Behold this horrifying train wreck of a clip from the premiere episode of Food Network's latest reality juggernaut, Rachael Ray & Guy Fieri Celebrity Cook-Off, which, SPOILER ALERT, features former teen star Aaron Carter getting the kibosh for his nauseating rendition of "Southern Jalapeno Popper Macaroni Salad." more ›

Hey guys, are you looking forward to the January 1 premiere of Rachael vs Guy: Celebrity Smackdown as much as we are? You know the show—the new one on Food Network that "stars" "celebrities" like Cheech Marin and Coolio cooking for charity and, uh, one last desperate grab at the spotlight? Right! Well, now that New Year's Day is coming up, it's time for the first televised promos to roll out, like this one, in which we catch some memorable glimpses of the "chefs" in action, and get to hear some sage kitchen advice from Ray and Fieri: "SPRINKLE CHEESE ON TOP! PUT HOT SAUCE NEXT TO IT!" Which is exactly what Escoffier recommends in his guide to the fine art of cookery. more ›

Earlier this year, our skin crawled in trepidation at the thought of Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri colliding on the same screen, for a new show called Annoying Orange People Eating! Rachael vs Guy: Celebrity Smackdown. But the show must go on, and now, it's almost here, with a slightly different name: Rachael vs Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off (was "smackdown" too aggro for Food Network?), and a full lineup of D-list "celebrities." more ›

The Thanksgiving issue is always a big deal for food magazines, but who does Rachael Ray think she is—the Queen of Sheba? Her 30-minute highness decided that this month's holiday-themed issue of Every Day With Rachael Ray is so special that her subscribers can just go ahead and pay double for it, whether they want to or not. more ›

Anthony Bourdain, who's never been shy about his distaste toward everything from Alice Waters to Olive Garden, ripped into pretty much every Food Network star in a recent interview with TV Guide. more ›

Why is this happening? First, Alton Brown peaces out, then the Food Network decides to rub salt in the wound with the announcement of its latest juggernaut, which is poised to become the most catchphrase-packed show in television history. It's called Guy vs. Rachael's Celebrity Smackdown, and if that name alone doesn't tell you everything need to know, the video explains it more. more ›

Food personality Rachael Ray and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are so on the same page! They love hanging out together whenever they can, especially when it involves feeding thousands of NYC public school children, totally awesome grub, or campaigning in Washington for better school nutrition. Ray actually grew up in her BFF's former congressional district in upstate NY, so it's no wonder the two get along so handsomely. more ›

Rachael Ray's beloved pit bull Isaboo has been involved in at least five incidents of violence against other animals, with the latest fight happening earlier this month as one of the dog's handlers walked it in the Village. According to Radar and, um, the National Enquirer, the attack happened when another dog walked by and "Isaboo lashed out so quickly and ripped the other dog’s ear off before its handler could pull it away." A vet was able to save some of the dog's ear, but Ray is reportedly devastated because she may have to put Isaboo to sleep. more ›

Yesterday suspiciously perky cooking celebrity Rachael Ray, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, City Council speaker Christine C. Quinn and other government officials held a press event at P.S. 89/I.S. 289 in Tribeca to preview a new menu that Ray created for NYC public schools. On Thursday, 600,000 students, from kindergartners to 12th graders, will have the option to sample the menu Ray developed: whole-wheat flatbread with roasted chicken, a ratatouille-style stew with beans, and corn salad on top. (Plus a side of broccoli.) But yesterday there was also a side of cockroach! more ›

Last night was the crowd pleasing, if awkwardly titled, "Blue Moon Burger Bash, presented by Allen Brothers, hosted by Rachael Ray." Held at the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn, former Top Chef contest Spike Mendelsohn won the judge's prize of his burger with blue cheese, bacon, and horseradish mayonnaise, while the popular vote was won by Lure Fishbar's Josh Capon. But clearly the real winners were those who go to try offerings from Al Roker, Shake Shack and more. more ›

Terrorist-loving Dunkin Donuts enthusiast Rachael Ray has won some street cred from admitted hater Anthony Bourdain, who's experiencing some cognitive dissonance over Ray's appreciation for glorified dive bar band the New York Dolls. In a recent Facebook blog post, Bourdain made an about-face from his earlier characterization of Ray as a "bobblehead freakazoid," all because she booked the Dolls for her SXSW show. Bourdain opines: "It is an article of faith with me that the Dolls were one of the greatest, most important, criminally neglected, wildly influential bands in the history of well... the freakin’ UNIVERSE!! This development... has caused me no small amount of confusion, panic and misery. I don’t know whether to go out and shoot a puppy, or send Rachael a fruit basket. It just does me no good at all to think of Rachael as a Dolls fan. It’s really only a matter of time now until my daughter looks up from her grilled cheese and says 'Yummo!!' " According to the Daily News, Ray responded by sending her fellow food celebrity a fruit basket of her own, with a note pleading with him to please spare the puppies. more ›

Meat-lover Rachael Ray hasn't given up on her dream of opening up a hamburger pub in midtown. She's been talking about it for years now, but you really want to believe her (or stop her) when she tells the Post, "I'm going for a '60s back-in-the-day Rat Pack-y kind of hangout, and I want the bar to be really central [and] the burgers to become a very social thing. I want people to come to the bar to see beautiful proper martinis being made and to enjoy some sliders." more ›

You may have already learned, with equal parts dread and anticipation, that TV personality and terrorist-scarf-wearer Rachael Ray is writing a memoir. Working title: EVOhno. Anyway, now it looks like she’ll have to add another chapter about eating disorders and workplace sensitivity, as an anorexic ex-employee has just filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme court against CBS and The Rachael Ray Show. more ›

