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Buzz Feed
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Rachel Khoo Interview On KETTLE® Chips New Flavours
You probably know Rachel Khoo from The Little Paris Kitchen, the BBC series (and best-selling cookbook!) that launched her into the culinary spotlight. Or maybe you've seen her judging cakes on The Great British Menu and The Great Australian Bake Off. But behind the TV charm and Instagram-worthy plates is a woman who's built her career through an unwavering belief that food can be a tool for connection and change. From growing up in South London to cooking in a tiny Parisian bedsit, Rachel's path has been shaped by passion, innovation, and an unshakable love for food. We sat down with Rachel to talk about her career evolution, her new flavour collab with KETTLE® Chips, and how she's paying it forward with the KETTLE® Khoo Academy, an initiative designed to give aspiring female food entrepreneurs a real shot at success. You originally studied art and worked in PR. How did food end up taking centre stage? Rachel Khoo: I went to art college at Central Saint Martins and then worked in PR and marketing. My career was progressing, but I just felt like, "If I don't leave, I'm going to stay here for the rest of my life." I wanted to get back into food – I'd always loved it – and I looked at culinary schools in London, Vienna, and Paris. London would've been the easiest option, but with Paris, I'd get the cultural experience too. I didn't speak French, didn't know anyone. It was definitely nerve-wracking, but I thought, 'I'll just give it a go.' And you didn't speak French? How did you get by? Nope, not a word. I'd saved just enough for the school fees, but I didn't have money for living expenses, so I got a job as an au pair. That came with accommodation, 80 euros a week, a mobile phone, and a travel pass – just enough to scrape by. I also did loads of other jobs: selling perfume in department stores, teaching English… I also worked in a little culinary bookstore, and that's how I started meeting people in food publishing. That opened the door to writing two cookbooks in French. Around the same time, I started doing underground pop-ups ~restaurants clandestins~ before pop-ups were really a thing in Paris. When I was writing my third cookbook for a UK publisher, I had over 100 recipes to test. I hate food waste – that's my Austrian grandma's influence – so I started inviting people to my tiny bedsit. I could fit two people at a time for lunch. They'd donate a bit towards ingredients, and I'd test the recipes on them. It was a great way to be economical and get feedback. A lot of people know you from The Little Paris Kitchen. What was it like filming that? It was all filmed in that same tiny flat! I could only fit two guests at a time around the table. It was super DIY – just me: cooking, filming, and serving. But it was such a special time because it wasn't just about recipes, it was about creating a human connection through food. Your upbringing sounds like it had a big influence on your love for food. Definitely. My dad's from Malaysia, my mum's Austrian, and I grew up in the '80s in the UK, where the culture was more about assimilating, like, 'don't stick out'. I didn't grow up speaking Cantonese or Hokkien, but at the dinner table, everything came together. We had beef rendang, schnitzel, roast on Sundays… Monday was leftovers night, so it was like the United Nations on the table! That cultural mix really shaped how I see food – it's a way to connect, no matter where you come from. Fast forward to now: how did the collaboration with KETTLE® Chips come about? They actually approached me, which was lovely because I genuinely love their chips. I grew up in the UK with chip sandwiches, that's the culture I come from. In France or Sweden, where I've lived, the chip game isn't quite the same. So when KETTLE® said they wanted to create flavours inspired by my time in France, I was all in. There are so many delicious French flavours to choose from. Tell us how you landed on the two. The flavours – Honey Dijon Mustard and Brie & Caramelised Onion – are really personal to me. They're inspired by my time in France and all the food I fell in love with there. The Honey Dijon has that beautiful sweet-tangy balance, and the Brie & Caramelised Onion is pure comfort: creamy, nutty brie paired with that deep umami of caramelised onions. How involved were you in the development? Very involved in the fun parts – the tasting, brainstorming, the creative side! I'm not the technical expert, but KETTLE® has an incredible research & development team. We'd go back and forth to get the flavours just right. Like with the Dijon, we wanted enough heat without it turning into that mustardy punch-up-your-nose feeling! With the brie, we had a whole brie versus camembert debate, it was a real team effort. These chips really are a love letter to France and all it gave me. And you've also teamed up with KETTLE® for the KETTLE® Khoo Academy, an initiative which aims to help combat the disparity between men and women in UK kitchens. The program is now heading into its second year – can you tell us a bit more about why you decided to become a mentor? When I was starting out, I had to figure everything out on my own, there wasn't a clear path or mentorship. The KETTLE® Khoo Academy is about changing that. We created a programme that gives aspiring food entrepreneurs access to everything I wish I had: mentorship, insight from KETTLE®'s team, workshops on branding, marketing, R&D – the whole behind-the-scenes of building a food business. One of the mentees wanted to start a food truck bringing food education to rural Scotland, but she couldn't drive. So she used her bursary for driving lessons. It sounds small, but it was life-changing. That's what this is about: giving people practical tools and confidence to take the next step, no matter how big or small. BBC Who do you want to apply for the next cohort? Absolutely any woman who's passionate about food and wants to share that with the world. It's not about where you are on your journey or your age, it's about passion. Whether you have a full business plan or just an idea scribbled in a notebook, we want to hear from you. What do you hope future mentees take away from it? That you don't have to do it all alone. The Academy builds a community – mentees support each other, share experiences, and stay connected even after the programme ends. That kind of network is so powerful, especially when you're just starting out. Final question: What keeps you excited about food after all these years in the industry? People. Food brings people together: that never gets old. Whether it's sharing a meal or a packet of chips, food creates connection. And if I can help someone else find their voice through food, even better. That's the real joy.
