37 Responses to Is Rachael Ray Evil?

1. holls, on October 12th, 2007 at 5:29 pm Said:

   I don’t live in New England anymore, but they used to. They called it an old fashioned.

   Maybe they dumped it because they couldn’t conform it to newly mandated fat standards?
2. whyme63, on October 12th, 2007 at 5:53 pm Said:

   Ray and Bourdain are, to me, each just exactly as annoying as the other. And each exactly as entertaining as the other. I can stand ten minutes of either one just fine, and at 10:01, I get disgusted and flip channels.

   As for the donut thing, Bourdain is a dick. A lucky, skinny, chainsmoking, french-gened dick. Not all of us are blessed with his metabolism, so apparently we are all hideous CHUDs who should be gone from his sight.

   Rachael Ray is just a major sellout. But it wasn’t the DD endorsement that convinced me of that; it was the Nabisco contract.
3. Emma, on October 12th, 2007 at 5:55 pm Said:

   I don’t know anything about Dunkin’ Donuts. As a Southerner, if I’m going to eat a donut (which is very rare), I head for Krispy Kreme. I also don’t have an opinion on Rachel Ray’s endorsement.

   I do, however, think Rachel is adorable, and I commend her for all the philanthropy work she does. For example, she recently threw a prom for the high school seniors in Enterprise, AL after a devastating tornado had destroyed their school and killed some of their classmates. She even went so far as to buy all the girls dresses and show up herself.
4. bibi rose, on October 12th, 2007 at 6:45 pm Said:

   Bourdain’s rants and denunciations are getting repetitive and watered down. When he went after Rick Bayless for doing a Burger King ad, it was pretty amusing– plus there was a point to it. Now it’s just the same stuff with less real bite. (RR does not have the kind of authority Bayless does.)

   He’s been really horrid on the subject of fat people. In a footnote to his essay collected in The Nasty Bits, he starts out saying, “That was a mean-spirited rant, wasn’t it?” and then rants some more. I think he adds that it’s OK to be fat if you’re one of his fat friends, like Mario Batali, who is somehow fat for the right reasons. Here he says it’s a health concern but we’ve all heard that a million times as an excuse for bigotry. And (as pointed out above) coming from someone who chain-smokes, it’s even less plausible.

   It’s too bad, because I like a lot of his writing and he seems very nice in person.
5. Spins, on October 12th, 2007 at 6:47 pm Said:

   Why is her endorsement of DD so much worse than going for BBQ with all the gorgeous trimmings on one of her $40 per day shows. DD are good. I don’t think that anyone is ever going to say, “It’s all Rachel Ray’s fault!”
6. Contortion, on October 12th, 2007 at 8:01 pm Said:

   “Juvenile diabetes has exploded.”
   Uh…no. Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes has “exploded”. Juvenile (aka Type 1) diabetes has stayed pretty much the same.
   /nitpick

   Yeah, Bourdain is being a jackass. Doesn’t he have anything better to worry about? Too bad because I do like his other writing.
   I don’t like RR either but honestly, calling her evil for endorsing Dunkin’ Doughnuts is bloody ridiculous.
7. Thorn, on October 12th, 2007 at 10:19 pm Said:

   Bourdain concerned about “health”? Interesting.

   In one of his books he waxes practically rhapsodic about the amount of drugs he and his coworkers did during his days as a “workin'” chef (as opposed to being a TV personality now).

   Clearly, Bourdain is just the usual fat-hating douchenozzle, since speedballing your way through life is totally fine and worthy of glorification in print, but having visible fat is “unhealthy.”

   You know, I’m sure I’d be much thinner if I spent half my adult life hopped up on cocaine, too.
8. Meowser, on October 12th, 2007 at 10:50 pm Said:

   At least back in Cass Elliot’s day, her peers admitted abhorring fat purely for aesthetic reasons. They didn’t sit there puffing three packs a day and going, “Oh, ahem, so unhealthy, those fatties.” I think Bourdain is just jealous because Ray is better at hiding the physical stigmata of chainsmoking (etc.) better than he is and thus gets offered “wholesome and family friendly” endorsement deals he doesn’t. But both of ’em jumped the shark a while ago, far as I’m concerned.
9. wellroundedtype2, on October 12th, 2007 at 11:51 pm Said:

