# A Rachael Ray Confession



## free rider

Okay, I've heard the criticism of Rachael Ray, but have no first-hand knowledge of her recipes or talent. So when her show started, I watched an episode. Her recipe turned me off. Then I watched her guests taste the food. It was hilarious! They gamely smiled and took a bite, had trouble swallowing and then the smile turned totally fake. Then they sat there in front of this food that she had served like a real dinner and she encouraged them to keep eating. They looked dismally at the food. 

Anyway, I went in search of a trend and found one. I happen to get home at about the time her show ends. I quickly turn on the tv just in time to see her guests sitting at that dinner table trying to avoid eating the food. It's my giggle for the day.

... confession over... :talk: :talk:


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## benrias

You are not alone...I know there are many of us who watch her (or Sandra Lee, or Flay or any of the FoodTV hacks) just for shiz and giggles.

I like watching just to see how long it takes for her to perform a trifecta of arm movements or give out one of her forced-giggles ("eh-huh-huh").

There was a great Youtube video collage of Ray on $40 a day. It was a great demonstration of her broad vocabulary  --





 (i think this is the link-enjoy!)


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## aguynamedrobert

Poor foodnetwork stars....Just because they have some things people might not like about them doesn't mean they are no good...are you telling me that MOST of her meals are not good at all? I think that for the most part, the food networks stars are pretty good. I have a few I don't really care for but a lot that I like...

Robert
www.chocolateguild.com


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## mezzaluna

At least she doesn't talk with her mouth full! What else can you say when you're eating besides "Mmmm" if you keep it closed? 

I used to watch her shows but lately she's using more processed foods so I've lost interest. Still, she's nowhere close to Sandra Lee territory.


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## benrias

And for what it's worth, it is not just food network stars. I remember thinking that Paul Perdomme was "THE MAN!" until I actually saw him cooking on TV.

He was guest hosting on another person's show (don't recall who) and I got disgusted watching him. Look...there is nothing wrong being a large person...but if you are a professional chef, at least try to act like it.

While cooking, Paul repeatedly would stick his unwashed dirty hands into the pots and pans of food that he was cooking. Why? Because, "Oh...oh...that just smells sooooo good I just gotta...I just gotta [chew chew smack chew]" and with his mouth still full "oh...that is good man..."

I know his recipes to be flavorful, but I lost a degree of respect for him after that one.


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## entropy

I love Unwrapped myself!

Rachel's alright. She used to annoy me but I don't mind her, she's seems like a nice lady and obviously people love her. The food network's got a lot of personalities to choose from which is great.


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## aprilb

Have you watched it without sound? I don't have my speakers hooked up. Got tired of Yum-O, EVOO and delish and oh...whatever...

I had the misfortune to tune in to her tv show the other day. She literally looked like she had way too much holiday cheer. Oprah was on and asked how to make the pizza dough for the dish she served. (since Rach is Ope's little project like RR really needs yet more media exposure or HELP? Seriously, why doesn't Oprah help people here who are struggling to start a business under way less than optimal circumstances...why doesn't she help kids here instead of building a multi-million dollar school in So. Africa? But I digress...)

"Oh, I don't MAKE it!" She apparently buys the dough from a local pizza shop. The 'surprise' on Oprah's face was pretty clear.

By her definition she's a 'cook' not a 'chef'.

The pizza looked like a giant ugly crostata and Oprah mentioned "it's very gooey" <read: polite definition of soggy>

Sorry, but I don't think she even qualifies as a 'cook' unless you consider being a cook someone that can throw stuff that's been prepped and measured by someone else in a pan, pull a finished product out of a fake oven, that's ALSO been prepped and cooked by someone else, or come up with all kinds of lame catchwords. <sorry but my sister was using the term "delish" 30 years ago>

April

Have


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## cakerookie

Boy! I have tried my best to stay out of this but enough is enough. I agree with most everything that has been said to this point. And it really shocked me when I heard her say she was a cook and not a chef. Does that destroy her reputation in terms of what viewers see and hear on her shows? I think it gets down to basics really as far as Food Networks concerned. Shes bubbly, full of life to say the least and her personality attracts viewers like her or not what does it equal $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ thats all they see.


