美国国家公共电台 NPR Interview: Rachael Ray On Her New Book

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Rachael Ray is taping her talk show at her studio in Manhattan, and one of her guests has just gotten a makeover. The woman is overwhelmed by her transformation¹.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "RACHAEL RAY")

RACHAEL RAY: Do you like what you see?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Oh, God. I love it. This whole experience...

RAY: Don't cry.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: ...Have been amazing.

RAY: You look so beautiful. Oh, huggums (ph), huggums.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And while Rachael Ray became famous for her no-fuss cooking style, the secret of her success is that she seems warm and relatable. Watching her on TV can feel like finding yourself at your favorite sister's kitchen table. There will be a hug when you need it, or in my case, when I meet her after the show, something else you may want.

RAY: Would you like a glass of wine? I'm going to have some.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I would love a glass of wine. Thank you.

RAY: OK, that's a twosome.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I appreciate that.

RAY: I'm self-conscious. Why is everyone staring (laughter)?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That is a great way to start an interview right away.

Ray is now in her 50s. And to commemorate² the moment, she has, of course, come out with a cookbook. But it's also part memoir³. It's called "Rachael Ray 50: Memories And Meals From A Sweet And Savory⁴ Life."

RAY: As a woman who's 50 and has a lot of jobs that I'm grateful for, I wanted to reflect that the American dream is still alive, that if you work very hard, opportunity will come your way, that you can be 50 and over and female in this country and still be relevant. You know, I...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: A lot of women don't feel that.

RAY: Precisely⁵ why I wanted to put it in writing.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Relevant and omnipresent, she is. There is "Rachael Ray" the show, the cookbooks, the cookware, the magazine, a new venture with Uber Eats. It's a long way from her working-class childhood and her adored Sicilian grandfather who taught her to love Italian food.

In the book, she has a chapter about sardines⁷ and the story of her first day at school, where she was put in a dress, and she took her favorite sardine⁶ sandwich to eat. It did not go well.

RAY: So I came home that day being the stinky girl in the funny clothes with the funny shoes. And I said I'm never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going back to school ever, ever, ever again. And I was crying, you know, that kind of choking crying (gasping⁸), you know, where you sound like a gasping seal or sea lion or something.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And then her grandfather gave her an important lesson that she's carried with her, she says, ever since.

RAY: There's plenty in life that you have no control over that you will cry about. Certainly your vanity should never be one of them.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: We should say that Rachael Ray at this point is not only telling me her story.

RAY: Well, you can't put a cook next to a stove and not expect that two things are going to happen - cooking and talking...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) That's true.

RAY: ...Especially when...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: ...She's making us her favorite Spaghetti Puttanesca.

RAY: So this is Puttanesca. I've just splashed some onto the counter here. But I do things a little differently than some people. I melt the anchovies⁹ into the - copious¹⁰ amounts of EVOO, or olive oil, first over moderate heat. And then I throw in lots and lots of grated or thinly sliced garlic.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The smell, spicy¹¹ and warm, floats up from the pan.

RAY: The most important thing for me is the spirits, the Italian dry vermouth. When we cook with seafood¹² in my family, we always use dry vermouth because it kills the smell of seafood in your kitchen.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Even though it looks and smells divine, Ray has always been adamant¹³ that she's not a chef. She says her roots as a waitress is really what sets her apart. And so when her big break came first on local TV and then national, she didn't expect it.

RAY: The television thing is a very weird¹⁴ happening for me and certainly not anything I planned for. And I don't know that I thought I wasn't worthy¹⁵ of it. I just thought, well, that's not me. That's for other people, you know? I serve people. I'm the service person. I wait on people that are on TV. I'm not on TV. And, you know, that's what I told Food Network. But they said I was wrong and come on back and sit down. So I did (laughter).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: There have been many serendipitous¹⁶ moments in her life since. Still, even now with all the success and fame, she feels like the trappings don't define her.

RAY: In general, every time I put high heels on and I have to go somewhere in a dress I feel uncomfortable in, I'm not supposed to be at the party.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You keep saying that. And it strikes me that after all...

RAY: Because it's the absolute truth. I don't want people looking at my body or what I chose to wear that day. I don't care who made my shoes. I just don't.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And that's become her brand - connecting with average people and making famous people who come onto her show regular and relatable, too.

