PrintRachael Ray - love, hate, ignore, pity, envy?
I thought Rachael Ray deserves her own topic, considering how much of the Food Network thread is devoted to her. I myself have a soft spot for her, as I see her as one of those overachieving kids who just tries way too hard to be cool. And, um, we sometimes use her $40 a Day show to figure out where to go when we travel - please do not worry, Anthony Bourdain, we tip well. She's got, what, a million cookbooks, three shows, and a magazine? She's taking over the world, Oprah-style. And she made EVOO a word in the dictionary.
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24 Comments:
I love her simple, time-saving cooking ideas, I love her natural enthusiasm and energy, but I can only watch her for about 15 minutes. Maybe it's her high pitched voice that hurts my ears?
the personal farmer at 2:12PM on 02/17/07
I'm with the farmer. I can't watch her for that long, but I do love that her can-do attitude has convinced a lot of people to try to cook. I received one of her cookbooks as a gift and a lot of the recipes are actually good. Some, not so much (mac&cheese with ketchup and mustard?!). I do wish she'd control her "brand" a bit more. 3 or 4 Food Network shows, a morning talk show, her own line of cookwear, a magazine, t-shirts...not only do I wonder when she ever sleeps, but come on! Less is more, Ms. Ray.
LizNYC at 2:56PM on 02/17/07
I can't watch her show(s). But I love her magazine. I'm so ashamed.
jenki at 3:08PM on 02/17/07
wow i must be in the small boat of people who don't care for her...I wish she would learn how to tip on $40/Day
Even if she uses some kind of silly coupon to get half off her 20 dollar meal. she Tips on the 10 bucks...how rude...
Kbear919 at 3:13PM on 02/17/07
I can't stand her, but I'm sure she would be fun to hang out with.
gwcafe at 7:52PM on 02/17/07
I love that she has opened a lot of minds to the possibilities of making a real meal even for two-career couples and working moms. I think she is in danger of being over-exposed, but I like her magazine too!
play-with-food at 9:21PM on 02/17/07
I find her useful. Cooking once or twice a week is easy, doing it every night requires a totally different skill set, that I did not have, much to my surprise. I can make pasta by hand, but I can't make a quick meal?!
And a lot (not all) of her recipes work for me.
But. But.
I just can't watch her anymore. Stop saying EVOO. Stop cooking with EVOO. It's not for heating! And, please, for the love of god, stop giggling.
C at 11:51PM on 02/17/07
I don't particularly care for her cooking, but I don't hate her the way some people do. Sometimes I find it strangely soothing to keep her on in the background when I'm cleaning the kitchen (that voice has got to be kept at a suitably muted volume, though!).
kmalladi at 12:53AM on 02/18/07
I never could make her food. It would be slumming for me. I watched the shows in the beginning and then wrote them off to very busy beginners.
I do not like the fact that she does not bake. It is insulting. If you can be a "food stylist" and have 5 shows go to some classes and learn. Holy meatloaf even Bobby Flay bakes.
STOP THE EVOO and specify what kind you are using. This is also insulting. Is it first press? Cold press? The Rach cooks run down the aisles not knowing what they are buying.
Her meals are thrown together. I know sometimes you have to but who can't put a meal on the table in 30 mins, heck I could do it in 20.
The talking with her hands in front of her face has GOT TO STOP. Get that woman a public speaking coach ffs. It is embarassing to all italian americans. Knock it off right now.
Stop the nervous laughter and cut back on the caffeine.
The show on ABC is (a rach word) CHEESY. I saw a woman show people how to clean their pot and pans with oven cleaner. Too many chemicals is a bad thing when you can clean those same pans with vinegar which will not kill you. The woman guest did not EXPLAIN that the oven cleaner is POISON. I was so mortified I could not even believe what I was seeing.
The guests are amateurish and her conversation with celebrities is purile.
I give this show a year tops. It is like her food network shows soon they all sound the same.
Keep writing book Rach, it is your strong point. Stick with what works.
Get some baking lessons. LAZY.
Ok I am done.
JerzeeTomato at 4:49AM on 02/18/07
I like her. She doesn't pretend to be a chef, she doesn't pretend to be doing something complicated and fancy. When she did iron chef with Giada she kept saying "I don't know why I'm here, I'm not a chef" - and she was actually very toned down.
She has gotten people interested in cooking and cooking shows, that otherwise would not have cared. My mom hates to cook and hates the food channel, but she watches Rachel and actually tries new things. If she can help single parents or busy people to start cooking again, then good for her.
Also... she has a really good peanut butter sauce for ice cream. I was pretty impressed.
mel at 12:39PM on 02/18/07
Mostly, she's annoying. However, I'm glad she makes average people more comfortable in the kitchen, even if she is a pretty sloppy cook. I'm with Jerzee Tomato, her refusal to learn basic baking is lazy and dumb.
1. She needs to stop cooking with EVOO. The bits of olive in it that make it green burn and make whatever is cooked in it taste acrid.
2. She needs to slow down, quiet down and stop trying to be so much "larger than life" all the time.
3. She needs to speak more softly so her voice isn't always on the edge of going out.
4. For GAWD SAKES stop calling sandwiches "sammies." You are a grown woman who is pushing 40, you have no kids, and there is just no excuse for the freaking-damned baby talk.
Calichef at 4:16PM on 02/18/07
Spawn of the Devil.
Mostly, it bugs the hell out of me that her hair is in her face when she is cooking.
