestselling author of
Lessons in Chemistry
The Smallest Restaurant in Paris
combines Rachel Khoo’s unique story with her delicious recipes. Each one chosen to bring the chapter to life. Where better to follow your dreams than to beautiful Paris? Especially if you dream of food—Paris is the place where fine dining was born, it’s the city of the butteriest croissant and bitterest chocolat, where the markets tumble with produce, the streets buzz with café life and every plat du jour has the chance to be extraordinary. For Rachel Khoo, a young woman from a suburban corner of south London, studying at Le Cordon Bleu was her chosen adventure. But when she took a chance and threw herself into Paris life without a Euro to her name, even she couldn’t have dreamed that it would lead to her opening what the press would crown The Smallest Restaurant in Paris. Rachel’s Paris life in her adorable (and minuscule) apartment has already been captured in her cookbook and TV show, The Little Paris Kitchen. However, until now Rachel’s books have focused on bringing French-style cooking to her audiences (even if you only have a two-ring cooker). This memoir is an account of Rachel’s high-street-to-Boulevard an inspiring story of how you can reach for your dreams and achieve them through determination and hard work, deciding to love the journey as much as the destination.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
Hardcover
About the author
Rachel Khoo
16 books89 followersRachel’s unconventional food background has helped formulate her unique culinary touch. She graduated with a Bachelors degree in Art & Design from the renowned Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Thereafter she worked for a luxury fashion brand, doing PR and e-marketing. Ultimately, her passion for pâtisserie lured her to Paris, where she studied at Le Cordon Bleu and obtained a pastry diploma.
She put her skills to excellent use at the delightful Paris culinary bookstore and tea salon, La Cocotte. There Rachel concocted delicious sweet treats, regularly providing catering for culinary book launches and hosting cookery classes on site. Following the success of her edible endeavours at La Cocotte, she now works on culinary projects throughout the world. Her role as an international food creative has spanned six-course dinners and workshops in places as far-flung as London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Buenos Aires.
She is also a food writer with books “Barres à céréales, Granola et Muesli faites maison” and “Pâtes à tartiner” published by Marabout. “Barres à céréales, Granola et Muesli faites maison” has also been published in Dutch, Italian and most recently in English – “Pâtes à tartiner” has also been published in English. Her third cookbook (her first English book) “The Little Paris Kitchen” was published by Penguin on March the 15th 2012. This book has also been translated into Dutch, French, Italian, German, Danish, Japanese, Latvian, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Taiwanese, Korean and Norwegian. The book has also been published in the USA, by Chronicle Books.
Her first cookery show “The Little Paris Kitchen” was aired on BBC 2 from the 19th March 2012 for six weeks and has since been shown around the world. The show has aired all over the world, from Australia to Brazil, Canada to Finland, the USA to Hong Kong and many more.
Rachel’s fourth book “My Little French Kitchen” was published by Michael Joseph in Autumn 2013. Foreign editions have been published in the following territories: Germany, Holland, Taiwan, US, Japan and Poland.
Rachel’s TV show for BBC World Wide, ‘Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London’ and ‘Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: Cosmopolitan Cook’ aired around the globe in 2013. Rachel’s fifth book “Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook”, featuring all the recipes from the show plus many more was published by Michael Joseph in February 2015 in the UK – it’s been published in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Netherlands and the United States too. It is available to order from Amazon now.
A six-part series ‘A Cook Abroad’ was aired on BBC2 and BBC2 HD in the UK in February 2015 – Rachel is one of the featured cooks in this fun series which sees cooks journey to places which inspire them. In her episode, Rachel journeys to Malaysia to explore part of her culinary heritage. Watch the trailer here.
Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: Melbourne aired in Australia on SBS in July 2015 and is currently airing around the world. In February 2016, Rachel appeared as a guest judge on the popular Australian competitive cooking show, My Kitchen Rules. She co-hosted Zumbo’s Just Desserts show on Channel 7 in Australia which aired in the Summer 2016. And is currently airing on Netflix and around the world.
