Rachael Domenica
Ray (
born August 25, 1968 in
Glens Falls,
New York
[1]) is an Emmy-winning television personality and author, who
currently hosts the syndicated series
Rachael Ray. In addition,
she
currently hosts (either in first-run or
reruns)
four different programs
on
cable television\'s
Food Network (30 Minute Meals, $40 a Day,
Inside
Dish, and Rachael Ray\'s Tasty Travels), and has authored a series of
cookbooks based on the 30 Minute Meals concept.
Ray's family is Sicilian-American on her
mother's side and
French-American on her father's side. Her family owned a restaurant on
Cape Cod,
Massachusetts, while her mother managed restaurants in
upstate
New York.
she grew up in
Lake George, New
York. Her first
job
was at the
candy counter at
Macy's in New York City, where
She
eventually managed the
fresh foods department. She later helped
open
Agata &
Valentina, a New York
City market. Moving back to upstate
New York,
Ray managed Mister Brown's
Pub at The
Sagamore, a
famous
hotel on
Lake George. From there, she became a buyer and chef at
Cowan
& Lobel, a
gourmet market in suburban
Albany. Ray credits the
concept of 30 Minute Meals to her experience working at the
store where
she met
people reluctant to
cook. She began teaching a cooking course
there showing people how to make meals in thirty minutes or less. 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.
This,
along with a
public radio appearance and the publication of her
first book, led to a Today
Show spot and her first
Food Network
contract in 2001. She also appeared in a few commercials for
Schenectady-based grocery chain
Price Chopper, which stocks all her
books at their
stores and retains her as an occasional spokesperson.
Ray owns homes in
Lake Luzerne,
New York and Manhattan's
Greenwich
Village.[1][2] On September 24, 2005 in
Montalcino,
Tuscany,
Italy, Ray
married
John Cusimano, a lawyer and member of
the band The Cringe.
; "Rachael Ray")
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