Scottish Sun
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
‘You think it's fine and dandy but it's not', Bake Off judge opens up about misogyny in the food industry
Rachel Khoo says there is 'more to be done' to combat sexism in the food industry KITCHEN NIGHTMARES 'You think it's fine and dandy but it's not', Bake Off judge opens up about misogyny in the food industry Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT IS the most wholesome corner of broadcasting with cookery shows oozing with comfort food and family-friendly jokes. However, over the past year the food industry has attracted the spotlight for all the wrong reasons with high profile chefs accused of sexual misconduct and misogyny. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 TV chef Rachel Khoo has opened up about sexism and misogny in the food industry Credit: PA 5 She is a current judge on The Great Australian Bake Off Credit: Rex Something that sadly doesn't surprise TV chef Rachel Khoo. The Australian Bake Off judge says: 'It's sad, it's still the case, you'd really think things would have changed in 2025. 'You think it's all fine and dandy, but that's not the case. 'It shows how much work is still left to do and that goes for all parts of society. 'It's not just in the food world, but I think the food world is a small reflection of what's going on in a bigger part of the whole society. 'It's still happening and we've got work to do.' The mum-of-three's comments come following a slew of allegations against high profile names in the industry. In February Gino, 48, was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour over 12 years, which he denies. ITV has vowed not to use him in future. And Gregg Wallace, 60, left his MasterChef hosting role in December after 13 allegations, which he denies, including inappropriate sexual comments. Rachel admits has dealt with her fair share of sexism in the past, previously revealing that a sound man placed a microphone down her bra without asking, and says that there have been times where her looks have taken the focus over her talent. Gino D'Acampo drew explicit picture of me during live filming of cooking show - culture was toxic, what TV producer told ITV 'I have worked on productions in the past where they want a particular look,' she says. 'Like they wanted a real 1950s look and there has been more emphasis on the female presenters look than the male presenters. 'But it's so ingrained in society. 'You know, there is that case of that presenter, newsreader wearing the same suit every day of the year and nobody saying anything versus his co-presenter, female wearing something the same twice and people complaining.' Rachel has become somewhat of a trailblaizer for women in the industry, recently being announced as the first female chef for Kettle Chips. As part of her role with premium crisp brand she launched the Khoo Academy where women seeking a career in gourmet food can apply for a chance to be part of a mentoring programme. She says: 'When I first started working in the food industry, I found it intimidating because I was the only woman. "We've seen a small increase of women in the kitchen since my early days but there's not nearly enough as there should be." 5 In February Gino, 48, was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour over 12 years Credit: Alamy 5 Gregg Wallace, 60, left his MasterChef hosting role in December after 13 allegations Credit: PA Gregg Wallace - MasterChef scandal in Brief GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation? Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years. Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark - accusations he denies. The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated. Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the "women of a certain age" who he claimed were behind the allegations. The cooking show's production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace's alleged misconduct. Currently women make up just 18.5% of chefs in the UK and Rachel is no longer one of them, taking her career overseas. Rachel has travelled the world, hosting dinners and workshops in London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Buenos Aires. The keen chef set up a two-person restaurant based in her Paris flat, which attracted a great deal of social media attention. The experience led her to front BBC's show The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo in 2012 seeing her follow-up cookbook sell 120,000 copies. The author is currently a judge on The Great Australian Bake Off alongside Aussie chef Darren Purchese. The Swedish-based chef says that filming down under couldn't be further from the toxic environments seen in the headlines. 'Filming the Bake Off is for almost two months every year and it's such a dream job,' the Kettle Chips ambassador says. 'It's such a lovely show to be on, I only have my experience from the Australian one, but it is really both on screen and off screen. It is that warm family kind of vibe. 'A lot of the crew have done it for like, you know, many, many seasons and keep on coming back because they love working on the show, even though it's long hours and stuff like that. 'I want to be a cheerleader for people. I want to be uplifting people, not putting them down. 'You know, that's not my style.' I want to be a cheerleader for people. I want to be uplifting people, not putting them down Rachel Khoo Rachel lives in Stockholm with her professional chef husband Robert Wiktorin and three children and she says that gender equality is at the helm of home as well as her workplace. 'I'm very fortunate in Sweden as there is shared parental leave,' she says. 'My husband took six months off with our first so I could write one of my cookbooks. 'When I film Bake Off I only bring one of my children along because the other kids are in school and my mum comes to help. 'It's a group effort and we're all supportive, but I support my husband in other ways. He's just as good a parent as I am. 'It's a two way street.' Rachel Khoo's new range of Kettle Chip flavours, Honey Dijon Mustard (130g) and Brie & Caramelised Onion (130g) are available in major retailers from May (RRP £2.65).
