Rachael Ray’s big break came in the early 2000s thanks to a snowstorm in Upstate New York
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Described by Rachael Ray as a “happy little accident,” these cooking classes were the foundation for her 30-minute meals. Pretty quickly the cook started to appear on local television teaching audiences her fast and healthy meals. This eventually led to Ray’s first cookbook being published in 1999 which sold 10,000 copies in two weeks, according to Good Housekeeping.
This success eventually garnered the attention of NBC’s “Today Show,” who called her in 2001 to cover for guests who were unable to come in due to a snowstorm. “She told them she’d be there,” Brooke Johnson, president of the Food Network told the publication. “And because of her work ethic, when Rachael has an obligation, she makes good on it.” Then the rest just naturally followed, which Ray still struggles to believe happened. “The television thing is a very weird happening for me, and certainly not anything I planned for,” she told NPR, adding that she didn’t think she was “worthy” of it. “You know, that’s just not me. I serve people. I’m the service person.” This is what she told the Food Network, who told her that she was wrong and to “come back and sit down. So [she] did.”
Thankfully so, as they offered her a contract for “30 Minute Meals” which went on to run for 11 years and nearly 350 episodes (via University Fox). And the rest, well, is history.
How Rachel Ray Got Her Big Break
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By Sophie McEvoy/Sept. 20, 2021 4:51 pm EST
The future celebrity chef would soon find her way into the hospitality industry (via Culinary Schools), working as a restaurant manager, food buyer, and gourmet retailer before hosting her own cooking classes in upstate New York (via Good Housekeeping). And it was these classes that garnered attention from local television stations.
Rachael Ray’s big break came in the early 2000s thanks to a snowstorm in Upstate New York
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Described by Rachael Ray as a “happy little accident,” these cooking classes were the foundation for her 30-minute meals. Pretty quickly the cook started to appear on local television teaching audiences her fast and healthy meals. This eventually led to Ray’s first cookbook being published in 1999 which sold 10,000 copies in two weeks, according to Good Housekeeping.
This success eventually garnered the attention of NBC’s “Today Show,” who called her in 2001 to cover for guests who were unable to come in due to a snowstorm. “She told them she’d be there,” Brooke Johnson, president of the Food Network told the publication. “And because of her work ethic, when Rachael has an obligation, she makes good on it.” Then the rest just naturally followed, which Ray still struggles to believe happened. “The television thing is a very weird happening for me, and certainly not anything I planned for,” she told NPR, adding that she didn’t think she was “worthy” of it. “You know, that’s just not me. I serve people. I’m the service person.” This is what she told the Food Network, who told her that she was wrong and to “come back and sit down. So [she] did.”
Thankfully so, as they offered her a contract for “30 Minute Meals” which went on to run for 11 years and nearly 350 episodes (via University Fox). And the rest, well, is history.
This success eventually garnered the attention of NBC’s “Today Show,” who called her in 2001 to cover for guests who were unable to come in due to a snowstorm. “She told them she’d be there,” Brooke Johnson, president of the Food Network told the publication. “And because of her work ethic, when Rachael has an obligation, she makes good on it.”
Then the rest just naturally followed, which Ray still struggles to believe happened. “The television thing is a very weird happening for me, and certainly not anything I planned for,” she told NPR, adding that she didn’t think she was “worthy” of it. “You know, that’s just not me. I serve people. I’m the service person.” This is what she told the Food Network, who told her that she was wrong and to “come back and sit down. So [she] did.”
Thankfully so, as they offered her a contract for “30 Minute Meals” which went on to run for 11 years and nearly 350 episodes (via University Fox). And the rest, well, is history.
