Somebody stop Rachel Ray before she takes over the universe

September 18, 2006

So who besides me is a wee bit sick of perky miss Rachel Ray? The cooking-show diva is expanding her empire–I just saw this past weekend that there’s now a line of Rachel Ray cookware available. This is in addition to her magazine, her new Rachel Ray talk show that debuts today, and of course her omnipresence on the Food Network.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those virulently anti-Rachel Ray types. I’ve been known to watch an episode or two of $40 a Day. And even though I rarely cook, I enjoy watching her 30-Minute Meals to see what I could cook in a half-hour if I ever really felt like doing it.

But there’s only so much perkiness and extra-virgin olive oil you can take. When she kept to the Food Network everything was hunky-dory, but she’s expanding her media empire farther and farther every day. She’s becoming inescapable, the next Oprah except a lot perkier and a better cook.

I will not be watching her talk show or buying her magazine or purchasing her cookware. I may even have to stop watching her on Food Network, because there’s just too much Rachel Ray in the world these days.