So, what you're saying is the annoying, cloying, too-happy-not-to-deserve-a-good-smack-to-the-head, smiley woman makes up for all her bad personality points by being useful. I've never seen her show, but it sounds like she's hit an underserved market. Every time I turn on a do-it-yourself show, be it cooking or carpentry I watch and say "I can't do that myself". It's about time somebody showed me how to make myself something for dinner rather than impress me with their skills. If I want see somebody make a white truffle souffle with Manatee sauce I'm sure The Food Network has plenty of shows for that. Let her detractors watch them instead of wasting energy hating somebody who does no harm.

I try to have a pleasant vision of Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown, and Ina Garten pummeling her with cast iron skillets.

And anyone who has seen her chainsmoking, yelling into her cell phone, with her frazzled assistant scrambling behind (as I have) - that entire 'wholesome' image is shattered REAL fast.

Rachel Ray is someone you can love and hate at the same time. I think she's just so corny and ridiculous that its cute, in an annoying way. Somehow she seems both genuine and insincere.

I have to admire someone who's not afraid to tackle something without being credentialed up the wazoo. And she often succeeds in producing some good food. No, it's not four-star architectural creations made from ingredients only the well-connected chef (or someone living next door to Chelsea Market) can score.

I'll always be grateful for her Veg-Head Three-Bean Chili. It's fast, economical, vegetarian yet hearty, and my family loves it.

She's a TV cook, or possibly a food personality.

Chefs undertake formal training, it's worth noting the time and effort they put in to achieve that status.

Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver, Julia Child, chefs.

Rachel Ray, not a chef.

But if you need somebody to remind you which herbs and spices work well with ground turkey in order to make dinner, you're probably not qualified to watch a cooking show hosted by an actual chef.

"Rachael Ray is my dinner hooker -- fast, reliable, a sure bet" ? And does she also love her work and have a heart of gold?

Do you really have no idea how callous and misogynistic this is? Jesus Christ.

Right on! Thanks for your article. It made me laugh, it made me hungry, and it made me want to look up one of Rachel Ray's recepies & try it out. I've never heard of her... but her picture and the food makes me excited in a food/sex realted way. What can I say, but a very unironic "YUM!". Thanks, Joel - Seattle

Like on Spinal Tap, Rachael Ray is dialed in at "11" (with 10 being max) which brings out the distortion and noise. Add in over exposure and the fact that she doesn't appear to actually like food on some of her shows is just too much.

If she'd just dial it back to "6" or "7", with spikes of "11", she'd be fine. At "11" she reminds me of Katie Couric on speed, something no one really wants to see. I think the maniac personna also scares people into thinking they're about to see a train wreck.

I had to chuckle at Mary Elizabeth Williams' exasperation with "yum-o" and other Rachael Rayisms. Surely anyone who watches even a few shows has some reaction to them. But I heartily agree with the positive effects Ms. Ray is having on a society that has become all too dependent on fast and prepared foods. I just saw hot dogs advertised today...IN THE BUNS!

Have Americans really become too lazy to get out some hot dog buns and place the hot dogs in? Do we need frozen pbj sandwiches? Microwaved mashed potatoes when even instant seems like too much work? Do we even have a pulse any more?

The American diet is terminally ill and maybe we need an overly peppy savior to get us out of our slump long enough to cook some veggies. And speaking of veggies, this vegetarian appreciates that Rachael Ray often gives tips for turning one of her 30-minute meals vegetarian. If I have to endure her self-invented slang, that seems like a small price to pay. Finally, Rachael Ray succeeds because she radiates sincere unpretentiousness in a way that's refreshing. I wish her luck and hope she laughs all the way to the bank.

What's wrong with enthusiasm and bounce? I don't watch her show(s) but I find her MUCH less objectionable than Tony Bourdain, whom I find un-fun and smarmy, or Emeril Lagasse, who's just plain overexposed.

Seriously, when did pep become a sin? Rachael Ray is cute as a bug. We could do much worse.

Yes, some people are born with an irrepressible zest for life. They live with a Sheryl Crowe song hook running through their head at all times. Every fifteen minutes their brain gets refreshed like a new stick of chewing gum.

I'm not one of those people.

I see right through Rachael Ray like a piece of oily parchment under fried fish. From the moment I laid eyes on her a while back, when she was still relatively unknown, I thought to myself, "Oh oh, here comes another one up the ladder." Another chripy, phony, too-good-to-be-true chirub who's going to claw her way to the top and start selling cheap, crappy, Chinese-made frying pans and useless cookbooks.

I believe the previous letter writer who said that off-camera she's a chain-smoking, cell phone screeching bitch. But what amazes me is that more people don't see it right away. I first learned to cook in an army mess hall. I see nothing in Ray's cooking techniques that are any different.

Anybody who really knows how to cook can whip out a meal for a family or a platoon in twenty minutes, not thirty, knows that Ray isn't selling anything we don't know already. For us, she's just boring.

But it's her other show, "$40 a day" or whatever, that really amazes me. It's the same show, over and over. Different city, same endless loop. "Ummm, I'm hungry, I need breakfast! Oooo, here's a place that serves up pancakes! Ooooo! Look at these pancakes! Mmmm, delicious! Now I think I'll go for a (bike ride, canoe paddle, walk in woods, rock climbing lesson) and Oh, I'm soooo hungry I just can't wait to go to lunch! Oooooo, where to go? Ah, here's a place! They serve HAMBURGERS! Oooooo. Hamburgers! Ummmmm! Boy that sure was a good hamburger. I think I'll walk around some more until it's time for dinner! Oooooo, dinner! Where to eat dinner! Ah, here's a place. They serve crab cakes! Oooooo, crab cakes! ...

Ugh. Enough! Who can watch this drivel again and again? Get a tropical fish tank, it's just as entertaining.