She has regularly written recipes for the London Evening Standard, The Times, The Guardian and various other media outlets. Aswell as consulting for hotels, restaurants and blue chip clients, most recently for the launch of the Soho house x Sydell group hotel in London, The Ned.
In 2015 Rachel launched, Khoollect. Khoollect is a creative studio based in London aswell as an online community celebrating inspiration found in unlikely places.
She put her skills to excellent use at the delightful Paris culinary bookstore and tea salon, La Cocotte. There Rachel concocted delicious sweet treats, regularly providing catering for culinary book launches and hosting cookery classes on site. Following the success of her edible endeavours at La Cocotte, she now works on culinary projects throughout the world. Her role as an international food creative has spanned six-course dinners and workshops in places as far-flung as London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Buenos Aires.
She is also a food writer with books “Barres à céréales, Granola et Muesli faites maison” and “Pâtes à tartiner” published by Marabout. “Barres à céréales, Granola et Muesli faites maison” has also been published in Dutch, Italian and most recently in English – “Pâtes à tartiner” has also been published in English. Her third cookbook (her first English book) “The Little Paris Kitchen” was published by Penguin on March the 15th 2012. This book has also been translated into Dutch, French, Italian, German, Danish, Japanese, Latvian, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Taiwanese, Korean and Norwegian. The book has also been published in the USA, by Chronicle Books.
Her first cookery show “The Little Paris Kitchen” was aired on BBC 2 from the 19th March 2012 for six weeks and has since been shown around the world. The show has aired all over the world, from Australia to Brazil, Canada to Finland, the USA to Hong Kong and many more.
Rachel’s fourth book “My Little French Kitchen” was published by Michael Joseph in Autumn 2013. Foreign editions have been published in the following territories: Germany, Holland, Taiwan, US, Japan and Poland.
Rachel’s TV show for BBC World Wide, ‘Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London’ and ‘Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: Cosmopolitan Cook’ aired around the globe in 2013. Rachel’s fifth book “Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook”, featuring all the recipes from the show plus many more was published by Michael Joseph in February 2015 in the UK – it’s been published in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Netherlands and the United States too. It is available to order from Amazon now.
A six-part series ‘A Cook Abroad’ was aired on BBC2 and BBC2 HD in the UK in February 2015 – Rachel is one of the featured cooks in this fun series which sees cooks journey to places which inspire them. In her episode, Rachel journeys to Malaysia to explore part of her culinary heritage. Watch the trailer here.
Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: Melbourne aired in Australia on SBS in July 2015 and is currently airing around the world. In February 2016, Rachel appeared as a guest judge on the popular Australian competitive cooking show, My Kitchen Rules. She co-hosted Zumbo’s Just Desserts show on Channel 7 in Australia which aired in the Summer 2016. And is currently airing on Netflix and around the world.
She has regularly written recipes for the London Evening Standard, The Times, The Guardian and various other media outlets. Aswell as consulting for hotels, restaurants and blue chip clients, most recently for the launch of the Soho house x Sydell group hotel in London, The Ned.
In 2015 Rachel launched, Khoollect. Khoollect is a creative studio based in London aswell as an online community celebrating inspiration found in unlikely places.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 25, 2026
I absolutely adored this book. Captivating from the very first page.
I came to it already a fan — I’d watched The Little Paris Kitchen on BBC Two and owned Rachel’s Paris cookery books, so I thought I knew her world. But this memoir, self-published through her own Maison Khoo, took me somewhere entirely different. It’s a gorgeous, honest account of her Paris years — the highs, the lows, the survival jobs, the culinary school, the self-doubt — and how all of it quietly led to the idea that would become The Little Paris Kitchen.
What struck me most was how wholesome and genuinely inspiring it felt without ever being saccharine. Rachel doesn’t gloss over the hard parts, which makes the moments of joy and creativity land all the more. As Rukmini Iyer put it, “it’s a fascinating insight into finding a niche and building something meaningful” — and that’s exactly what it is.
If you’ve ever wondered whether starting small in a city where nobody knows you can lead somewhere extraordinary, this book is your answer.
