Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook,[4] television personality, businesswoman, and author.

[16] Moving back to the Adirondacks, Ray managed Mister Brown's Pub at The Sagamore, a hotel on Lake George.

Ray credits the concept of 30 Minute Meals to her experience working at the store, where she met people who were reluctant to cook.

[citation needed] In the early 2000s, Ray came to Price Chopper Supermarkets with an idea to hold some cooking classes for shoppers and perform food demos in stores.

[17] With the success of her "30 Minute Meals" classes, WRGB, the local CBS-TV affiliate, asked her to appear in a weekly segment on their newscasts.

[citation needed] Rachael Ray was the host of the TV show $40 a Day for three seasons (77 episodes) from 2002 to 2005.

[18] Ray, who favors a "quick and easy" cooking style, teaches many simple recipes that she says can be completed in 30 minutes or less, although critics claim her concept does not include preparation time.

[19] Ray says her Sicilian maternal grandfather, Emmanuel Scuderi, and her Cajun ancestry both exert strong influences on her cooking.

She uses ingredients such as fresh herbs, garlic, and chicken stock to boost flavors, and believes measuring "takes away from the creative, hands-on process of cooking."

[21] In 2007, The Oxford American College Dictionary announced the addition of the term EVOO, short for extra-virgin olive oil, which Ray had helped to popularize, and credited her with coining the phrase.

[citation needed] On January 12, 2008, Ray's television series Rachael's Vacation premiered on the Food Network.

[30][31] In January 2012, Ray and Guy Fieri were team captains in the Food Network reality series Rachael vs.

[34] In 2023, Ray announced that she would be ending her talk show after its 17th season, and she will launch her new production company, "Free Food Studios.

Ray played herself on the show, with her guests being Vincent Pastore as himself, and Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder as their fictional characters Whitney and Asher Siegel.

[15] Though she was not nude in any of the photos, this drew criticism so harsh, not least of which from Ray's own mother, that in a March 2, 2009 ABC News Nightline interview she gave to Cynthia McFadden, an ABC News correspondent, Ray defended her decision to pose in the magazine.

[citation needed] In February 2007, WestPoint Home launched sheets, blankets, and coverlets designed by Ray.

All proceeds from the sale of these products go to Rachael's Rescue, a charity which Ray organized specifically to provide assistance for at-risk animals.