The wind whipped our faces and our fingers started feeling the slightest bit numb as we waited outside the studio on a particularly chilly morning. We pulled our scarves tighter and adjusted our hats, eagerly waiting to be let into the warmth. But we weren’t just eager for the warmth – we were eager to get inside for a taping of the Rachael Ray Show.
This was more exciting for my cousin who was accompanying me, since she is an aspiring chef. She is in the process of applying to culinary school and is the designated cook in her family, whipping up dinner on most weeknights. Needless to say, she is a devoted Rachael Ray fan, with a monthly subscription to her magazine and many of her recipes on file. I, on the other hand, do not consider myself a chef on any level. Cooking pasta and baking Duncan Hines brownies are pretty much the extent of my culinary endeavors, yet there I was posing for a picture in the mock studio kitchen and waiting to be let in to the real studio.
Despite being a non-foodie, it was still exciting to watch a TV show taping – I saw it as the quintessential New York City experience. We had gotten our tickets through a connection I had to one of the women who worked on the show – since it is a small Jewish world after all – and when we came in we were taken on a quick backstage tour. The kitchen where the food is prepared was rich with delicious smells, the control room had screens showing hundreds of different images, and there was a props area filled with overflowing shelves of serving pieces arranged by color, shape, and size. The staff was friendly, greeting us as we passed through. When we returned to our seats, the opening act featured a guy cracking jokes and entertaining the crowd before the show started.
Rachael Ray soon appeared, greeting the audience and taking her place behind her stove top and carefully arranged ingredients. She has become extremely popular over the last few years because of her relatively fast, simple, and cost-effective recipes that she presents in a very manageable way. The show is taped in multiple segments, including guest interviews, cooking demonstrations, and fashion/lifestyle guides and tips. On that particular day the “hot” topics were casseroles and visits to some of Rachael’s favorite spots in NYC. As the show continued, Ray was certainly entertaining and enjoyable to watch, but I found myself not entirely interested in the kale spaghetti that she was so fired up about. My cousin, on the other hand was alert and wide-eyed. “That’s exactly how I get around food!” she exclaimed, referring to Rachael’s palpable excitement about adding shallots to the pasta.
I couldn’t really understand that sentiment, but her energy was contagious enough that I perked up and started getting more enthusiastic. We were both excited enough that it was only a slight disappointment when the giveaway prize of the day happened to be an order of bacon and cheese from an award winning smokehouse – not exactly what we were hoping for. As we left the show, we couldn’t wait to see ourselves on TV in a couple of days – but mostly what we were excited for next was getting lunch (staring at food for 3 hours can do that you). So if you’re looking for something fun to do in NYC, don’t shy away from a cooking show even if you’re not quite a cook yourself – just bring along a friend and make sure to eat before!