For a seemingly friendly TV personality, Rachael Ray attracts a lot of negative attention,
especially from fellow celebrity chefs and food writers.
For one reason or another, the following folks just can't stand Rachael Ray.
"Not good enough" for Martha
The queen of homemakers, Martha Stewart, expressed her skepticism of Rachael Ray's skills in
a not-so-flattering way in 2009.
Stewart revealed in an interview with ABC News that Ray once admitted to her that she
couldn't bake.
Exposing that weakness on national TV was bad enough, but Stewart kept throwing her
trademark brand of subtle shade.
"She just did a new cookbook which is just a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes, and
that's not good enough for me."
Stewart went on to say that Ray is more of an entertainer than a teacher.
Stewart defused the situation not long after with an apology to Ray on her show, and Ray
told ABC News that, ultimately, Martha had a point.
"When it comes to producing a beautiful, perfect, high-quality meal, I'd rather eat Martha's
than mine too."
Too amateur for Emeril
Emeril Lagasse eventually got over his tiff with Rachael Ray, but for a while it looked
like they were going to be lifelong enemies.
According to journalist Allen Salkin's 2013 Food Network tell-all From Scratch, Lagasse
once said Ray, quote, "doesn't know anything about food" and even said if it was his call
to make, she never would have been on TV.
"I love that!
Little thin, pretty little-"
"Now!"
"hmmm."
The two seemed to patch things up, though, or maybe Lagasse just realized that publicly
berating a popular figure wasn't the best way to revive his then-waning career.
Regardless, Lagasse went on to become a frequent, chummy guest on Ray's show.
"Salt for the taters!"
"Oh, those look so good, Rach!"
"Mmm."
Not gellin' with Giada
While Giada De Laurentiis has officially denied rumors of a feud with Ray, if you read between
the lines, it seems likely there's at least a little bit of bad blood between them.
In 2009, De Laurentiis tried to squash rumors of a feud in Redbook, but her attempt to put
out the fire was less than convincing.
Giada admitted in the magazine,
"Do we hang out all the time?
No.
Are we best friends?
No."
The two went head to head on Iron Chef America in 2006, and De Laurentiis, who was teamed
up with Bobby Flay, doesn't seem to have gotten over losing to Ray and Mario Batali.
In 2014, she told Hamptons magazine how annoying it was that people still asked her how she
felt about losing to Ray.
"It will bother me until the day I die [...] I'm a fighter, and I like to win; I'm not a good
loser."
Too brash for Bourdain
The late Anthony Bourdain was never known for holding back his true feelings, and he
had an intense dislike of Rachael Ray.
In a now deleted 2007 guest post on author Michael Ruhlman's blog, Bourdain wrote,
"Complain all you want [about Rachael Ray].
It's like railing against the pounding surf.
She only grows stronger and more powerful.
Her ear-shattering tones louder and louder.
We KNOW she can't cook.
She shrewdly tells us so.
[...] She's selling us satisfaction, the smug reassurance that mediocrity is quite enough."
Bourdain portrayed Ray as a sort of anti-Julia Child who, rather than enlightening aspiring
home chefs and inspiring them to cook better food, she, quote, "uses her strange and terrible
powers to narcotize her public."
"Let's say that's perfect, shall we?"
Not subtle enough for Sara
Sara Dickerman, a former chef, cookbook author, and food writer at Slate, called out Ray in
2005 while discussing the sorry state of culinary TV.
In a takedown of all things Food Network, she singled Ray out as the most problematic
celebrity chef, writing,
"Worst of all, there are endless hours of Rachael Ray, who dines out on the cheap and
cooks on the fly, chirpily renouncing such culinary values as elegance, subtlety, and
perhaps even flavor.
It is enough to make you give up on TV cooking shows."
"And we have our-"
"We'll get that later!"