Rachael Ray

Cooking Show Host, Chef, Cookbook Author

Rachael Ray is a bonafide television celebrity, hosting the very popular “30-Minute Meals” and “$40 A Day” shows on the Food Network. Her vivacious personality and obvious passion for food have inspired a devoted following of aspiring chefs everywhere.

Family is Rachael Ray’s culinary foundation. Her Italian mother Elsa worked in food service and her grandfather Emmanuel grew and cooked the food for his family of 12. Additional family influences have come from her father Jimmy Claude’s Cajun-Creole background, and from her sister Maria and brother Manny, all of which have appeared as guests on her show.

Rachael’s own career began at Macy’s Department Store in New York City, first behind the candy counter and then as manager of the fresh foods department. In addition to working at another gourmet shop in the city, Rachael also managed pubs and restaurants at a resort, after which she accepted the position of food buyer at a large gourmet market in Albany, New York. She took this as an opportunity to expand her skills and responsibilities by becoming the market’s chef, which then led to a series of cooking classes, with 30-Minute Meals as the theme and increased holiday sales as the goal. The popularity of these classes attracted local media attention and led to a weekly segment on the evening news.

Nominated for two regional Emmy awards, a companion cookbook sold 10,000 copies locally. Her television work also expanded to include the precursor to “$40 A Day”, with a series of travel segments that illustrated how you could live a rich life without being wealthy. Rachael’s biggest breaks were just around the corner, when her publicist talked her way onto the Today Show for a segment on comfort foods prior to an anticipated major storm. The storm never materialized, but major success was now on the horizon, with the next and biggest call coming from the Food Network, and the rest is history.

More cookbooks were to come, including:

• Veggie Meals
• Comfort Foods
• $40 A Day: Best Eats in Town
• Rachel Ray’s 30-Minute Meals for Kids: Cooking Rocks
• 30-Minute Meals 2
• Get Togethers: Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals

She works very hard at making recipes accessible and achievable, especially for anyone intimidated at the idea of cooking, as well as everyone who is time-challenged.

Rachael Ray’s favorite activities are cooking and sharing stories about food and family. She takes a handful of everyday ingredients, easily found at supermarkets anywhere, adds a cup of creativity and a pinch of ingenuity, with delicious, impressive results fit for even the most special occasions. Her philosophy is that in the same amount of time that you’d wait for the delivery guy or drive to pick-up dinner someone else has made, you can have a freshly made meal that fits your own favorite flavors and nutritional needs. Rachael Ray believes that food can be a scrapbook of your life and times, and a little time and effort will produce rewards to last a lifetime.