Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Say It Loud and Say It Proud!

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove Rachael Ray!

In keeping with the recent letter theme...

Dear readers,

It has come to my attention that there are many people who have a strong disdain for the Food Network's Rachael Ray. While I have not addressed this issue here before, I feel as though I must present my thoughts on the matter since Dale brought her name up in an earlier post. If you find yourself in agreement with these people, please resort to the following plan:

1) Get over yourself.
2) Back off my girl.
3) Get a life.

I understand that the egos in this city could fill an ocean, so step 1 may represent serious problems for a lot of you, but I emplore that you make an honest effort.

It's fairly obvious, but I'd like to point out that Rachael Ray has been blowing up since she joined the Food Network a few years ago, moreso than any other network personality. From modest beginnings in New York, she is on the verge (if not already there) of developing a multi-media empire. Television, books and now magazines, this woman is better than you. All of you. And don't you forget it.

I will never claim that she is without any short-comings. However, the majority of her critics fail to develop a convincing argument. The following arguments fail to make the cut:

1) She makes up her own words and abbreviations.
Response: And your point is? You are a F.I. (f*cking idiot!)
2) She has too much energy.
Response: Are you jealous? So what if she has energy? Ahem, Dale, you should not be one to mock others for having excessive levels of energy
3) You can't cook her meals in 30 minutes.
Resopnse: Simple, really. She prepares for her time in the kitchen better than you.
4) The snob argument.
Response: This argument takes on a number of forms, but what it boils (pun intended!) down to is that many chefs feel as though she is causing the "death of American cooking." There is no evidence for this whatsoever. A converse position is the claim that she is introducing cooking to a large number of people who would otherwise stay away from the kitchen entirely. Perhaps she is akin to a "gateway chef," meaning someone who inspires viewers / readers to try their hand at cooking, and once they feel more comfortable in the kitchen, they can seek out other outlets for more advanced recipes and advice.
5) Her cooking is loaded with sodium, cheese and oil.
Response: Obviously! Why do you think I find myself drooling from 6 - 7 each weekday? I don't understand how or why she is incapable of admitting that her food is not the best, health wise. Then again, everything in moderation! This argument, although justified, is not sufficient to support any feeling even remotely close to "hatred" for this woman.

If anyone can present me with a convincing argument as to why Rachael Ray, Goddess among peasants, deserves to be mistreated, I am open to your input.

I understand that I am in a minority with these viewpoints, especially within the blogosphere. With that in mind, I hesitated before I decided to write this post. Then I remembered that anyone who has a problem with me on this issue can send me an email, and we can make arrangements for you to kiss my a$$.

Yours truly,
Chip

12 comments:

DC said...

I will forever admire Chips love for Rachel Ray.... or as I will be now calling her... the Julia Child of the trailer park set...

*cowers and covers face to hide from the unholy jihad of Chips love for RR*

JP said...

Yikes.
*Walking backwards out of the room. Speaking in low calming tones. Trying to think of the common foe we can all get behind hating together.*

DC said...

I will stand behind digiorno ANY day of the week over some Scrambles or anything with EVOO..... somebody slip that b%$ch a rufy PLEASE

DC Cookie said...

Did y'all see this?

Joy said...

huh. that was weird. I clicked on that link...and it was to my own blog. Crazy!!

Miss Penny Lane said...

The girl is definitely cute, and her energy level is enviable; however, I will say (and this is a novice opinion since I have only seen her a couple o' times), her ideas ain't that original. Having Oprah serve Apple-tinis at a recent party is very 2002, but she presented it as though it were a brand new concept. Also, she had Oprah serve chicken & dumplings and something like creamed chipped beef...ew, ew, ew. If I served that at a party, my friends would dump my ass in the Bob Evans kitchen or worse--Cracker Barrel! But, she does have her own show and a skyrocketing career, so she must be appealing to a LOT of people.

(By the way, since ya love her so much, you should know that her name is spelled RACHAEL.)

Asian Mistress said...

Rachel Ray rocks my world.

And how awesome is her job. $40 a Day? TAKE ME THERE!

Washington Cube said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Washington Cube said...

In my Rachael Ray wedding fantasy, rather than saying, "I do," she said, "EVOO."

Miss Penny Lane said...

What is the "EVOO" thing?

VP of Dior said...

Chip, too bad I didn't get to meet you last night at happy hour because I would have handed down the law on you. Giada deLaurentis from Everyday Italian is THE cooking goddess and blows Rachael away. For real, the Everyday Italian cookbook has been my fave read for the last 3 months. I suggest you go buy it so you can cook something other than cheesy grits or whatever Rachael cooks. Oh and I'm mad that she got married in a Tuscan villa. That lucky bitch :)

DCSportsChick said...

I like Rachael, I really do. (Fred and I have quite a few of her cookbooks.) I just hate the "EVOO" thing and how everything is "yummo". Don't get me started on the stoups and sammies- just too cutesy. Otherwise I think she's great. (If only I could actually make one of the meals in 30 minutes...but that's a different story.)