The Irish Sun
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘You think it's fine and dandy but it's not', Bake Off judge opens up about misogyny in the food industry
IT IS the most wholesome corner of broadcasting with cookery shows oozing with comfort food and family-friendly jokes. However, over the past year the food industry has attracted the spotlight for all the wrong reasons with high profile chefs 5 TV chef Rachel Khoo has opened up about sexism and misogny in the food industry Credit: PA 5 She is a current judge on The Great Australian Bake Off Credit: Rex Something that sadly doesn't surprise TV chef Rachel Khoo. The Australian Bake Off judge says: 'It's sad, it's still the case, you'd really think things would have changed in 2025. 'You think it's all fine and dandy, but that's not the case. 'It shows how much work is still left to do and that goes for all parts of society. Read More on Chefs 'It's not just in the food world, but I think the food world is a small reflection of what's going on in a bigger part of the whole society. 'It's still happening and we've got work to do.' The mum-of-three's comments come following a slew of allegations against high profile names in the industry. In February Most read in Fabulous And Rachel admits has dealt with her fair share of sexism in the past, previously revealing that a sound man Gino D'Acampo drew explicit picture of me during live filming of cooking show - culture was toxic, what TV producer told ITV 'I have worked on productions in the past where they want a particular look,' she says. 'Like they wanted a real 1950s look and there has been more emphasis on the female presenters look than the male presenters. 'But it's so ingrained in society. 'You know, there is that case of that presenter, newsreader wearing the same suit every day of the year and nobody saying anything versus his co-presenter, female wearing something the same twice and people complaining.' Rachel has become somewhat of a trailblaizer for women in the industry, recently being announced as the first female chef for As part of her role with premium crisp brand she launched the She says: 'When I first started working in the food industry, I found it intimidating because I was the only woman. "We've seen a small increase of women in the kitchen since my early days but there's not nearly enough as there should be." 5 In February Gino, 48, was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour over 12 years Credit: Alamy 5 Gregg Wallace, 60, left his MasterChef hosting role in December after 13 allegations Credit: PA Gregg Wallace - MasterChef scandal in Brief GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation? Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his Gregg has been accused of making The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated. Yet the former greengrocer The cooking show's production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace's alleged misconduct. Currently women make up just 18.5% of chefs in the UK and Rachel is no longer one of them, taking her career overseas. Rachel has travelled the world, hosting dinners and workshops in London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Buenos Aires. The keen chef set up a two-person restaurant based in her Paris flat, which attracted a great deal of social media attention. The experience led her to front BBC's show The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo in 2012 seeing her follow-up cookbook sell 120,000 copies. The author is currently a judge on The Great Australian Bake Off alongside Aussie chef Darren Purchese. The Swedish-based chef says that filming down under couldn't be further from the toxic environments seen in the headlines. 'Filming the Bake Off is for almost two months every year and it's such a dream job,' the Kettle Chips ambassador says. 'It's such a lovely show to be on, I only have my experience from the Australian one, but it is really both on screen and off screen. It is that warm family kind of vibe. 'A lot of the crew have done it for like, you know, many, many seasons and keep on coming back because they love working on the show, even though it's long hours and stuff like that. 'I want to be a cheerleader for people. I want to be uplifting people, not putting them down. 'You know, that's not my style.' I want to be a cheerleader for people. I want to be uplifting people, not putting them down Rachel Khoo Rachel lives in 'I'm very fortunate in Sweden as there is shared 'My husband took six months off with our first so I could write one of my cookbooks. 'When I film Bake Off I only bring one of my children along because the other kids are in school and my mum comes to help. 'It's a group effort and we're all supportive, but I support my husband in other ways. He's just as good a parent as I am. 'It's a two way street.' Rachel Khoo's new range of Kettle Chip flavours, Honey Dijon Mustard (130g) and Brie & Caramelised Onion (130g) are available in major retailers from May (RRP £2.65). 5 Rachel says that gender equality comes into play at home as well as in the kitchen Credit: BBC