RAY: I don't really want to know who you're sleeping with unless I'm that person. But I am interested in your favorite flavor of ice cream. Are there kooky, weird party skills or tricks that you know? Can you juggle¹⁷? What's your favorite color - like, stuff you would just say to somebody you're getting to know at a regular party. You know, Hugh Jackman at the kitchen table, who's hilarious¹⁸ and told the funniest story ever about how he forgot to pee before the show once and when he was playing a Disney prince actually wet himself onstage when he hit a high note (laughter), I love that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: She has also controversially remained loyal to Mario Batali, the celebrity¹⁹ chef who has had multiple allegations of sexual harassment²⁰ and a pending²¹ court case. They competed together on "Iron Chef," and he nominated her for Time 100's Most Influential²² People in 2006. She says she hasn't asked him about the allegations, though she still talks to him.

RAY: I have spoken to him, and I've spoken to his family. And if and when I feel comfortable asking about it or feel that the family is healed to a point that they want to have that discussion, maybe we will in the future. I don't know. But it's not relevant to the relationship I have with them. And I don't have that firsthand knowledge, and it's not - I don't think it's fair once people have gone through something that's so traumatic and dramatic - and that's a family. I've known that family a very long time. That - I don't think of it as one person. I think of it as a whole unit, you know? I've known those children since they were literally²³ babies. I am not that person.

I hate it when people do it to me, bring up something that's hateful. Like, for years and years, I'd go to interview after interview, and people would bring up the website I Hate Rachael Ray or show me clips of other professionals that are food people that are on television, and they would play them saying whatever about me.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hurtful things.

RAY: Right.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But when people were criticizing you before, that was their opinion on things that had nothing to do with how you may or may not have behaved in a professional setting. What's different about this is that this was something that happened in...

RAY: Unless it's a professional setting that I...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Professional setting.

RAY: ...That have a percentage of or firsthand knowledge of, it is not my place to tell other people how to run their businesses or their lives. It just isn't.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Ray says she knows that the industry has been roiled²⁴ by the #MeToo movement. But when I ask her about it, she comes back to her favorite theme, hard work.

RAY: I think I've always been treated extremely fairly at work. Yeah, do we speak inappropriately in kitchens? Men and women, both of us do. When I have made less money than a man, it has been my choice. I am a person who looks at long ball. It's a strategy thing. That doesn't mean I'm not super empathetic and supportive of women in the industry that have gone through hell. You know what I mean? And I think that it is my duty as a female in her 50s working in this industry to give tons of respect to that and as much support as possible for women that have had challenges in male-dominated business - not just this one, but in general.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The pasta is ready. I asked Rachael Ray, with so much that she's achieved, now that she's over 50, what mountains are left to climb.

RAY: It's not like any one thing is at the top of the list - like, oh, my God. I have to do that, or my head's going to pop off. I'm happy to - I have a very low bar.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And then she ends our interview in the same way she began, with hospitality.

RAY: Two kisses - Italian.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Two, yeah.

RAY: Eat your spaghetti.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

2 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

3 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

4 savory   

adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的

参考例句：

• She placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming meat.她将一大盘热气腾腾、美味可口的肉放在他面前。
• He doesn't have a very savory reputation.他的名誉不太好。

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 sardine   

n.[C]沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• Every bus arrives and leaves packed as fully as a sardine tin.每辆开来和开走的公共汽车都塞得像沙丁鱼罐头一样拥挤。
• As we chatted,a brightly painted sardine boat dropped anchor.我们正在聊着，只见一条颜色鲜艳的捕捞沙丁鱼的船抛了锚。

7 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

8 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

9 anchovies   

n. 鯷鱼，凤尾鱼

参考例句：

• a pizza topped with cheese and anchovies 奶酪鳀鱼比萨饼
• Pesto, mozzarella, parma ham, sun dried tomatoes, egg, anchovies. 核桃香蒜，马苏里拉，巴马火腿，干番茄，鸡蛋，咸鱼。

10 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

11 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

12 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

13 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

14 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

15 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

16 serendipitous   

adj.偶然发现的

参考例句：

• There was a serendipitous second advantage working with a library of equations. 利用方程库有个意外收获的附带好处。 来自互联网
• Strategic networking prepares us for serendipitous moments. 战略性人际交往让我们为不时之需做好准备。 来自互联网

17 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

18 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

19 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

20 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

21 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

22 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

23 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

24 roiled   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. 当今美国社会正被有关同性恋婚姻的争论搞得不得安宁。 来自互联网
• In the past few months, instability has roiled Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. 在过去的几个月里，西藏和藏人居住区不稳定。 来自互联网