Kitchen closing: ‘Rachael Ray’ bids farewell to daytime TV
After 17 seasons of weekday food and fun, the kitchen is closing for “Rachael Ray.” That’s the program that goes by that name, not the title personality, who is already looking toward new media horizons for herself.
The last episode of her syndicated talk show airs Wednesday, May 24 (check local listings for times), and it’s sure to celebrate many of the top moments Ray has put forth over the better part of the past two decades — both as a culinary and lifestyle authority and as someone whose interviewing skills have developed considerably during the run of the program (which won the Daytime Emmy for outstanding talk show three times, twice in the “entertainment” category and once in “informative”).
“I’m a good cook who learned how to talk to anybody over time,” the ever-lively Ray says in assessing the longevity of her eponymous show, “and that’s because of practice. I have always believed that anybody in America can be successful at anything if they can close their eyes and see themselves trying it. If you’re not ashamed of where you come from, you never have to be ashamed of where you might go.”
When “Rachael Ray” began in 2006, its bubbly host already was widely known for the cooking shows she made principally for Food Network, including “30 Minute Meals,” a concept the former waitress and pub manager originated while she was a buyer for an upscale food market in Upstate New York. She parlayed that job into classes she taught to customers, which drew the interest of an area television station; the segments she did there paved the way for NBC’s “Today” to feature her regularly, then for Food Network to begin showcasing her.
Recurring spots on “The Oprah
Winfrey Show” progressed to the point where Winfrey became an executive producer of Ray’s own talk show from its inception. However, recent Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame inductee Ray maintains she’s never been overly concerned with how she fares as an interviewer of other celebrities, despite how many of them have passed through “Rachael Ray.”