The Guardian
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jonathan LaPaglia: ‘My muscles are T-shirt muscles – they don't do anything'
What's your biggest takeaway about human behaviour from hosting Australian Survivor for 10 years? What I've learned is that there's a really deep seated desire to belong. It's interesting to watch how people struggle with that. Because the conceit of the game is that you're trying to vote out one of your own, right? And the best way to do that is to blindside them … and so when you get voted out, I think it's quite confronting – even though it's a game, and everyone goes in knowing it's a game. I think we inherently want to belong. If you auditioned for Survivor, would you pick the Brains or the Brawn team? Well, my muscles are T-shirt muscles – they don't do anything, they're just there for looks – so I think they'd be kind of useless. And I'm somewhat of a thinker, so I probably would gravitate toward the brains tribe. That being said, people have been known to say that I overthink things, so I might end up being useless for both tribes. I think I have to be the host, because I'd be hopeless as a player. If you had to appear as a contestant on a reality TV show tomorrow, which one would it be? The Great Australian Bake Off? There's something kind of goofy about that which appeals, I don't know why. I can't bake at all. I'm terrible. But if I could provide comedy just for one episode, that would be good. You studied medicine in Adelaide and worked in emergency rooms for a few years; when was the last time you used your medical training? Professionally, maybe 30 years ago. Actually, I picked up the books again in Covid and started studying to sit the medical board [examinations] here in the US. And I don't know why – I didn't really think it through, because I don't know who would employ me at my age. But for a couple of months, I hit the books – and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done, trying to recall information from 35 years ago. Because a lot of the stuff I had to learn was from my first years as a medical student. So iIt was a lot of basic sciences and stuff, and trying to dredge up that information was physically painful. What book do you always return to, and why? I usually don't read books again, but the one book I've returned to is The House of God by Samuel Shem, from 1978. I've read it a bunch of times, and maybe it's because of my medical background, because he was a doctor and he wrote this book about being an intern. But it's very sardonic in its approach, it has a very David Sedaris tone to it. I felt as if he nailed the whole experience of being a medical intern, but in a very entertaining, humorous way. What's the oldest thing you own, and why do you still have it? Maybe my 1967 Pontiac GTO. I've owned it for 20 or 25 years. I don't use it much, and I keep thinking I should sell it, but every time I pull it out, it's such a work of art that I just can't get myself to part with it yet. If you could only drive one car for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? I have a 1973 Dodge Challenger that I built myself. It's a bit of a Frankenstein – it has a new motor gearbox, all that sort of stuff. And even though it's not perfect, it really has an appeal because my hands created it. What's the best lesson you learned from someone you've worked with? I don't know where I got it from, but the philosophy that I have is: you're better off dying on your feet than living on your knees. Stand up and do what you think is right in the moment, rather than acquiescing to someone else or playing it safe. What are you secretly really good at? I'm good at watchmaking. It started when I was doing an Aussie show called Love Child, a period drama set in the late 60s. They gave me a watch from that period, and it really piqued my interest in watches – particularly from the 60s and 70s – even though it didn't work. At the end of the show they gave it to me, and I took it to a local watchmaker who just kind of buggered it up – basically, I was going back and forth for six months, and it never really worked properly. So then, because I've always had an interest in anything mechanical, I decided to figure it out. I bought toolsand books, I went online, and I started teaching myself through trial and error, stumbling my way through. It just kind of snowballed from there. And now I have too many tools. If you had to fight a famous person, who would it be, how would you fight them and who would win? Maybe Will Ferrell, just because I think he's hilarious. A thumb wrestle. And I think he'd probably win, because there's no way I could keep my shit together. I would lose it. Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn premieres 17 February on 10 and 10 Play.