She seems to have certain gestures that she makes with certain word combos (not that I can stand watching her...she just is on right before AB).
Gather everything out of the shelves? What the hell is up with that? She is almost always (at least the times that I have seen her) on the verge of dropping something. Cleaning a smashed jar off the floor does not help the speediness of dinner.
I also hate her made up words: Stoup? Come on!
monica at 6:30PM on 02/18/07
Envy, 'cause she's got all that money.
Look, anyone who can cajole people into cooking at home instead of ordering a pizza, and anyone who shows travelers that they don't need to eat another mundane meal in a franchise joint, ought to be applauded.
Is she introducing people to the highest culinary standards? No. But, you can believe she's introducing most people to a higher culinary standard.
billg at 7:32PM on 02/18/07
she irritates me, but not as much as giada de laurentiis. i loathe giada. at least i've made recipes of rachel's before, but giada, ugh.
french tart at 8:34AM on 02/19/07
I don't like her, but I don't think she's completely evil, though her peppiness and made up words are a little much. I can't watch more then a couple minutes of her...but I think she's been good for getting people into the kitchen. She is definitely running the risk of overexposure though, I don't think she has the staying power as some of the other ones.
And I definitely agree, the woman has got to learn how to tip, I cringe everytime I see her lay down one dollar.
Alm25 at 9:14AM on 02/19/07
I think you have to ask what she's accomplishing. Is she getting people who wouldn't otherwise cook to cook? Or is she getting people who would otherwise cook better to cook worse?
I suspect that it's more the former than the latter, and I think that's a good thing. I don't understand many of the criticisms of her. There are plenty of Food Network shows that include baking, so a show with no baking is not such a terrible thing. I don't think she says that nobody should bake: she says that she doesn't bake.
My impression is that many RR haters are more annoyed at the totality of the Food Network programming than they are at RR specifically. I think the haters view RR as symptomatic of FN's reliance on more entertainment and less actual cooking. And FN is definitely guilty of that, but I don't think RR is. I agree that RR is probably not the person to expand my culinary horizons, and I wish there were more shows on FN that did. But there are many people for whom RR provides a valuable service.
anapestic at 10:39AM on 02/19/07
RR merely represents America's preoccupation with mediocrity. Mediocrity stretching from the the White House to RR's House and everything in between. It is the cult of personality gone mad. Nothing more, nothing less. America loves RR because she is them and they are her. Period. Gotta go now Rob and Amber are on TV!
Livetotravel at 1:09PM on 02/19/07
Just a few comments.
Anyone who posts on a blog and who hasn’t completed a creative writing course is just lazy.
EMPHASIZING WITH CAPITALIZATION IS trite AND has got to stop.
Being a great cook means you’re a great person.
Stop differentiating your brand with signature lines like “bam!” Emeril! I mean “EVOO” Rachel!
And definitely stop sautéing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil Mario! I mean EVOO Rachel!
My main gripe is the show’s name should be changed to “30-minute meals, 45-minute clean ups”.
Now, if only the suits at Calphalon could get George Forman users to debate the merits of Calphalon's non-stick line…
Hojo at 2:02PM on 02/19/07
I like her as a person, but I'm a health nut, so I really dislike her cooking. All of her dishes are super high in fats and calories. I think she has great influence and should probably use that to help housewives nationwide. Sitting on the couch all day, then scarfing downa huge plate of fat isn't going to help anyone.
NickDavid at 12:34AM on 02/20/07
I think it's funny how she inspires such hatred in people (like the food snob JerzeeTomato above LOL). I think she is a cartoon, that's what her appeal is. I think that the very things that people are complaining about are the very things that draw attention to her; the voice, the armloads of ingredients, words like "stoup" and "yum-oh", the laughter, etc. She's riding the crest of popularity right now because the show filled a need on TV; fast meals for busy couples who are tired of fast food or carry-in meals. I don't think she'll have the staying power of a Julia Child or Frugal Gourmet, but she definitely filled a need for lots of people.
DarBar at 5:45AM on 02/20/07
I can't help it: I like her. Yes, she's really annoying, but watching her show was what got me to start cooking, and I have never been the same. (I even have two of her cookbooks, and guess what? the recipes taste good, and got me to start using fresh ingredients!) Since I first started out cooking with her recipes, I've branched out a lot, but seriously - cooking more difficult meals than the ones she's given me doesn't make me better than anyone else.
For me, she was a springboard. She's for amateurs, and that's fine. Not everything on the Food Network is going to appeal to gourmet cooks. Turn the channel off if you don't like her.
Amy Joe at 8:58AM on 02/20/07
She is coarse and vulgar. I wish I could spit her out of my mouth.
drollins at 3:44PM on 05/02/07
Rachael is annoying, and her food is mediocre at best. I can see why people may like her - her food is easy, and she is easy to relate to - definitely a girl-next-door type. The food is uninspiring, and I don't find her shoes to be very educational at all, though I have only watched a few, and had no desire to watch anymore.
dettling05 at 5:54PM on 05/02/07
My goodness, I wonder how she can be so popular, when bloggers everywhere seem to hate her.
Personally, I love Rachael, and always have. I love her incessant cheeriness, and find it refreshing, not annoying. She is pretty, informative, and tells stories while she works. I see talent when I watch her, and she does not burn the food, like some other cooks. She chops veggies fast and fearlessly, and I like how she does every single bit in real time.
And I think Yum-O is a catchy, unforgettable name for a website, and a good cause, too.
smart2surf at 8:46PM on 05/02/07