“I was raised in a household that taught us that everybody has the right to have a lot of fun,” says Ray.
Ask any of the eleven million people who tune in week after week to watch Ray on television why they do it? Why do they choose to watch Ray dole out her weekly cooking advice when she has not even had any professional cooking training? Ask them that question and their answers will usually be the same: Ray is fun.
On any one of her television shows, not a minute will pass without the viewer getting a sense of Ray’s enthusiasm and passion for her craft. Whether it is her big smile, her contagious laughter, or her signature catchphrase, “How cool is that?” Ray clearly loves what she does and she knows how to have fun along the way.
“When I first heard from the Food Network, I told them that I was beer in a bottle and they are champagne,” says Ray alluding to her fun and spunky personality versus the more conservative chefs normally on television cooking shows. “I’m too loud one day and giggle too much the next, or flub the intro, but what I do is not about technique. I need a story to go with the burger. People want to relax a little.”
It is by having fun while she cooks and making it a comfortable and relaxing process that her viewers can then in turn enjoy the process too. Ray did not want to be one of those intimidating chefs on television that cook food that most people have not even heard of. She wanted to cook fun and simple food in a fun and simple way. And that is one of the key ingredients to her large fan base.
Having fun is not just part of Ray’s marketing strategy or a perk she can afford now that she has her success. Even in her early career, when she was struggling to get by, Ray enjoyed herself and found a way to have fun. “I did 30 Minute Meals for five years on local television, and I earned nothing the first two years,” she says. “Then I earned $50 a segment. I spent more than that on gas and groceries, but I really enjoyed making the show and I loved going to a viewer’s house each week. I knew I enjoyed it, so I stuck with it even though it cost me.”
Ray likes to have fun while she works, but that does not mean she does not know when it is time to take a moment to herself. Even away from her career, Ray knows how to have fun and it is that balance that helps keep fueling her fire. While she maintains an apartment in New York for when she is taping her shows, Ray also owns a cabin in the Adirondacks.
“My rule is that whenever I have off 36 hours or more, I go to my home upstate,” she says. “I like being home. I like a cozy life. The sky is darker, the stars are brighter, and things make more sense to me when I’m in the middle of the woods.”
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