   Let’s talk about “juvenile diabetes” for a second.
   Type 1 diabetes is in fact increasing, but no one, as far as I know, blames DD specifically for this. Type 2 diabetes in kids is increasing, too, but it’s not “exploding.” And increases in type 2 diabetes may well be an indication that our health system (broken as it is) may be doing a better job diagnosing diabetes earlier and taking care of people with diabetes so they live longer. All of this, and an aging population, add up to more people with diabetes. In some people more exercise, better eating (less regular soda, in particular) and less stress may help keep diabetes at bay for a while, or at least until you manage to die of something else in the meantime.
   IMHO, the best thing we could do in this country to help prevent diabetes is to address fat discrimination, racism, improve education, make sure fewer people live in poverty. Education and income better predict who will get diabetes than weight does. If Bourdain really gave a crap about diabetes, he would work on making sure that people had better access to the fantastic food he eats all the time, which takes money, of course. DD is a hell of a lot cheaper than any restaurant he ever worked at, and certainly not worse for the consumer than the coffin nails he chain smokes.
   I’m not angry, or anything :-) And I don’t even like RR all that much, she grates on me.
10. La Wade, on October 13th, 2007 at 12:05 am Said:

    I think what Bourdain meant is that the prevalence of type II diabetes among juveniles has exploded, which is true (although it’s still pretty rare). I don’t think donuts are evil, but donut advertising probably is. I mean, I haven’t been to a Dunkin’ Donuts in close to 10 years, but the last time I was there, they pretty much didn’t sell any food that wasn’t loaded with sugar and fat. It’s OK to eat a donut on occasion, like once or twice a month, but I suspect this is not the message being sent by any Dunkin’ Donuts advertising. Anything that encourages people to eat fast food on a regular basis is pretty evil in my book.
11. Wendy, on October 13th, 2007 at 9:43 am Said:

    RR’s cheerleader-perkiness makes me want to strangle her. Bourdain is an obnoxious jerk, it’s true, but his acidic humor (the antithesis of her insipid giggle) amuses me. If I had to be trapped with one of them, it’d be him.

    As far as the whole DD thing goes, I’d rather go to my local bakery and get something *really* good, instead of something mass-produced. It’s the difference between indulging in Godiva, and settling for a Hershey bar. :D If I’m gonna eat something less than nutritious, I’m gonna splurge.
12. K, on October 13th, 2007 at 9:57 am Said:

    What have Bourdain’s “French genes” to do with anything?

    I can see what the poster meant to imply, but there are definitely overweight people in France. I’ve seen them. And skinny people, and everything in between, as you would expect. (There are also many, many patisseries in France, for that matter.)

    Since I’ve only slightly heard of Bourdain, hardly of Ray, and not seen the advertising in question, I’ll shut up now.
13. mshell67, on October 13th, 2007 at 10:45 am Said:

    I hated Bourdain for a while for his hatred of fatties, but then I realized that is his schtick. He hates everyone who is “normal”, us mouth breathing idiots who do things like dare to watch tv (even though he has a show and has even been on Top Chef), walk down the streets, and live. He’s just a pain in the ass, and I love him for it, he’s trying to be punk rock in his own kind of way, but he’s way too old for it, lol. I had the same attitudes when I was 18, but have grown a bit.

    As for Rachael, she’s just a pain in the butt, but I watch her show just to see if she explodes in perkiness, which hasn’t happened yet. I’ve read a lot that she’s fat, which is sad, but have noticed that she has had some face work done in the recent past, she’s scarily jokerish!!

    Pardon my writing, I just woke up and I’m actually glowing over a dream I had about Mario Batalli, this time he came over and redid my kitchen AND cooked for me!! Woohoo!!
14. Sparkle Pants, on October 13th, 2007 at 12:11 pm Said:

    I
15. Orodemniades, on October 13th, 2007 at 12:37 pm Said:

    What the heck is a cake donut? Is it because I’m a New Englander that I don’t know? I’ve never had Krispy Kreme, although I’ve heard so much about them I’m very curious.

    I don’t care for Rachel ‘Queen of Perky’ Ray at all, but not because of her donut ads. I don’t like her style of cooking because every time she makes something, the proportions are of gigantor size. I mean, look, I like food just as much as the next person, but dude, even McDonalds has smaller supersize portions!

    Bourdain is Bourdain. I like him, but then I understand his shtick, and I find him funny. Unlike RR.
16. Mandy, on October 13th, 2007 at 3:31 pm Said:

    Am I right to assume that a cake donut is baked like a cake rather than fried like ‘other’ donuts?

    I don’t particularly like RR enough to TiVo her or anything, but since when has she ever been the health food police? As far as I know, she cooks unhealthy food the majority of the time, so why is it then a surprise to people that she’d endorse DD? She likes donuts, and so? She may be a sell-out, but also since when have celebrity chefs not been? I have no idea who this guy is, but I think he seems bitter. Maybe he wanted the DD deal.
17. rei, on October 13th, 2007 at 3:52 pm Said:

    A cake donut is one that is made without yeast. It has a denser, cake- like texture.
    It is still fried the same as the regular kind which is made with a sweet yeast dough.
18. Sarah, on October 13th, 2007 at 8:54 pm Said:

    “Anything that encourages people to eat fast food on a regular basis is pretty evil in my book.”