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## sushigaijin

she's a TV personality. she probably hasn't cooked a real meal in years, she's definately not a Chef. I've seen her interact with her crew and the staff at restaurants at shoots, and I can't even say I came away with a positive opinion of her offscreen personality.


BUT, she's making big money, has at least 8 or 10 cookbooks out, people love her, and she has 3 or 4 TV series. She's probably done more for the advancement of cooking's profile in the last five years than any single other person. She (and the other food network people) have made cooking a legitimate job choice in the states, rather than the "better not seen or heard" mentality towards cooks that prevailed barely 15 years ago. Many of today's cooks probably wouldn't be around without the food TV people's influence, and doubtless Rachel is responsible for some of that.

Good, bad, I'm not trying to quantify - she's a celebrity, before she's a cook or a chef. She's a brand name. She's consumer loyalty. She's consumer confidence, and she brings the idea that "food is important" into millions of homes...It doesn't matter if the food tastes good or not.

Erik.


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## chef.assassin

i have to say that i really admire the fact that she is adamant that she is not a chef - nothing even close to a chef. she said as much during that iron chef america battle between she and giarda de laurentis (with mario batali and bobby flay at their backs, ha). at least she isn't trying to be something she is most definitely not, and for that she has my admiration.


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## benrias

true..she admits she is not a chef. Yet, wouldn't her career based upon cooking be similar to that author that Suzanne Summers is promoting? You know, the lady who graduated from community college who is going around giving medical advice?

Ray on $40 bucks a day is fine. I'd even be fine giving Ray her new talk show just for her spunk and charisma. But her cooking fad? that has got to go away someday. Try her recipes...you will be very underimpressed--the Walmart of the culinary world so to speak. 

And yet, if I was a TV exec, I would be loving her success.


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## jayme

I must confess that I have never seen Ray's show (working during that time of day). But I sure am getting sick of seeing her face EVERYWHERE!! She's got her own magazine, cookware line and now she's on Nabisco cracker boxes. My sister (who watches the show and loves her) was telling me one of her recipes- take a deli rotissarie chicken, debone and shred it, add canned chicken broth, (and some other stuff- sorry, I was grocery shopping at the time- thinking more about MY recipes than Rachel's) and then thicken it with crushed Fritos. All's I was thinking was SODIUM!! chicken- in brine, broth- more sodium, and then Fritos- do they even make a chip with more salt on it? My sister concluded that she knows that type of dish wouldn't have enough presentation for ME to fix but for lazy housewives, it's great! I had to laugh at that.....
Like she thinks culinary folks fix 4 star every nite at home....... it was omlettes tonite!


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## jackbutler

When asked, Rachel Ray says that she's not a chef, she's a sports journalist who fell ***-backward into a cooking show. I love $40 a Day (though I think Bourdaine does a better travel show) but Christ I can't watch the woman cook. And I'm saying this having met her and acknowleding that she's an absolute sweetheart in person. At the very least, she's a much better human being that that total tool Bobby Flay (And Flay, if you're reading this, the restraining order is still in place! Just try me!)

My problem is I'm not sure I'm a safe person to criticize her. If someone were to back a dumptruck full of ten dollar bills to my house and ask me to sell out like the FoodTV people have, I think my first response might be "Where the heck do I sign?"


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## jackbutler

Heh... Mac and cheese... out of the blue box.


What? I was tired and had a headache and didn't want to get complicated.


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## jayme

LOL Jack--- the Original mac n cheese...... my kids tried to talk me into buying the kind that turned green (or something like that) once- yuk! just couldn't do it. Any hot dogs to go with it? lol


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## jackbutler

LOL! No, I bowed to the inevitable and carved up a couple of slices of sandwich ham into it. :lol:


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## rob p.

For the most part I've watched her show on the foodnetwork. What is interesting is that she bills the show as "30 minute meals" but the producers stop the cooking process during the filming (which is where they insert the commercials) and that one show takes all day to shoot. So, where's the 30 minute to fix the meal come in? In segments while they do the food prep between segments? I can't duplicate THAT in my kitchen.

Most people who've tried her recipies agree that they take longer than 30 minutes to prepare because the home cook has to chop/shred/measure/prep for themself while RR doesn't. She just pours the already measured stuff out of the pkg.

For me, I like her chicken with figs although she's changed the recipe so many times I don't know if she even knows it anymore. Make the recipe that uses Brandy instead of wine. I serve it over angel hair pasta for presentation. It also gets better with age in the fridge.


