Rachael Ray's energy and success keep her going and going

Coming soon to your front doorstep: Rachael Ray!

Or so it seems, since the ever-peppy 38-year-old Food Network personality seems to be just about everywhere these days.

Ray has used her hosting duties on the culinary cable channel, where she debuted in 2001, as an unlikely springboard to become a one-woman national marketing colossus akin to the redoubtable Martha Stewart. Ray's trademark mega-smile now can be seen not only on four Food Network shows, but on her own brand of olive oil, knives, pots and pans, as well as current boxes of Nabisco Wheat Thins and Triskets.

Cornerstone of the burgeoning Rachael Ray empire has long been a series of best-selling cookbooks with Ray herself as the most prominent feature on their covers. The cookbooks now number 13 and have resulted in a reported $6 million deal with her publisher.

But the one-time candy-counter attendant at Macy's also has expanded her multimedia efforts with a monthly magazine (Every Day with Rachael Ray), two compact discs with some of her favorite music (one for kids, one for Christmas), plus a daily TV talk show ("Rachael Ray") that debuted in September and now holds the fourth spot among syndicated chat fests, ahead of Ellen DeGeneres.

The indefatigable Ray, who surpasses even Katie Couric on the perk-o-meter, has laid serious claim to the title of America's Current Sweetheart. But not everybody is infatuated with Ray's cutesy-isms -- yum-o (for something she really likes), sammies (for sandwiches), EVOO (for extra virgin olive oil) -- or her endless mugging for the camera. A Web site called the "Rachael Ray Sucks Community" (community.livejournal.com/rachael_ray_sux/) was started as a joke by Ray-hater Misty Lane of Lansing, Mich., but has grown into a much-mentioned Web phenom that now counts more than 1,300 members. They post regular diatribes that castigate Ray for her overexposure, her repetitiveness, her use of processed foods, even her bubbly personality. Referring to her as "Ray-tard" is one of their kinder cuts.

Ray even answered some of their criticisms with a spirited self-defense in the October issue of Esquire, under the headline of "Rachael Ray Doesn't Suck." She counters, "And the funny thing is, everything they say is valid: I'm not a chef; I'm a cook. But even the best chef in the world needs to know how to make a fast, tasty burger. Say what you want about me, but I throw down when it comes to burgers. I'm the queen of ground meat. The way I hack an onion is truly hacking at an onion. I do everything wrong. Whatever ..."

The Seattle P-I caught up with Ray last week during a typical 15-hour blitz through one of 12 cities across the country that she is visiting on behalf of her latest cookbook -- "2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds" (Clarkson Potter, 293 pages, $19.95).

Ray went straight from the airport to Volterra Italian restaurant in Ballard to shoot an upcoming segment for her talk show. She had a couple of bites of chef Don Curtiss' signature wild boar tenderloin with Gorgonzola-mustard sauce and a couple sips of Brunello wine ("If I had any more," she said later, "I would have needed a nap"). Then Ray headed to the University Book Store where the line of fans snaked through two levels. She signed 500 books for 400 die-hard admirers.

Before the public signing, Ray warmed up with a little multitasking -- signing 60 copies of her book with various pastel Sharpies for bookstore stock while answering a few questions for P-I readers. The telegenic Italian American was fashionably attired in a form-fitting sweater-and-skirt ensemble, all in black, accented by a large belt, a multicolored scarf, tall boots and a vintage 1960s necklace just bought in San Francisco that featured an owl pendant that seemed only slightly smaller than an actual owl. ("Never has someone with such a small chest gotten so many looks there," Ray quipped.)

Ray dispatched the books in short order, while answering questions at auctioneer hyper-speed. She was cordial, but professional out of public view. She seldom passed 80 percent on the perk-o-meter.

Seattle P-I: What's the best thing about being Rachael Ray these days? What's the most challenging thing?

Ray: The best thing is that it's all a lot of fun. I get to go home, I've married a nice man and we have great romance. Plus, I got a job that's so great that I can't believe it's a job. And all this happened to a waitress from a small town in upstate New York.

I've always worked 100 hours a week on every job that I've had and this is no different. My whole family does that, whether it was my mother and father in restaurants or my grandfather, who was a stonemason. It just feels good to me.

What's challenging? I guess daily life, but isn't that the same for everybody?

Isn't finding the time to do all the stuff you do the real challenge?

Not really. Sleep has never been a priority for me. I used to crawl out of bed in the middle of the night as a kid and do all kinds of things. I've always been really creative in the nighttime.

How much do you sleep then?

Probably five hours a night.

How do you write a cookbook anyway? Where do the recipes come from?

I have several rules for my cookbooks. They can't cost more than a CD. The recipes can't require special tools. And I always try to pay attention to what my readers say they want more of from my previous books.

I never put anything in the cookbooks that I haven't come up with myself. And I try everything, too, since I am not a chef. If somebody else did either of those things for the cookbooks, people would know it in a heartbeat.

What's your favorite recipe in the new book, and why?

But I could never pick a favorite -- that's like picking your favorite kid. And I should tell you that I am going to cut back to one cookbook a year, although next year there will still be two.

But I guess if I must pick one from this new cookbook I would say the Bistro Brunch or Midnight Supper for Two. I like the Vodka Still Works Cocktail (vodka, ginger ale, bitters) because I first had it with my husband on our honeymoon during a safari in South Africa. And the Croque Madame, my version of the Croque Monsieur, which adds an egg on top -- I love ham and cheese sandwiches!

Your name seems to be on just about every medium and every other product these days ... Do you ever worry about overexposure?

I'm very picky. The knives that have my name on them are the result of my approaching the knife company for a design because I am very klutzy in the kitchen. The olive oil with my name comes from Colavita in Italy because they are related to my family ...

I just think there's no point in limiting yourself when things are going all right.

There must be some days when you are not feeling all Rachael Ray perky. What do you do to perk yourself back up to your regular perky self?

I go to work. Everybody at work really cheers me up. My friends are there. And with this TV show, I feed off the energy of the audience, even when I'm taping three shows in one day.

People I meet also make it easy to be happy. People come up to me and they are always nice. I'm not Oprah-sized. I've been with Oprah in public and I've seen how people react to her -- they tremble and they're intimidated to meet her. But I'm not that level of celebrity. People come up to me and they say, "Hey, Rach" -- it's like I'm their cousin. They give me a handshake or thumbs-up. That always peps me up.

People would probably be surprised to find out that Rachael Ray is quiet when I'm at home. My husband and I both enjoy things being pretty quiet at our cabin in the Adirondacks. We do chat, but there is just not that level of intensity there.

There are lots of rumors that the only way you could keep your $40-a-day show under $40 was by being a bad tipper. Could that possibly be the case?

That show is now called "Tasty Travels," not $40 a day. But I always over-tip. I often leave $20 tips since I was a waitress once. Even on the show I always leave at least a 15 percent tip.

Were you, or were you not, a cheerleader in high school?

I certainly was a cheerleader in high school -- and a darn good one! I was the ta-dah cheerleader, the one who climbed to the top of the pyramid and then flipped into the arms of other cheerleaders. And I was also the cheerleader that would run the length of the gym, do a flip and then end with the splits.

What was your high school team?

The Lake George (N.Y.) Warriors.

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