As Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne returns to SBS for a repeat run, it sees British food sensation Rachel Khoo travel around the city and immerse herself in the world-renowned foodie capital of Australia.
SBS French caught up with her when the show first aired in 2015 and extracted the above podcast interview (in English) from our archives.
"In Australia, people's eyes light up when you talk about food..." says Rachel Khoo.
On why to travel in her shows, not only cooking but immersing herself in the local culture, Khoo says, "it's great when you get to do TV shows which show people not just what you can cook at home but what you can discover by travelling and meeting people."
"It's a real combination of discovering a place but also learning to cook some delicious recipes too."
She also shared her thoughts on the Australian foodie culture from her previous experiences travelling here.
"People were really into their food," says Khoo, of her experience on a previous trip down under four years prior. "You can see it [from] the amount of restaurants, the food festivals - you can see people's eyes light up when you talk about food."
Khoo's first show and the one that shot her to fame was of course set in France. Known as The Little Paris Kitchen, it was shot entirely within the confines of her petite Paris apartment.
"I had a baptism of fire when I cooked in the Little Paris Kitchen," Khoo tells SBS.
"If someone had told me how difficult it was cooking in that tiny kitchen with a TV camera.... it was a real learning curve for me."
While the tiny yet charming kitchen and her ingenuity in navigating complex French recipes within the tiny space was what endeared Khoo to many, for her there is no love lost between her and her old home of eight years.
She says, "When it came time to film the second season - Kitchen Notebook, I said 'No way are we shooting in that little kitchen!'"
Explaining, Khoo says that there was plenty that viewers didn't see. "They didn't film the mould on the ceiling, they didn't film the paint peeling off, the windows not closing, the wires from the 60s."
Rachel Khoo in her Paris kitchen. Source: Plum Pictures / Little Paris Kitchen
"Living in that apartment is a lot different from filming that apartment!"
When it came time to move on Khoo says, "Living in that apartment is a lot different from filming that apartment so I was actually quite happy because I had been sleeping on a futon bed for eight years.
"When I moved to London I got a real bed - and oh boy - it's so amazing! I think I was ready to move on."
"I will always look at my little Paris apartment with fond memories but I am too old to be sleeping on a futon bed!"
No doubt Khoo's thoughts will disappoint many Australian fans who had dreamed of living in a little Paris apartment just like that.
"I'm sorry but it's real life!" she laughs.
In pursuit of new cooking ideas and inspirations, which she then often sketches in her notebook to use when she’s back in her warehouse-apartment, Rachel reveals the city's rich multicultural food scene, and plenty of hidden sightseeing treasures, driven by Melbourne’s melting pot of 140 different nationalities.
In the series, Rachel kicks off her Melbourne food odyssey with a walk around the city’s famed laneway cafes, explores Chinatown and delves into the coffee culture.
Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne airs Thursdays at 8.05pm on SBS. Check out the program page for recipes and more about the show and watch the trailer below:
