Review of 'My Little French Kitchen' by Rachel Khoo

I have to say that  - My Little French Kitchen - is one of the most beautiful books on French cooking I have ever seen. There is a lovely mix of stunning colour and black and white photography, hand drawn maps, over a 100 recipes from all regions in France and with a two page introduction on each region covered you really get an idea about what attracted Rachel to re-discovering various dishes.

In the book Rachel Khoo writes charmingly about her latest project and that she was a woman on a mission as she travelled around France on trains, by bus, by cycle on foot and by minibus! He mission was to discover long forgotten French recipes, made by regional grandmas. Rachel's travels take her to Brittany, Bordeaux, Basque, Provence, Lyon and Alsace. She also met food producers and artisans along her travels and credits their knowledge and enthusiasms for and about regional food in France for much of the inspiration in this book. She wasn't just interested in the old recipes though she was also interested in what foods and drinks the younger generations enjoy.

Every seductive page in this book has your mouth watering and wishing you were in France enjoying the dishes that Rachel has lovingly made. I really must try those sticky cassis pork ribs with mint and broad bean couscous but then the Porc et palourdes en cocotte looks darn good too and then again the praline brioche may be just what I need for breakfast. And after reading all about Christmas in Alsace I desperately feel the need to head off to the mountains and jostle amongst the happy traditional Christmas throngs in the Alsace city of Strasbourg whilst enjoying a le knack sausage in a bun. Ooh la la!

Rachel Khoo's first book – The Little Paris Kitchen – was a number one best seller and after fervently browsing through the sumptuous pages of - My Little French Kitchen – I could well see this one zooming to the top of the booksellers charts and into the hearts of all things French and of the lovely Rachel Khoo. The retail price is £20 and Amazon are offering it at around £12 at this time of writing.