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She's a half-talent at best who, through some deal-with-the-devil abilities, has become a star. A huge star with fan clubs and her own magazine.
The average Joe couldn't spot America's best chef -- Grant Achatz -- out of a
line-up, but Ray plops a can on the plate, puts it in the microwave and
ta-da! A 30-minute meal!
Watching this nine-minute clip of Ray on Nightline
two days ago, I admit it's tough not to like her. She flatly admits she's not a chef or a rocket scientist but says she's "just good at writing
average, affordable meals for the American family." When Cynthia
McFadden grills her on Anthony Bourdain calling her Dunkin Donut ads
evil, she shrugs off the criticism. "I have tremendous
respect for Tony Bourdain. It's a free country... and I have no problem
with that."
This was the first time I've watched Ray
in a couple of years. My first thought (besides, wow, she looks like a
young Laura Bush) was, have I been too hard on Rachael Ray? I didn't know she got her start working at a struggling
local specialty store, where she thought, maybe the reason people aren't buying
groceries is they didn't know how to cook with them. That's a noble idea to get people into a small specialty store.
With the recession here to stay, interest in quick, simple and cheap meals is only going to increase. My feeling is that the Rachael Ray
model could be easily improved on. She's made food accessible and
cheap, now it's a chef's turn to make it accessible, cheap and good.
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Exactly. Somebody once told me you shouldn't marry the first person you sleep with, that person is practice and you'll never know what else you missed. Rachael Ray is like that first person. You learn and you move on.
Firs,t I love Billy Joel. Second, I love Rachael Ray. Two years ago I couldn't even brown ground beef for spaghetti sauce. R.R. is good to watch for those of us just learning. She's sort of a stepping stone, but a really happy, very do-able stepping stone.
Rachel Ray has gone from a little gal on Food Network, who delivered good content for the beginner cook. This gave her a platform to eventually be seen by the masses. She is no longer a culinary figure, she has transcended into a media personality that covers all forms-TV show, books, magazine, web etc. I think it is silly to still place her in the culinary spotlight. I think she knows she has moved beyond that, and I think when her contract with Food Network expires we will not consider her a figure in food.
I think a bigger question is how are food content developers (like Food Network) going to keep those of us who are already great cooks, eaters, drinkers, growers interested in what they are doing and saying.
There is a whole new breed of Foodies out there who perhaps started watching Rachel Ray, but are now ready and yearning for a sip of the stronger stuff. Much, much stronger stuff.
I think Rachael Ray makes classic dishes somewhat approachable for the everyday family trying to eat good food but no time for learning technique. Sure, after a while she gets annoying and some of her food is crap. But she's a good starter for someone trying to learn how to cook. If they wish to seek out more adventurous cuisine they can step up to Batali or Flay, otherwise they can continue making 30 minute meat loaf with lots of flavor. She's the Boulevard Wheat of cooking, a nice introduction but not the endpoint of quality.
Then I'll have to defend Billy Joel. I've met him in person too, and he is neither smug, nor an "uber-douche". I've never met DLC, but I'd be willing to take your word for it. Fair enough?
Neigh! Can't stand her. Grating voice, which is now permanently squeaky because she never shuts up.
Hey, what can I say. Familiarity ain't the only thing that breeds contempt, success does too. She's putting herself out there, she's going to get knocked down but as she said in the interview, she doesn't really care so good for her. Also, I have to defend DLC. I've met him in person and he's the opposite of smug or a d-bag. I've never met Billy Joel so the jury's still out on that one.
As for the Rachael Ray drinking game, I can't believe its legal. Someone would die about 10 minutes into that game if playing strict rules.
I'm not fighting about Billy Joel. And you don't mean metaphor. You mean simile. And it's hilarious that an article called "the worst pop singer ever" contains not a single criticism of his singing or even his music. Rachel, however, seems to attract a great deal of scorn from those who are less successful than she is mostly BECAUSE of her success.
This is not a fight about Billy Joel. It's about Rachael Ray. The Joel metaphor is not perfect but that said, he is a divisive figure to the point Slate called him "the worst pop singer ever." http://www.slate.com/id/220952...