I came to it already a fan — I’d watched The Little Paris Kitchen on BBC Two and owned Rachel’s Paris cookery books, so I thought I knew her world. But this memoir, self-published through her own Maison Khoo, took me somewhere entirely different. It’s a gorgeous, honest account of her Paris years — the highs, the lows, the survival jobs, the culinary school, the self-doubt — and how all of it quietly led to the idea that would become The Little Paris Kitchen.
What struck me most was how wholesome and genuinely inspiring it felt without ever being saccharine. Rachel doesn’t gloss over the hard parts, which makes the moments of joy and creativity land all the more. As Rukmini Iyer put it, “it’s a fascinating insight into finding a niche and building something meaningful” — and that’s exactly what it is.
If you’ve ever wondered whether starting small in a city where nobody knows you can lead somewhere extraordinary, this book is your answer.
Review of advance copy
I've followed Rachel's Instagram and blog for several years. Her recipes are always creative and turn out well. It was nice to understand how she ended up in Paris and eventually created her little restaurant. My only wish is that she included a bit more of the story. For example, her transition to televising her Parisian recipes. It ended a bit abruptly for me, but overall a lovely story about her time in Paris.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Such a fun read. Rachel Khoo is a terrific story teller and chef. I have to admit this is one of the most clever autobiographies I have ever had the pleasure to read. Her writing is so relatable and is more like a conversation. Her ability to retell her experiences show a great attention to detail and draws you in to the scene she had experienced. Bravo Ms. Khoo on your best book yet.
May 31, 2026
I loved Rachel’s TV series and was delighted to rediscover her again. The book is a beautiful object and fantastic read, each chapter with a recipe and Rachel’s own drawings.
Passion and hard work drove Rachel to Paris and she takes us with her through her career path to the Little Paris Kitchen. A delight from start to finish, I can’t wait to see what Rachel does next.
Passion and hard work drove Rachel to Paris and she takes us with her through her career path to the Little Paris Kitchen. A delight from start to finish, I can’t wait to see what Rachel does next.
June 8, 2026
Around 2012, I discovered Little Paris Kitchen on the Cooking Channel hosted by Rachel Khoo who is an incredibly enchanting and effervescent host. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that she had written a memoir about the time leading up to the smallest restaurant in Paris and subsequently the Little Paris Kitchen show. Since I had waited so long for her to write this book, you can understand why I could not wait for the US release that I ordered my copy from Blackwell’s in the UK. It made it in 8 days. It arrived Saturday and I read the book in under 24 hours. Just as with her tv show, I was fascinated from beginning to end. It was wonderfully written, capturing her charming spirit in writing about the days leading up to the smallest restaurant in Paris. I loved hearing about all her trials and tribulations, and her strength of courage to persevere through it all to finally find her true voice.
If you love food, Paris, and a spunky spirit, this book is for you! Each chapter is bookended with a recipe.
I was happy to see some of the background stories to some of the Little Paris kitchen episodes. It felt like being in sort of a secret society. And whilst this relates to the show Little Paris Kitchen, I still make and love the croque madame muffins and the bouillon de poulet.
As always, Rachel is the consummate storyteller. If you love Paris and food coupled with fascinating stories - don’t hesitate to get a copy! Oh and she self-published!! Bravo!!!
If you love food, Paris, and a spunky spirit, this book is for you! Each chapter is bookended with a recipe.
I was happy to see some of the background stories to some of the Little Paris kitchen episodes. It felt like being in sort of a secret society. And whilst this relates to the show Little Paris Kitchen, I still make and love the croque madame muffins and the bouillon de poulet.
As always, Rachel is the consummate storyteller. If you love Paris and food coupled with fascinating stories - don’t hesitate to get a copy! Oh and she self-published!! Bravo!!!
May 19, 2026
A beautifully written memoir. Rachel brings alive her time in Paris, exploring the often challenging drive to make a career working with food. It culminates in the opening of her famous tiny, one table restaurant. It makes compelling reading and vividly brings the Parisian scene to life (Definitely makes me want to return!).
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews