Rachael Ray: I Can Cook A Little, and So Can You
It's so easy to bash Rachael Ray, so maybe that's why I found David Carr's column in yesterday's Times so interesting.
My two favorite lines from the story: "But Ms. Ray's folksy approach belies the sophistication of her message. She is part of the cut-to-the-chase genre of media, like Lucky, Domino and Real Simple magazines, and their success is built on this fact of modern life: if people are more secure economically, it is only because they are working longer and harder than ever before." And: "Ms. Ray's recipes may call for store-bought turkey loaf she is really trafficking in the ultimate modern luxury: time."
Carr's piece was really the first one I've seen that tries to place the Rachael Ray phenomenon in context without declaring that she's some kind of cultural cooking antichrist.
I don't know Rachael Ray (I met her once at a party, and she was pleasant and friendly in a hopped up, caffeinated way), and sure I wish her taste and take on food were more sophisticated, but the bottom line is that Rachel Ray empowers lots of people to prepare meals for themselves and their family without feeling overwhelmed or overmatched.
So maybe it's time to move on and let Rachael be Rachael. If she's not for you, that's okay. She clearly taps into something primal in her audience's psyche, and that is clearly good enough for Rachael and her millions of fans. And you've got to give her credit for not trying to be something she's not. There's not an ounce of pretension in her shredded cheese bag.
She's not the cultural food antichrist. There are plenty of famous, successful people in our culture who are far more deserving of our scorn and derision. Like, say, Paris Hilton.
The Times' Kim Severson wrote a nuanced profile of Rachael a few months ago.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
8 Comments:
Rachael Ray is my guilty pleasure--I enjoy watching 30 Minute Meals, though I'm not quite sure why. Some of her food looks fine, if a bit thrown together; some of it looks terrible (Mini Cheeseburger Salad? Yikes!). But I find her chop-chat-giggle-chop-chat-giggle thing rather hypnotic. And to her credit, she's no Sandra Lee (of Semi-Homemade Cooking). Rachael Ray doesn't use Cool Whip and she does use a good variety of fresh veggies in her cooking. Oh--and she encourages her viewers to try anchovies, which makes me think she can't be all that bad . . .
--Sarah
http://www.avenuefood.com
skiino at 6:11PM on 10/24/06
I admit it. I like the girl. And as the owner of several cookbooks authored by the "over-caffeinated one", many of her recipes are good and I like her focus on basic cooking skills for the beginner/average home cook.
And in the spectrum of Annoying Food TV Personalities, RR is one of the lesser annoyances. (Sandra "Cocktails & Tablescapes" Lee being an 11 on the annoyance scale.)
Mensch71 at 9:37PM on 10/24/06
I'm sorry but RR has nearly single handedly ruined Food Network.
Doesn't anyone remember the days of David Rosengarten's show TASTE?
Doesn't anyone remember the days when Food Network actually showed signs of being an important Network that you could actually watch and really, really enjoy?
Unfortunately somewhere along the fork in the road, mediorcarty and derivative watered down ideas have won over innovative and refreshing creative content. How many derivate shows can you have of RR before you’re just ripping off the American public?
Hello???!!!! Mr. Creative Director at Food Network…it’s time to actually get creative. The Next Food Network star show is a joke (another fine example of derivate copying and a total lack of creative vision).
In Rachel Ray’s TV world, everything is the same level of sameness. Everything becomes the same level of “MMMM†which is just not true or honest. All that food she eats just can’t be the level of good. The day she spits out the food and says: “That sucks!†Is the day she’ll have any level of credibility. Come on folks….demand something better!
(David: Your time was too early....)
cgoup at 9:59PM on 10/24/06
I like RR's cooking. I have an assortment of her cookbooks and they do exactly what they promise - deliver good meals in under 30 minutes. I appreciate having those recipies available at least 3 nights out of 7 in my life. Plus I (and many others I know) are perfectly willing to take an extra 2-3 minutes and shred our own cheese.
But I do agree with the previous poster about RR's other foods. Everything is delicious in RRs travels. That just strains credulity for me. NEVER a bad meal? Come on! Her reviews and suggestions of places to eat have absolutely no value since everything is so uniformly wonderful. Her advice about asking locals and checking for coupons in local magazines is valuable but if you have seen just one episode of just one of her shows you have heard that already so there is no need to watch any others.
becomfy at 11:22AM on 10/25/06
My biggest complaint with RR is when she prepares "Italian" food. I grew up in an Italian-American household, and I recognize none of what she cooks.
That said, RR is not a chef, nor does she claim to be. I completley agree that she is selling time not food. I like food, so I simply don't watch her.
jibaro at 1:30PM on 10/25/06
Great post. I agree. And like other commenters, I have found some of her recipes to be quite good. As for the folks who complain about the Food Network and the fact that it sucks--well, it's TV!!! What more did you expect? Just because it's food doesn't mean it can escape the pull of television, which is inherently mediocre in my opinion.
erinskitch at 4:46PM on 10/25/06
Rachael's show is not geared towards the professional chef or food critic,so why do they have to comment on it??
It's for people who want to make good food for themselves & families,quickly,maybe try new things to get out of a dining rut.
I am a professional chef in NYC and was on her show and she was perfectly pleasant,cordial and let me do my thing without any problems.
She even asked for a couple of recipes, so she is pretty down to earth and hey she has become the antidote to that bitch Martha.I think that is her appeal to many.So what if she is a bit of a goof?
chameleonz at 4:51PM on 10/25/06
I can take something away from BOTH Rachael AND Martha.
Sam66 at 1:31PM on 10/27/06