So Khool!: All About Cook-Writer-Broadcaster Rachel Khoo

Source: Rachelkhoo.com

The famous British chef and the well-respected editor-in-chief for her own online lifestyle magazine Khoollect. It is not difficult to spot her online presence since she has her own BBC and Food Network television cooking series showcasing her perfect cooking skills.

Born on Aug 28, 1980, in London, Rachel has a Malay father and an Austrian mother. Her father is Malaysian Chinese who moved from Ipoh in Malaysia to the UK in 1968. The family lived in the UK for the majority of Rachel's childhood. Her younger brother and she were both raised in the suburbs of London. She attended school in the UK until she was 12 when her whole family moved to Munich for her father's work. The family stayed in Munich for four years before relocating back to the UK when Rachel was 16. Subsequently, Rachel attended the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London where she got her degree in art and design.

Rachel had shown her talent for art and craft from a young age. She had always been interested in making art out of everything and making everything look the prettiest. Still, with her talents, her family was shocked to find out Rachel wanted to be a chef and bake cakes all along.

After obtaining her degree, Rachel actually didn't plan to be a chef at all, nor did anyone in her family expect her to be one. She took up a job to be in the public relations and e-marketing department for a luxury brand Thomas Pink. Working there was a great portfolio for her first job after graduation and she showed her true skills and talents while there. However, it was not her true calling.

After staying with them for two years, Rachel decided to call it quits and eventually moved to Paris in 2006 for a patisserie course. While in Paris, Rachel absolutely fell in love with culinary and wanted to explore more of that. She found where her skills would be valued and shine. During her time in Paris, she also worked part-time to support herself. Besides the intensive courses she was taking, she was also investing her time in studying more about the culinary world.

She joined a cookbook store and cafe in Paris after finishing her course. There, she was in charge of organizing baking workshops where she worked as the pastry chef. Rachel has admitted that her family, especially her mother, though she was mad for leaving a good job in London to bake cakes in Paris. Rachel laughed off at that memory but admitted how nobody expected this to be her passion and where she would be successful. Rachel was shining through against all odds and began to make a name of herself in the bustling food heaven of Paris.

Her hard work at the cafe was soon proven to be worth it. Rachel was putting in the effort to study different baking styles and what innovation she can bring to the table, plus her own style. Being a pastry chef was a fun time for Rachel. In her spare time, she would attend different food festivals or workshops to add more value to her skill sets. People could spot the young aspiring chefs at various cookbook launches and cookery events.

It is during one of those events that Rachel came in touch with Marc Grossman, the legendary cookbook writer from the US. The two quickly became friends and Marc asked Rachel to test some recipes for one of his books. That inspired Rachel that she, too, could be a book writer and be on TV for doing what she loved. The contact with Marc was the turning point of Rachel's career. She got to know his editor and began negotiating a book deal with publishers.

In 2010, Rachel successfully sealed a book deal in Paris. Happy with her first two books, she took the courage to convince British publishers to sign her on. When her books were proven to be a huge success, she made her TV debut with BBC, The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo, where she gained international recognition for her work. The series first aired in 2012 and has since been broadcasted in over 15 countries and translated into different languages. More than 1.5 million viewed her series.

Following her massive success on TV, Rachel began writing more books and signed more deals with BBC as their presenter. She stayed in Paris for 8 years before moving home to London, where she married Swedish chef Robert Wiktorin in 2015. The pair has a son together and Rachel moved to Stockholm, Sweden while owning an apartment in the UK.

Today, Rachel is happily married and has a successful career. Not only does she share her secrets in cooking, but she also shares how she got to where she is today by building engaging viewers to encourage them to reach for their dreams. She has reached people not only in the UK but also many in the US and the rest of the world.

Most of Rachel's appearance on TV shows was with BBC Food where she taught viewers how to make the perfect dish with style and creativity. A lot of her series are available on Netflix. In 2016, she traveled to Australia to be part of a cooking contest Zumbo's Just Desserts on the Seven Network, the show is also available on Netflix. Her various shows include Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook: Cosmopolitan Cook, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London, Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook: Melbourne. She also appeared in an episode of A Cook Abroad where she traveled to Malaysia and joined as a guest judge on the Australia cooking reality show My Kitchen Rules. All her shows were a big hit and have been aired in different countries. Her in-depth knowledge of different culinary skills has garnered her lots of dedicated viewers who aspire to be just like her, also the household icon for many housewives looking for a new recipe.

Rachel's book-publishing history is as glamorous as her TV appearances. The first two books she ever published in Paris were Pâtes à tartiner and Barres à céreales, muesli et granola Maison. After those books became a huge success, she became a writer for British publishers where she published The Little Paris Kitchen, My Little French Kitchen, The Little Swedish Kitchen, etc.

Rachel launched her own blog Khoollect in Feb 2016 as a food and lifestyle blog where she shares articles of her thoughts and recipes. She wants to use her platform as an extended version of what viewers see on TV and in her books. Her audience is able to get to know this brilliant chef better, as well as taking a glimpse into her personal life and how she also struggled with getting started like most other people.

She is also an active user on platforms like Instagram and Facebook where she regularly updates different recipes and keeps her audience updated on when a new episode or article is coming out on her blog or other channels. All her delicious dishes are making her viewers salivating, she also shares photos of her life occasionally to build a group of engaging audience.

Needless to say, her career is going well. Despite the ongoing pandemic that affected her shooting and publishing schedules, she continues to make dishes from home and shares with her audience. This year has been working out well for the TV show presenter under the circumstances.

She is happily married to her husband and raising their son together. Her husband is also a chef so the two often brainstorm on new recipes to bring to the public. She also runs her website rachelkhoo.com where she shares her personal and professional stories, some about her food adventure while others are more personal. She is making the most out of this year and has introduced various new recipes on her YouTube channel with over 59 thousand subscribers.

It is not easy to give up a good and stable job to pursue something you are not sure if will go well or not, Rachel did it and succeeded. She is a great inspiration to all the chefs around the world. If you want to do it, just do it. Rachel's cheery personality is also one of the reasons she is so well-loved. If you are looking for a new and fun recipe to try at home, follow her and see what you can make!