    I don’t think DD ads are doing this. DD is a business, and they use advertising to get their products sold. You can choose to eat DD or not. It should be your choice. DD shouldn’t be required to sell a “healthy” option. Go somewhere else. It’s called “capitalism.”
19. Marie, on October 13th, 2007 at 10:25 pm Said:

    Doughnuts forever.

    As I home school my kids, we read a lot of colonial stuff, like the Little House On the Prairie Series and Little Britches and so forth. They had drawers dedicated to doughnuts. The amount of food those pioneers ate was phenomenal. And lots of it was very high in sugar (the Wilder kids ate an entire barrel of sugar while their parents were gone, for instance, and Almanzo ate about 60 pancakes with molasses at a time during a long hard winter of sitting around all the time).

    You can apparently eat a lot of doughnuts and still be small and thin.
20. bubars, on October 14th, 2007 at 1:25 am Said:

    what the?
    cake donoughts are not light and fluffy like a yeast doughnut.
    instead, they are similar in texture to a cake but they don’t fall apart quite as much. they are definitely fried just like all other doughnuts.
    they are higher in calories on account of them being much more dense.

    rr used to make pretty healthy food on her 30 minute meals show.
    partly because she made reasonable sized portions and made just enough for four people and also because she used pretty fresh ingredients including lots of vegetables and fruit.
    i wouldn’t say health food but healthy.
    as for dd they are just another giant corporation without morals or concern for people’s health. their concern is making more cash. just another link in the evil fast food chain which eats away at north america’s moral fiber in countless ways. from unions, to the dwindling middle class, to personal or the government’s responsibility to people rather than big corporation’s lobbyists.
    blah blah blah.
    yeah they taste good but if we’re honest they are killing us.
    oh yeah, and the peeps in little house on the prairie didn’t lie around eating mass quantities of doughnuts and watching tv and clicking away at the compy – not even close – not even in winter time.
    i like this crazy board.
21. HeatherLee, on October 15th, 2007 at 1:06 pm Said:

    Rachel Ray can be a bit too perky and annoying at times (I love her. Just need to turn the volume down a bit while watching 30 Sec Meals).

    Evil? For endorsing Dunkin Donuts? Get a fucking grip!!!

    Although those commercials do help me understand her perkiness a bit (how many cups of coffee does she drink a day)?
22. spacedcowgirl, on October 15th, 2007 at 1:16 pm Said:

    Dunkin’ Donuts rule. I love the “old-fashioned” (plain) variety. A couple of those as an occasional treat breakfast with a large black coffee, and I’m a happy camper. Call me the cause of all America’s health problems if you wish. I don’t care.

    Frankly at this point I hope Rachael Ray starts endorsing Camels because that will just make everyone who hates her explode with rage, which would be sort of funny to watch. I don’t have a real strong opinion on her but the self-righteous arguments about how any of her 30-MM will put you in the grave with their lashings of OLIVE OIL and CHEESE (when of course the poster would NEVER cook with FAT, the horror) get real old real fast.
23. Tara, on October 15th, 2007 at 4:01 pm Said:

    I’m nursing a hangover today, so all of this doughnut talk is making me extra hungry for french fries. Doesn’t make sense I know, figured I would share anyway. :-D
24. MizShrew, on October 15th, 2007 at 5:19 pm Said:

    Don’t really have much opinion on Rachel Ray and/or Bourdain, honestly, except to say that if RR is evil for endorsing Dunkin Donuts (which I don’t care about either, but whatever) then why isn’t anybody criticizing Paul Prudhomme for his butter-laden cooking style, or denoucing the reruns of Julie Child specials where she tells people, “well, if you don’t want to use cream, you can always use butter!” when teaching people to make mashed potatoes. (I adore those old cooking shows, BTW.) Or, how about some of those ludricous concoctions they come up with on Iron Chef? I saw Mario Batali use about $400 worth of truffles for one meal and destroy and entire wheel of parmesan regianno in order to turn it into a damn salad bowl. How many people waiting in line at the food pantry would that have fed? I mean, come on.

    Endorsing unhealthy things as a chef may be unsavory, or inappropriate, or even tacky, but let’s get a little perspective, Mr. Bourdain.
25. enchanted_black, on October 15th, 2007 at 5:23 pm Said:

    Bourdain hates anyone who’s a “celebrity chef”. Even though he’s one himself. What an ass. I used to think that man was great then he opened his mouth.
26. enchanted_black, on October 15th, 2007 at 5:24 pm Said:

    Edit: I think Bourdain just hates everyone.
27. Ms. Berry, on October 15th, 2007 at 7:09 pm Said:

    Rachael Ray is not evil because she endorses DD. She is evil because she doesn’t tip.
28. Cindy, on October 16th, 2007 at 2:17 pm Said:

    Drama much?