Rachael Ray is the same type of divisive figure and she's got many fans. Hell, I might be becoming one.
To DLC - Rachel Ray is not "fake perky". There's nothing fake at all about her perkiness. That's how she really is. As for her trying too hard - she's obviously successful at trying hard. You should try it sometime. It's the 'hard' that makes it good. But you don't seem to get that. It seems to me that the truly smug uber-douche here is you.
Perhaps you've heard of the Rachel Ray Drinking Game. It's not for lightweights.
For words or phrases:
1 sip �EVOO�
1 sip �Guys�
1 sip �Sammie�
1 sip �Healthful�
1 sip �Goin� on�
1 sip �Hang out�
2 sips �Stoup� (combining �stew� and �soup�)
2 sips �Spoonula�
3 sips �Fry-o-lator�
+1 sip any of the above followed by an explanation of what it stands for, thus making the abbreviation useless
1 sip �Yummo�
2 sips any exotic variant of Yummo, like �Yummilicious� or �Yummerific�
1 sip �Delish!�
1 sip �Awesome�
1 sip �Beautiful!�
2 sip �Chop and drop�
2 sips �Shimmy shake�
2 sips �Worcester-sheer-shire sauce�
1 sip �It smells good in here already!�
1 sip �How _____ is that?�
1 sip �I�m all about _____�
1 sips �Room to groove�
1 sips �You can seriously entertain with this!�
2 sips �Some of that action�
2 sips �Back in the day�
2 sips �Daddy�
1 sips �Give it feet�
Whole drink when she creates an all-new and completely unnecessary abbreviation
For when she�s cooking:
2 sips when she comes back from refrigerator carrying too many ingredients
3 sips when she drops something on her way back
4 sips when she drops something, laughs, and says something like �potato overboard!�
whole drink when the thing she drops is a knife!
1 sip when she fails to provide a measurement and tells you to �eyeball it�
2 sips when she praises �salad in a sack�
2 sips when she uses a �secret ingredient�
3 sips when the �secret ingredient� is nutmeg
1 sip when she mentions �the thing that makes you go Hmmm�
3 sips when �the thing that makes you go Hmmm� is nutmeg
2 sips when she praises the virtues of Worcestershire sauce
2 sips when she creates a �healthful� meal that clearly contains over 50g of fat
2 sips when she does way more work than is humanly possible during a commercial break
3 sips when she makes a �gourmet� dish out of cheap ingredients (e.g. Tiramisu with nilla wafers and whipped cream)
2 sips when she expresses how good something tastes while she�s still lifting the fork to her mouth
2 sips when she takes such a big mouthful of something it takes several seconds before she can talk again
3 sips when she ruins something and tries to play it off as no big deal
3 sips when she makes a dish with a name more than 10 words long
For when she�s travelling:
2 sips when she leaves a crappy tip
2 sips when she shoves her nose in something to smell it
2 sips when she claims a dessert by itself is somehow a legitimate lunch or dinner
2 sips when she gets something for free (e.g., her boyfriend buys her a sundae)
3 sips when she wears anything midriff-revealing
Whole drink when she gets up on stage with a band
I think cooking snobs are pissed at her for cutting a lot of corners, but for many people she shows that any moron with a skillet can cook an edible meal. She is not as bad as Semi-Ho-Made show (if it's still running) which takes Rachel Ray's concept down multiple notches.
Unrelated: can we get "subscribe to comments" feature, can't be that hard.
I don't think it's her talent (or lack thereof) that's the issue, but her personality. She's just so annoying, I can't stand fake perky people like her. She just tries too hard.
This i think makes the Billy Joel metaphor allowable. A good musician at times, but also a smug New York uber-douche.
What Billy Joel is to other musicians? Where are you getting your info? Billy Joel fans include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Pete Townsend, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Leonard Bernstein, Paul MacCartney, Dave Brubeck, James Levine,and many, many other well-respected musicians. Get your facts straight.
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