Rachael Ray Is Everywhere!

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

Rachael Ray is everywhere. And that may be an understatement. Whenever I turn on the TV, there she is cooking (or talking) up a storm. When I go to the bookstore, there she is on a cookbook smiling at me. When I go to the grocery store, there she is staring at me from the cover of her lifestyle magazine. When I surf the Internet, there she is "popping up" to advertise her cooking merchandise. I can't escape Rachael Ray. And dodging her is going to get even tougher now that in addition to her Food Network shows, best-selling cookbooks and magazine Ray is adding daytime talk show hostess to her jam-packed resume.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy Ray (in small doses). For example, I have seen every episode of her Food Network Show "$40 A Day." I sit through about 20 minutes of her show "30 Minute Meals." And, I love her on Oprah. However, having Ray infiltrate every aspect of my life is a bit much. So, when I heard she was throwing her hat into the "ring of fire" known as daytime TV I thought well, this I've got to see. (Actually, what I really thought was, I wonder who is going to burn out on Rachael Ray first, Ray or the viewer.)

Beginning September 18, Ray will be hosting an hour-long syndicated show that producers say will "not be like most conventional talk shows." Instead, expect Ray to offer "advice about cooking, travel, relationships and pop culture trends."

"I want to laugh and eat something in every show," Ray recently told news reporters. "It's very important to me that everything is accessible. People love that sort of friendly advice and that sense of community when you get advice from a peer instead of an expert."

Daytime is a tough and somewhat fickle market, but Ray is getting help from friends in high places. Not everyone can say they have the queen of daytime backing them up...literary. Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Production Company is producing Ray's new show and she says her "mentor" has been a "huge and continuing influence" on her.

"She tells me to be myself," Ray said. "She doesn't chime in or call up and say, 'This is how you can be more like Oprah.' She's pretty busy with her own job."

Oprah fans known that Ray is a veteran guest of Winfrey's show and says at this point she knows what she does and doesn't want to try on her own show.

"I'm really tired of seeing makeovers and date things and everyone is 20," she said, explaining she recently taped a piece on seniors dating. "I want to go from another angle. I want old and young to want to watch the show. I want it to be fun and interactive for all ages."

Ray says you can expect some famous people to be stopping by the show, and when they do she says she will put them to work in the kitchen.

I really do enjoy watching Ray-just not 24 hours a day. My husband (who has joined me in watching countless hours of Ray-driven shows) says, "Rachael Ray is the type of person people either love or hate." With the introduction of her new show more people will get to judge for themselves.

I know I will be tuning in... will you?

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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