    Sorry. You guys caught me on a day when I’m working especially hard not to give food magical powers. It’s all just calories.

    On RR: Kudos to her for her success, and as a chubbette who can’t stand doughnuts — and you guys obviously missed my memo explaining that Krispy Kremes are the doughnuts served at the bllod drive in hell — I’ll say there is not one celebrity who can make me more inclined to eat something. If I like somethig, I’ll eat it. If I don’t, I’ll pass it up. RR isn’t selling DD. Not really. She’s selling her persona.

    Personally, I think if everyone would pipe the f***k down about this food being “good” and that food being “bad,” we’d all be better off. A dry salad will no more add six years to your life than a slice of cheesecake will put you six feet under. If people wouldn’t screech “oh, I shouldn’t!” every time a piece of cheesecake were offered, well, some of us wouldn’t have a screwed up relationship to food.
29. Tara, on October 16th, 2007 at 3:05 pm Said:

    Call me weird, but I have a hard time understanding what it is about RR that makes everyone so crazy. There’s even a “Rachael Ray Sucks” website! I don’t think it’s so much that we give food power, it’s the celebrities we give too much of that to. Just my opinion. On the doughnut thing again (hangover gone today:)) I don’t eat them because I’m vegan. However, if anyone knows of a place in Massachusetts where I can get some vegan doughnuts……
30. MizShrew, on October 17th, 2007 at 10:51 am Said:

    Tara, I can’t vouch for the flavor, as I’ve never tried them, but I know that Vegan Essentials offers some kind of vegan cake donuts, plus lots of other vegan snacky-type treats. Not in MA, but they ship worldwide.

    http://www.veganessentials.com.
31. maatnofret, on October 17th, 2007 at 2:03 pm Said:

    For the person above who was wondering:

    Krispy Kremes are way overrated. They’re too sweet, and sit in the stomach like a big ol’ rock.

    If I’m going to indulge myself and have a donut, I’ll go to an excellent local bakery, not some chain.
32. Jezebella, on October 19th, 2007 at 11:24 am Said:

    Bourdain is a fan of pate. Goose-liver pate, which is created by force-feeding geese their entire lives until their livers are so fat they can’t even move. It’s disgusting and cruel. Anyone who thinks pate is okay but donuts are “evil” is an idiot and an asshole. That guy can kiss my fat ass.
33. Jenn, on October 19th, 2007 at 4:24 pm Said:

    Rachael Ray doesn’t tip? More info please!
34. ho_cho, on October 20th, 2007 at 6:56 pm Said:

    I love (and miss since I moved to cali) Dunkin Donuts, as a matter of fact my new friend from Texas offered to ship me some overnight.

    But its not about Dunkin Donuts, Rachel Ray or the obesity crisis among kid-crack consuming victims of the Western lifestyle, its about the fact that, as so many of you already noted, Bourdain is a pompous, self-satisfied, condescending, smug and hypocritical attention whore. He has no right to talk about how evil Ray is, because what he is really saying is a find her as annoying as the rest of my fellow high horse riding foodies but i cant say that, so i will use this opportunity for an assault on her principles and the fact that she is using her fame for self-promoting and profit (glass house anyone?)

    I hate all of these people. My homegirl is Nigella who will not hesitate to fry or add double cream to something followed closely by Ina Garten.
35. MizShrew, on October 22nd, 2007 at 11:12 am Said:

    Jenn, I’ve heard this about RR too… I don’t have original source for this, so I can’t say if it’s true or just rumour, but what I had been told is that the only way that she can do that whole $40/day travel thing is to not tip anywhere she goes. Which is really crappy and if true would make her evil, since anyone who works or has ever worked in the restaurant industry knows damn well that servers rely on tips for most of their income.

    But, like I said, that’s just what I heard, can’t say if there’s any documentation, since I don’t watch her show or know anything much about her. That’s just what I heard from a foodie friend of mine.
36. Amanda, on January 20th, 2008 at 7:06 pm Said:

    I think Rachael Ray is a sweet lady. I dont think bad of her at all. People are just jealous of her cause she is beautiful and a star.
37. Mary, on March 18th, 2008 at 7:30 am Said:

    She is a loudmouth who cooks everything pretty much the same way, and there is just too much of her, she dresses like an old woman and her hair style is nil, how about letting some new folks in the food courts of TV. Also aren’t there any words to describe how good food tastes besides “delish” and eye rolling, and the worst “how yum is that” are we reduced to baby food talk, aren’t we adults???

Subscribe to the comments for this post (RSS)