An Open Letter to Rachael Ray
Dear Ms. Ray,
We have known each other for quite a while now. Years ago, when you first appeared on Food Network with your show $40 a Day, you were a fresh, engaging new face. A fresh engaging new face that probably saved Food Network from oblivion. I loved the natural candidness you brought to the camera. Whether you were really natural and candid, or well-rehearsed and well-scripted, didn’t really matter. Millions loved you. You turned to new shows and authored new cookbooks. Millions tuned in and bought the books. If the number of people you influenced is a guidepost, you became the number #1 cooking authority in the country. Sure, Thomas Keller’s cookbooks are more beautiful, more authoritative, and more fun, but I would estimate that 30 times the number of people use your recipes more than his. No, you aren’t a chef, which you willingly acknowledge. You say you can’t make bread or coffee – well, I am a trained chef, and I’m pretty bad at those things as well. You may be a flawed culinary diva, but a culinary diva you still are.
A year ago you jumped to the big time with your own daytime TV talk show. You host that show almost daily, you continue to appear on Food Network with 30-Minute Meals, and you also pump out more 30-Minute cookbooks – do you ever get to sleep? You have also, naturally, leaped into food endorsements. I see you everywhere in grocery store aisles, staring out at me with your PhotoShop-enhanced neck. Are you trying to become as rich as your sponsor Oprah? While you probably have a long way to go to catch her, I’m sure your wealth must now be in the 9-figure range. Which I have no problem with. I once went to a career counselor who provided me with several bromides and a few instructive pieces of advice, but the one I remember most: Never be afraid of, or feel guilty, about making money. If you were to relinquish your wealth and your status as a culinary diva, there are thousands out there who would jump at the chance to take away your reign. No, I don’t begrudge you your wealth and your fame.
HOWEVER: last week I caught your daytime talk show for the first time. I don’t ever work too much during Thanksgiving week, and last week was no exception. I was feeling lethargic one day, so I committed myself to an afternoon of couch time. Guiding Light came on – I endured an hour of the antics of the Lewises and the Spauldings. You came on. You had some guests – must have been irrelevant B-listers, I don’t recall who they were. Then you provided a Thanksgiving week recipe – Apple-Cranberry Walnut Sauce. It was a DIFFICULT-with-a-D recipe:
1) Put some walnuts in a bowl.
2) Put some applesauce in a bowl.
3) Put some canned cranberry sauce in a bowl.
4) Stir.
Seriously, that was the recipe. Open some cans and stir it all together. Rachael, is this what you have sunk to? Sure, the audience applauded – must be a condition of their admittance. (Maybe you steal audiences from Emeril?) But is this the culinary face you want to present to the world?
Rachael, I know you are busy and spread too thin. I know you have no assertions to being a chef. I know you are cooking for the masses, and not even such masses who might be Top Chef devotees. But I have one thing I want to say to you: you have lost your dignity. At least on 30-Minute Meals you still cook. Maybe not meals I would want to cook very often (although there are a couple that I cook for clients on occasion), but you are still teaching people how to cook. You know – use a stove and an oven, not a can opener. There is something I beg you to remember: like it or not, you are a culinary role model. You have more influence than Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, and Mario Batali put together. What happened to you when you moved to daytime??
You have lost your dignity. Worse, you have become Sandra Lee. Please reconsider your career path.
Sincerely, I-Still-Want-To-Be-Your-Fan Jay Williamson
We have known each other for quite a while now. Years ago, when you first appeared on Food Network with your show $40 a Day, you were a fresh, engaging new face. A fresh engaging new face that probably saved Food Network from oblivion. I loved the natural candidness you brought to the camera. Whether you were really natural and candid, or well-rehearsed and well-scripted, didn’t really matter. Millions loved you. You turned to new shows and authored new cookbooks. Millions tuned in and bought the books. If the number of people you influenced is a guidepost, you became the number #1 cooking authority in the country. Sure, Thomas Keller’s cookbooks are more beautiful, more authoritative, and more fun, but I would estimate that 30 times the number of people use your recipes more than his. No, you aren’t a chef, which you willingly acknowledge. You say you can’t make bread or coffee – well, I am a trained chef, and I’m pretty bad at those things as well. You may be a flawed culinary diva, but a culinary diva you still are.
