I have a very different impression of 30 Minute Meals than you seem to have. I have not noticed a huge amount of greasy cheese, grated or otherwise, in Rachel Ray's meals. And I have noticed many times where she's emphasized making a healthy meal. If you want to make that case, you have to analyze more than a few meals that stuck out as objectionable.

Furthermore, criticizing her for not being cost efficient misses the point. Her show doesn't sell itself as some sort of budget gourmet show, so to judge it on those terms seems unfair. Nonetheless, almost any of the meals I've seen her make would cost a lot less -- and be a lot more healthy -- than a takeout meal.

Posted by: anapestic at February 16, 2007 10:59 PM

Thank you! Rachel Ray perpetrates the idea that fast is the final goal of family dinner these days. Sandra Lee pretties up pre-processed food, turning it into pseudo-snob food, but it's no better for you.

Not only that, it ignores Bourdain's whole perspective on food which we see on his shows - nothing wrong w/ local food, even fast food (for the locale), home cooking, etc. As long as it's done well - made from real ingredients.

You can't get more proletariate than an Indian vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet for $1, which Bourdain did.

RR's approach is unhealthy and expensive.

Posted by: txlisa at February 17, 2007 1:43 AM

Well said. I wouldn't mind Rachael Ray if she wasn't so incorrect in so many things. Like the time she said (or shouted) THIS IS A HEALTHY MEAL and it was a thick ribeye that she just plopped a wad of butter on. It's sloppy and lazy to say this. That woman can kill us all...I'm no snob either, but her "cheeseburger salad" from 30 MM should not be fed to children, or others with weak constitutions. She keeps introducing these foods as "being healthy". It's like listening to a parrot who doesn't know what she says or thinks.

Posted by: Ken at February 17, 2007 10:08 PM

Thank you! Rachael Ray and her shows are absolutely ridiculous. Her food is questionable and she annoys the hell out of the viewer.

I'll take a food snob over Rachael Ray anyday.

Posted by: Lin at February 18, 2007 4:34 PM

Anapestic, I don't think you've seen 30MM enough. I can't count the number of times she introduces her retchipes as "figure friendly" and then glops a bunch of cheese on whatever she's making. I don't have a problem with food being either healthy or non-healthy. As long as it's identified for what it is. RR fails to do so most of the time, as well as to divulge which dishes will actually take much longer than 30 minutes when you account for prep time.

But what is most annoying about RR is how she has been taken to this iconic level, with her own talk show, cookware, olive oil, and of course she is now also the face of Nabisco. What has she done that merits her being seen and heard everywhere we go? If FN had kept her to her one show, she'd still be annoying, but tolerable. Watch her talk show sometime and observe how she treats her audience and her guests like children, and how her ego has exploded due to all this undeserved attention. I agree with Ruhlman, that there must certainly be a tendency towards mediocrity in this country if someone with so little talent becomes this popular.

Posted by: Jeana at February 18, 2007 5:26 PM

To all of you critics, stop for a second and realize where your harsh words stem from. Do any of you personally know Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee? Sure their meals might not be top tier or even a consistent effort, but we can't expect perfection out of them. Food is supposed to be an icon of comfort and pleasure...not of disdain for flaws. The Food Network caters to this belief and the common man. Afterall, who wants to watch hours of snobby chefs preparing dishes thinking that they are the quintessential culinary artist? Rachael Ray and other Food Network cooks are just doing what they enjoy for a profession and to chastise them for sharing what some may consider not exactly up to par with their "taste" is just ignorance. It is unjust and selfish to demand so much from someone who is trying to add to our culture. Also, I would like to see how talented and eclectic these critics are with their food or everyday duties. With confidence so high, you must all be stars in your trophy office, huh. Stop trying to make up for your shortcomings by criticising others. Be fair and live a little.

Posted by: jbaek at February 19, 2007 5:19 PM

jbaek: I don't pretend to be a great chef, and that's the difference between me and RR - I don't have four shows on Food Network trying to make people think I am, either. There is a difference between "doing what you love" by having one show that introduces simple cooking ideas, and pervading our everyday lives not only as a FN persona, but on talk shows, at the grocery store (she's even coming out with her own line of kitchen linens - when does it stop?)

There are plenty of FN shows that do not feature "snobby chefs" and that demonstrate simple ways of cooking good food: Alton Brown, Barefoot Contessa, Ellie Krieger, Michael Chiarello, to name a few. They know what they're doing, they do it in a pleasant manner, and they're not in our faces everywhere we go.

I myself am a mediocre cook, at best, so my comments do not stem from some holier-than-thouness as you suggest. That's why I watch Food Network. I want to be better. I want to spend what little free time I have learning something. Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee don't teach me anything I can't learn off a package of Cheez Whiz or Cool Whip. If I wanted to cook like them, I wouldn't spend my time watching cooking shows, I'd do it cutting out recipes off the backs of cracker boxes.

Posted by: chefwannab at February 19, 2007 7:14 PM

Do I personally know RR? No. Do I know someone who worked on her set on the camera end of things? Yes. And from what I hear, her ego has gone to her head and her "bubbly personality" becomes rude and intolerable once the camera flips off. It's bad enough that she appeases the masses with her very own "special Rachel Ray" hamburger helper, but she's not even genuine when she does it, as she's carefully marketed to be.

Posted by: one degree at February 19, 2007 7:21 PM

Oh get off it JBaek. What is she adding to our culture but obesity and heart disease with unhealthy sloppy meals?? She's a fraud and needs to be called out on it. Take any of her recipes from FN and run it through a site that calculates nutritional information. You'll be surprised at how many of them have fat contents over 50 grams and sodium over 800.

You really would do better eating a freakin Big Mac. This woman needs to go away.

Posted by: IsisRaen at February 19, 2007 8:34 PM

all i can say is that people watch her. i believe her shows are the most watched on the food network, so that's definitely saying something, not about her but about our country. she admits that she isn't a chef, so it's not like she's categorizing herself as one, which would be more problematic. cooking is a class issue anyway.

Posted by: person1 at February 20, 2007 12:32 PM

Affordable? She uses Parmigiano, Manchego and other cheeses, that I would use only on special occasions. Healthy? Tons of cheese, oil, butter and white flour. The woman is a killer of anything called cooking!

Posted by: Val at February 22, 2007 11:45 AM

This is all I have to say. I once prepared a meal from one of her cookbooks. It was a casserole, and according to the book, was meant to serve four people. There were three people eating it that night, and there was enough there for all three of us to have not one, but two, leftover servings. That was when I realized that something was very very off about Rachael Ray's cooking methods and what she deems as "healthy" and "figure friendly". They are anything but. Too many ingredients, too much oil, too much cheese seems to go into just about everything. This country is already in enough trouble with weight. Rachael Ray is the last person I would look to to offer me tips on how to prepare a healthy meal for my family. The woman is nuts. And also I agree with the poster who commented on her iconic level recently. What is going on here? I guess if you stamp the name "Oprah" on anything it becomes something different. But I'm not buying it Rachael! She's really fooled a lot of people, but not me.

Posted by: Katie at February 22, 2007 1:05 PM

person1,
Yes, it sure does say something about our country (since you claim that she is the most watched on the FN)
It says that there are a lot of uneducated, ignorant people in this Country of ours and that is very, very scary. Most of the crap that she spews is not correct and spouts off just to fill up air time.
She is a FRAUD and needs to be called out on her so called "Healthy Meals".

Posted by: Char at February 24, 2007 11:06 PM

I quote: "we are also not a professional cook."
I am also not professional cooks.

Ciao.

Posted by: delonghi at March 16, 2007 1:15 PM