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## chris1980

Rachel Ray is hot. She cooks? :suprise:


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## benrias

the longer she is on TV, the lower her neckline plunges on her outfits!


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## aprilb

anybody watch her "talk show" recently?

MOOOOOO.

April


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## jayme

Does this mean that by the end of the year, she'll be doing her show topless??? LOL


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## rob p.

I've noticed that since she got married she's added QUITE A BIT of weight to her stature. Not to mention that the rock she's wearing on her finger is so out of place in a kitchen it's amazing she doesn't lose it down the disposal twice a day.

She used to be cute, peppy, and leading edge. Now she's fat, tired, and outdated.


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## jayme

Geez and we aren't allowed to wear ANY jewelry in the kitchen.... LOL


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## frayedknot

WOW...pretty amazing that many comments here are similar to my own. I guess great minds think alike ..hehehe

Just this week I said to my sweetie ..Look at her...she is getting big and the black pants/top can't even hide that.. prolly getting ready for the Kirsty Allie type 
infomercials.. amazing the different ways to make money..

Personally, I liked her effervescence at first but I feel she is greatly over-exposed, both in neck line (for what!!) and in the public eye. I enjoy Foodnetwork, and I find myself turning the channel when I flip and she is on... I really dislike the hand jestures...what's that about?  

*She is everywhere, *on TV at all hours, mags, cookbooks, etcI would think she would see that, but then again "get it while the gettin is good" 

She was totally lost on the IC episode. 

I will say she has not yet reached the low point of stuffing her face with a fork full of food (large enough for two people) and making gutteral primal sounds as one host does...if she did that at my table I would reprimand her and get up and leave...how truly offensive... can you say "Good dishes" and "lets partay y'all"


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## jayme

Scott-
Funny how she IS everywhere! Even on Cheftalk- I think we have 3 threads on her/EVOO...... LOL of course we all think alike- we're FOOD people.... :lol:


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## kyheirloomer

Well gosh. All this Rachael bashing, here and at other websites.

Bet it makes the poor thing cry all the way to the bank.


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## nentony

"She used to be cute, peppy, and leading edge. Now she's fat, tired, and outdated."

Me too.

Tony


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## jayme

KY and Tony- LOL ain't it the truth?? I guess if we all had her income, it wouldn't matter if we got old!


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## kyheirloomer

I'm already old, Jayme. Definately tired. And pushing fat. 

But I ain't got her income.  

What I don't understand, seriously, is all the vitriol directed at Rachael in particular. There actually are anti-Rachael websites.

Anybody with the brains God gave a turnip can find all sorts of ways to badmouth any of the TV chefs. I mean, if you want to talk trash, let's look at Giada, who spends more time waving her boobs and her wisdom teeth at the camera than cooking. Or Sandra Lee, who is stuck in the '50s. Etc. etc.

Yet, 90% or more of the bashing is aimed at Rachael Ray. And I've never gotten it.


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## rob p.

It's because she's irritating. Her schtick is old. Her results are suspect too. Last night saw the end of her show (it airs just before another show I watch so I sometimes get to see the close of her show if I flip early from the news) and she made this gravy which anyone could see was burned and overcooked. Yet she dumped this disaster onto some sort of meat dish and called it "yum-o". I noticed that she didn't even try to taste it either.

She used to TRY to create good food. Now she fakes it & is just riding on her reputation and keeping new chefs/cooks from getting their well earned and deserved 15 minutes. Most people know when things are going poorly and that someone should move on. It's RR's turn now and that's the sentiment behind the "bashing".


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## free rider

I've noticed that she doesn't taste any of her food.


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## kyheirloomer

>It's because she's irritating. Her schtick is old.<

My point is you can say that about _any _of them.

You wanna talk about Bam!? Everything he makes, including the desserts it sometimes seems, is loaded with his essence. Which means it all tastes the same.

You wanna talk Bobby Flay, who is so obviously bored with what he's doing that it's pitiful?

You wanna talk Sandra Lee, who's only claim to fame is being able to wield a can opener while wearing a sweater two sizes too small?

You wanna talk irritating? There is nobody I can think of who irritates me as much as Giada De Laurantis, with her plunging neckline, pasted on smile, and lack of talent.

