Why Rachael Ray is the Modern Julia Childs…

August 5th, 2006

Okay, so Rachael Ray may not have the formal background training, and she may not understand the chemistry of all food types, but she certainly has found her own way of communicating with the world of home-cookers. She communicates with us both personally and professionally, and has put passion back into making a decent meal.

She doesn’t bake, but that doesn’t matter. Rachael has found ways to inspire millions to take a little time out of your day to create a real family sit-down dinner, and for that, I give her more kudos than she can handle.

For decades we tuned in as Julia Childs became part of our kitchens. At the time it was more about teaching us how to cook. But with the urge to stop off at KFC or Burger King on the way home from work, because we’re just too tired to pull a pan off the hook and turn on the stove, I say anyone who can tempt us to eat better has got to be a Queen of the kitchen.

From the aspect of culinary arts, I can understand why many well-known chefs call her shortcut methods taboo, but let’s face it. We don’t all have the time to make our own pasta and red sauce every night of the week. Maybe some of the drive to bash her techniques is because, just maybe, some of these guys think less people will appeciate a fine meal. I find this absurd. I cook any chance I get (and there are many shortcuts I won’t use because I prefer more authentic tastes), but let’s face it - the number of people who can afford a 5-star restaurant more than a few times a year is slim.

Or, maybe, they just don’t like seeing the “art” destroyed. It hasn’t been. We can still reserve Saturday afternoons for a fully blown gourmet meal.

There needs to be a happy medium among the art of cooking, and I say anything that promotes a home-cooked meal over a trip to IHOP has got to be a good thing.

Entry Filed under: Rants & Raves