(I saw this on another newsgroup ... nancy)
Rachael Ray Enters Talk-Show Fray
In case more than 12 hours a week (counting reruns) on Food Network, 10 cookbooks and a soon-to-launch magazine aren't enough to feed your Rachael Ray fix, the pixieish and increasingly ubiquitous TV chef is making her way to broadcast television.
Ray, best known for her "30 Minute Meals" show on the Food Network, has signed to host a daytime talk show set to launch in national syndication in fall 2006. The for-now unbreastled show will be produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, syndicator King World and Food Network owner Scripps Networks.
"People know me for my love of food, but I have so much more I want to share," Ray says. "Our show's going to be all about taking a bigger bite out of life. I want people to see themselves in this show, because life is full of messes and successes, and getting there is half the fun." (And can't you just hear her punctuating little laugh at the end of that statement?)
Other than its endorsement of chewing on larger chunks of life, details of the show are scant for now. It will be shot in New York, allowing Ray to continue appearing on the Food Network. And it comes with a hearty endorsement from Oprah herself.
"From the moment I had Rachael on my show earlier this year, I knew she had 'it,'" Winfrey says. "She has that connection with her audience that most people only achieve one-on-one."
Ray's current workload includes "30 Minute Meals," "Inside Dish" and "Tasty Travels" on Food Network; "$40 a Day" is still in regular rotation on the cable channel as well. An 11th cookbook is due next month, as is her magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray.
