Quotes from Rachel Khoo

It's great that Mary Berry got a primetime TV show, but I don't think there are enough women chefs on TV.

I used to have a bit of a thing against starting a meal with soup. I'd find they were often too heavy, filling you up rather than igniting the appetite. Plus, I'd end up mopping it up with scoops of baguette.

Pickled chillies are a must with wantan mee. I could eat a whole bowl of them - they're hot, salty, vinegary and sour all at the same time.

I think my heritage makes me very open to try things, taking on different flavours, mixing it all up. I find that exciting.

I'm trying to keep my cooking approachable and accessible but with a little fun twist.

As a woman you have to tick all these boxes to be able to be on TV. I know I look a certain way and that's partly why I'm on TV. If I were really ugly and fat, I don't think I'd have had the same chance.

I've lived in so many different countries over the years. I spent most of my early life in the UK, five years in Germany and summers in Austria before moving to Paris.

A whole trout is the ultimate Sunday table centrepiece to replace a hearty roast. It looks a little retro with the radish and cucumber scales, but this also adds freshness and acidity.

Don't be afraid to play with combinations and quantities of spices to create your own bespoke spice rub.

I'm always looking for a way to get some spice into my cooking but, generally, the French don't like spicy food.

To follow my meal, I'd drink a glass of my uncle's homemade apricot schnapps. He puts it in beautiful glass bottles and sells it at his local market in Austria. You don't normally drink with Asian food, so this would be a fitting end to the meal.

I've always felt the easiest way to get to know new culture is through its food even if you don't speak the language. Food will do it for you. It's an universal language.

With patisserie, unlike with cooking, you have to be very precise; you can't just add a bit of this and a bit of that, because your cake starts melting. There's a lot of technique involved, but you can still be creative. Because of my artistic background, when I have that freedom I tend to do things a little bit out of the box.

But understanding the complexities of the ramen menu is an equally tricky feat for a foreigner. Both regional and stylistic variations apply to each menu. Add to that the spin that each particular ramen chef puts on his dish, and you rarely know what you are going to get.

I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables not so much meat and fish. Baguettes and croissants are not an everyday food for me.

I had quite a few jobs in Paris before hitting the jackpot and writing cookbooks. One of them was peeling vegetables and prepping other veggie delights at Bob's Juice Bar.

Rubbing meat or vegetables with sweet and savoury spices before roasting or sizzling on a grill is what summer nights are all about.

I want to be taken seriously: I can cook, I do have qualifications, OK, I do make mistakes, but I want to show that on camera. I'm not perfect. I'm someone who works hard, who is serious about what they're doing. It's substance over style.

Children love cupcakes and so do I - a good one makes the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

The northern Japanese ramen is characterised by its miso base. In the south, the ramen may steer more towards a seafood-based broth, while in Tokyo, virtually every style of ramen exists.