Live webchat with new TV chef Rachel Khoo 19 March 1-2pm

Hi Rachel,

What do you think of the French stating that their cuisine is superior to any other.

Thanks

Glass

Hi Rachel

Is good cooking something that can be easily learned or is it an instinctive act of love?

Carol

Hello Rachel

I saw your photo on the book jacket. So can you let us in on the secret of how to make tarte tatin that doesn't go straight to your thighs? (if the answer is - don't eat too much of it it may be best just to ignore the question if that's ok)

I love tarte tatin

We have lived in France for some years and during that time have become increasingly disappointed by the range and quality of food on offer in restaurants. Given that things may be different in Paris and large cities, would you agree that in general French cuisine has got stuck in a time-warp and is more in need of a complete (as the French would say) "re-looking" rather than just updating with a modern twist.

What is your personal favourite recipe and what is so special about it?

Hello Rachel,

When you eat out in Paris which is your own favourite restaurant and which dish do you enjoy the most?

Best of luck with your book. Aurelia.

With the success you are having (reviews, book, TV series) aren't you tempted to have a bigger restaurant?

I would love to be able to make a perfect creme brulee, fluffy omelette or tarte tatin, and always like my cooking, but when I go to Normandy and eat their equivalent I realise there is something of a light touch that I haven't yet mastered. Do you know what it is? Is it to do with the capabilities of domestic cookers? Do the French have different techniques?

Do you agree that the French way of always sitting at a table to eat, and generally only eating at meal times, is much healthier than the 'grazing' that is so common in the English speaking world?

Do you think that vegetarian food will ever catch on in France? Have you any suggestions as to what a veggie might choose from a Parisian menu?

Hi Rachel,
I lived in Paris as a student over 40 years ago and didn't have the wherewithall to eat out very often - only managed the occasional cous cous on the left bank! Are the 'elf and safety regulations as stringent in France as they are here in the UK? Do you have to have a licence to run the restaurant from your apartement?

Hi Rachel,

I've always thought about setting up my own restaurant. Was it difficult? Do you have any tips?

I think I may have missed the boat now, but one can always dream <sigh>.

I tried to buy some cheese in a Paris cheese shop but the assistant wouldn't help me as I didn't speak French. Is this the norm in France?

The French Mediterranean diet is meant to be much better for you than the UK. Do Parisians eat the same way, lots of colourful vegetables, olive oil & sunshine food?

Dear Rachel

Making meals for people in your own apartment must be amazing. But do you get on with the people who come? Can you tell us who have been your better clients and who the nightmare ones, and why?
Also, do you discuss beforehand with them what their allergies/dislikes etc are before deciding what to cook, as it is such a personal affair?

How did you learn to cook? Do you think it's possible to cook really impressively without formal training?

How do the French respond to you as a British chef?

I read in the papers over the weekend that you ran your restaurant with only two gas rings - is that right? Is the television show filmed in your real kitchen, or on a set?

Hello Rachel,
Did you come up against some French resistance towards "English" food? I've lived in France for 22 years and I'm often accused by the locals (who have never even set foot in England) that English food is rubbish and we eat boiled mutton with mint and only other sweet and savoury meals, which the French never do.
I do point out that I really enjoy their onion jam and foie gras, the duck and orange sauce and the turkey and chestnuts etc.
Anyway, once the initial prejudice was over they do enjoy my meals even if I'm not really English, I'm an English speaking expat from South Africa.

Hi Rachel,

Can't wait to watch the program tonight! What's your favourite French dish?

Thank you,

Marine

Is it true what they say about French men? Are they all unfaithful? (I live next door to one, in fact, and when his wife goes away, his mistress moves in). Has the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair changed any of this, or does that way of going about things work for French women too?