You wanna talk..... well, you get my meaning.

Given all that, this Rachael bashing just doesn't make sense to me.

And, let's never forget, that the TV switch works two ways, and nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head, forcing them to watch.


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## free rider

Not having cable tv, Ray is the only one of those you've mentioned that I ever see.


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## ishbel

Sounds like us this side of the pond aren't missing much!


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## jayme

KY- Only as old as you feel, right? some days it's 20 and some it's 105..LOL
If we could just find our own little niche, we would be as rich as Rachel. I don't bash her (I don't WATCH her either), I'm a bit envious- she found her place and she's running with it. I probably would too! I wish I had found my place in the industry 20 years ago! Ah to be young, successful, and rich!


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## jayme

Ish- you have Oliver- what else do you need? LOL
I don't have cable either- so I get to skip the whole Food Network thing- although my sister watches it constantly and goes to their website and puts me on every mailing list....ug!


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## ishbel

We've got many more than Oliver, Jayme!

We've had Floyd, Rankin, Gary Rhodes, Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson, Nick Nairn, Rick Stein - the list is endless!


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## paddy

Same here. The only part of her show I see is the last 60 seconds and that is too much. She is on just before Alton Brown who I enjoy watching. I don't follow very many of his recipes but he does get me thinking and going to the kitchen to experiment.

paddy


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## jayme

But are they as cute as Oliver??? LOL


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## harpua

Echhhhhh....

Sorry, I just had to revive this thread because I loooaathee Ray Ray. Nothing anyone can say can bring me closer to liking, or even accepting her on tv, in commercials, grocery stores, my mom's magazines, my cracker box.. 

Everytime I see her, I throw up in my mouth a little bit.


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## deltadoc

You might be suffering from Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). This could be serious if it happens often, because it could turn into Barrett's Esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition.

Better get an Esophageal Biopsy to be sure. Sometimes it is even symptomless!

doc


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## harpua

Can I get Ray Ray to pay for the office visit? I don't have insurance.


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## eatdrinksleep

Like her or not...
Considering the amount of attention she gets, she's already a big brand name herself. Last I heard, she's got a pretty big cooking empire built on herself..


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## doryd

Well..Rachel Ray, unlike most of the Food Network stars, was never a cook, much less a chef. She was an actress that landed a cooking show, and she's been very open about the fact she didn't know how to cook when they handed it to her. Everything she does is laid out for her beforehand and she's given complete instructions to get her through each show.

Personally, besides because of how annoying it is to listen to her say EVOO five million times a show, I stopped watching after this incident happened:

My friend's husband is a co-store manager of the Sterling, Virginia Wegman's, a luxury grocery store that includes a world-class patisserie, with a regular grocery store (they even offer free child care while you shop, lol! If you ever have a chance to shop at one -- go! Just the cheese counter alone...sigh...now I'm homesick, lol). 

Anyway, they hosted a book signing for Rachel a year and a half ago for her new cookbook. My friend's husband (the store manager) wanted to get a book signed for his sister (who was a big fan), so he sent one of his employees to buy one in anticipation of the event. Meanwhile, Rachel Ray arrives, complete with a list of demands which include a private entrance, having an entire bathroom closed off for her use, etc., and a very sour attitude toward all of the Wegman's employees. To top it all off, when Bob asked Rachel to sign the book for his sister, she said she would only sign her name. She refused to personalize it in any way for his sister because it was not her latest book -- and HE WAS THE STORE MANAGER!! Then, after all that nastiness to the "little people" she was all smiles for the customers with her book in hand.

Needless to say it was the last time she was and will be invited back. 

And I haven't watched her or her show since...


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## cakerookie

Odd. Never met her. But she did not strike me as that type person. Guess it goes to show you never really know someone till you actually meet them.


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## phoenix 12

The truly sad part is they actually have a place in society. It's sad to see how many people that don't know how to cook something, anything. Just look in the grocery aisle, and see gravy in a powdered form. My Grandmother's favorite saying was, " I can cook, I can cook HOT" Yep, and most of the time that was the best part of it LOLOLOL. 

Mike


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## deltadoc

According to today's Netscape news, RR is following in the footsteps of Oprah, and stands to make $250000000 this year alone. She's rated one of the top celebrities on TV.

Some society we live in...

doc


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