Behind the Scenes of The Rachel Ray Show

Studio Audience:

In person, Rachael Ray is not the warm-and-friendly persona you imagine her to be when you watch the show on television. At the show, Ray is all-business and attempts to minimize her interaction with unpaid audience members. On the official show rules for the Rachael Ray show, when they say to “dress your best,” they mean it. At the end of the show be prepared to have a few photos taken with Rachael Ray in a group or in front of the audience. The show uses these photos for their social media pages, to give off the air of fun and camaraderie on the show that may not be the general experience for most of the in-studio audience.

A Food Show That Leaves You Hungry:

Back in the early days of TV cooking shows, everyone in the audience could have a bite of Emeril's latest creole dish, but in Rachel Ray's show everyone leaves hungry, unless you can fill up on granola bars. It seems that her TV show cannot afford the additional insurance expense to have members of the audience try the food, so it makes for a poor audience experience at the show. The audience can see the wonderful food, smell the amazing aromatic aromas, but cannot actually taste the food.

Joey Kola Comedian:

During the taping of this show the audience is kept entertained and encouraged by warm up comedian Joey Kola, who audience members may remember from the Martha Stewart TV show. Ironically, The Martha Show was taped in the same location as Rachael Ray, so it may be that Kola actually comes with the studio. Joey’s funny quips and upbeat energy are necessary considering Rachael Ray does not have too much interaction with the audience during the taping or between segments. His jokes are PG rated and he does a great job of entertaining everyone without insulting anyone in the audience.