Some of us might think that New York is the center of the world for many things, including food. The point is debatable, but at least for a few nights a year, it will be. more ›

Heads up, hipsters: Those keffiyeh scarves, long associated with Yasir Arafat and the Palestinian resistance, are officially ‘so over.’ While the choice of keffiyeh as fashion accessory – at least when sported by sweaty, coked-up white kids mincing for Cobra Snake – has about as much political heft as a neon Che Guevara thong, the trend’s death knell has been rung not by a sudden surge in good taste but by divisive food celebrity Rachael Ray. more ›

Oenophiles envious of the big wine expos held in Boston and D.C. can stop whining; this weekend marks the first annual New York Wine Expo at the Javits Center. Friday night and Saturday are open to the public, where more than 600 wines from over 170 vintners will be available for tasting. Here’s the list of all the wineries and vineyards at the Expo. more ›

Guys, it’s Rachael Ray’s world, we just eat in it – this was verified by Time Magazine when the Food Network host was declared one of the 100 people who “shape our world” last year. And now that world will continue turning for at least two more years; it was announced yesterday that Ray’s contract has been extended beyond the Bush administration. more ›

After the outcry from families of September 11 victims as well as other members of the public, WABC 7 reversed its decision not to air the reading of 2,749 September 11 victims' names by yesterday afternoon and will now air the ceremony in its entirety. more ›

Hopefully Monday's season opener of Sesame Street will help in sweepin' these clouds away! The new season will begin how it always does, by determining the educational needs of their tv-watching tot demographic. more ›

Interesting, fluffy political article in the NY Times about the diverging political allegiances of two high-profile friends. Oprah Winfrey has made no secret of her support for Senator Barack Obama - she's throwing him a fund-raiser at her California home. Maya Angelou, however, has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton (and even appears in a video on HillaryClinton.com). Neither woman had comment for the Times. more ›

Two weeks ago, our friends over at Bostonist posted a very scary map plotting more than 50 Dunkin Donuts locations within a five-mile radius of their city’s Downtown Crossing. The actual number of New York Dunkin Donuts locations, parameters widened to include Port Authority based kiosks and airport locations, is likely to be more than a baker’s dozen for any given five mile radius. So yeah, sure, it seems America runs on Dunkin and all that, spokespersonality Rachael Ray is somewhere yummo-ing™ with a Vanilla Bean Coolatta®, and the donut war is over. Resistance is futile. Your donuts will herewith be stale and taste like cake mix. more ›

There's a Page Six today about Rachael Ray being attacked by a dog. Apparently an unleashed dog in Union Square Park (we will guess it was at the dog run) was very aggressive and caused quite a bit of havoc. Ray's rep told the Post, "Rachael and some others shooed it away, but it came back and attacked Isaboo [Ray's pitbull mix]. Other dogs were involved, and Rachael jumped in and was bit by one of the dogs on the leg." more ›

- A lovely family story, centered around the casual Puebla Mexican Food restaurant in the EV, was recently told in the The Villager. Some of the food is quite good, we are partial to the roast pork tacos served just as they should be, simply dressed with cilantro, onion and a bit of tomatillo salsa. more ›

Anthony Bourdain, who has taken to guest-blogging for Michael Ruhlman, has already offered his opinions on Top Chef contestants. Now, he's on to bigger and better targets -- the personalities on the Food Network. He admits to watching it, "I find myself riveted by its awfulness, like watching a multi-car accident in slow motion," and has plenty to say about those who grace its airwaves. Emeril: "I STILL find him unwatchable." Giada: "Food Net seems more interested in her enormous head (big head equals big ratings. Really!) and her cleavage--than the fact that she’s likeable, knows what she’s doing in an Italian kitchen--and makes food you’d actually want to eat." Rachel Ray: "She’s a friendly, familiar face who appears regularly on our screens to tell us that '[e]ven your dumb, lazy ass can cook this!'" Sandra Lee: "Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time." more ›

Nach Waxman is wearing a baseball hat decorated with the diamond shaped Avery Island Tabasco logo as he takes Gothamist around the stacks at Kitchen Arts and Letters, his 23 year-old Upper East Side bookshop. He is talking about Rachael Ray. “It’s a funny story,” says Waxman, describing his first impressions of the current Triscuit box doyenne. He shakes his head and laughs. “Nobody here had heard of her. We didn’t carry her books. Now that we do, we don’t sell them.” Nach (pronounced knock) Waxman doesn’t mind, but Gothamist thinks that maybe he could use the shelf space --Kitchen Arts and Letters is a very small store. more ›

More Central Park Zoo events can be found here. more ›

Just because we are fans of Gus, the formerly depressed polar bear at the Central Park Zoo, we want to bring your attention to the Times story of how the zoo's polar bears were keeping cool in the heat. Unlike humans, they do not get upset when the subway's power is out or when the thunder and lighting prevent them from watching TV (thanks, satellites!). Instead, Gus and Ida cope with not living in their natural habitat by swimming, hanging out in air-conditioned areas and enjoying frozen treats ("ice pops with chunks of frozen salmon"). But much like humans, they LOVE whipped cream. It seems that there will be a cook-off between Rachael Ray and a zoo keeper to see who can prepare a better meal fit for a polar bear (think "Ursus Chef"), and the ingredients on hand include whipped cream and tilapia. But that doesn't mean you should bring Reddi-Wip with you the next time you're at the zoo. more ›

June 1: Grand Gourmet more ›