A year ago you jumped to the big time with your own daytime TV talk show. You host that show almost daily, you continue to appear on Food Network with 30-Minute Meals, and you also pump out more 30-Minute cookbooks – do you ever get to sleep? You have also, naturally, leaped into food endorsements. I see you everywhere in grocery store aisles, staring out at me with your PhotoShop-enhanced neck. Are you trying to become as rich as your sponsor Oprah? While you probably have a long way to go to catch her, I’m sure your wealth must now be in the 9-figure range. Which I have no problem with. I once went to a career counselor who provided me with several bromides and a few instructive pieces of advice, but the one I remember most: Never be afraid of, or feel guilty, about making money. If you were to relinquish your wealth and your status as a culinary diva, there are thousands out there who would jump at the chance to take away your reign. No, I don’t begrudge you your wealth and your fame.
HOWEVER: last week I caught your daytime talk show for the first time. I don’t ever work too much during Thanksgiving week, and last week was no exception. I was feeling lethargic one day, so I committed myself to an afternoon of couch time. Guiding Light came on – I endured an hour of the antics of the Lewises and the Spauldings. You came on. You had some guests – must have been irrelevant B-listers, I don’t recall who they were. Then you provided a Thanksgiving week recipe – Apple-Cranberry Walnut Sauce. It was a DIFFICULT-with-a-D recipe:
1) Put some walnuts in a bowl.
2) Put some applesauce in a bowl.
3) Put some canned cranberry sauce in a bowl.
4) Stir.
Seriously, that was the recipe. Open some cans and stir it all together. Rachael, is this what you have sunk to? Sure, the audience applauded – must be a condition of their admittance. (Maybe you steal audiences from Emeril?) But is this the culinary face you want to present to the world?
Rachael, I know you are busy and spread too thin. I know you have no assertions to being a chef. I know you are cooking for the masses, and not even such masses who might be Top Chef devotees. But I have one thing I want to say to you: you have lost your dignity. At least on 30-Minute Meals you still cook. Maybe not meals I would want to cook very often (although there are a couple that I cook for clients on occasion), but you are still teaching people how to cook. You know – use a stove and an oven, not a can opener. There is something I beg you to remember: like it or not, you are a culinary role model. You have more influence than Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, and Mario Batali put together. What happened to you when you moved to daytime??
You have lost your dignity. Worse, you have become Sandra Lee. Please reconsider your career path.
Sincerely, I-Still-Want-To-Be-Your-Fan Jay Williamson
We second your motion. We were thoroughly disappointed when Rachel's producer contacted us & we sent a bunch of our home brewed samples as Georgianna who was working with Rachel thought our concept was pretty cool & encouraged us to do so. After packing the beers up & sending out, we were told that Rachel doesn't do any segments that involve alcohol. We assume many things have changed. I guess the segments that Rachel did that involved a really great micro brew or interesting cocktail were just figments of our imagination. We agree.... Rachel, return to your roots baby. We would rather see you get rich being you instead of being a corporate puppet.
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Yikes! If she read that, I bet she felt like crawling under a rug! Way to tell her off! I have not seen her show yet, but from what you said, I don't think I want to.
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Well, I wasn't really trying to tell her off, more like plead with her. As for her reading it, a blog from a nobody in bumf--- Seattle, who gets 15 hits a day on his blog - don't think that will happen any time soon. Maybe Bourdain can plead with her.
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Good post Jay. Indeed it's sad to see something that started off real good go bad, as the case seems to be with Rachel Ray. Ironically though this doesn't seem to surprise me, because I have noticed in America that the so-called "corporate suits" (such as those who produce Rachel Ray's show) always feel they should "intervene" (and they often do) when something is succesful because they think they can make it "better". They think they know better and they give us, the public, what they "think" we want, not necessarily what we want. I have seen this happen so often in the past that I cannot help but wonder why cann't they leave a successful thing alone? I don't think people like Rachel Ray have much say, but you are right I wish she would go back to her roots because she was far more genuine and fun.
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