Rachael Ray Talks Martha Stewart Rivalry (VIDEO)

Rachael Ray spoke to Joy Behar Thursday night about her rivalry with Martha Stewart, who recently said that Ray's style of cooking is "not good enough" for her.

"She's very, very, focused," Ray said of Stewart, "but I think that's a very legitimate, fantastic way of teaching. It is the opposite end of how I teach. I like to go at it from, 'Hey, if I can do it, believe me anybody can' because for me, that's my truth."

Behar, who said that a guest could tell Stewart she had six months to live and Stewart wouldn't flinch, agreed with Ray that she and Stewart are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"Hers is the opposite," Behar said. "Hers is 'you can't do this.'"

Ray also defended the quality of her food.

"[Martha] has beautiful food," Ray said. "I'm very proud of my food, too. I think my food smells great and looks great and that anybody could reasonably do it in a reasonable amount of time."

Ray added that Stewart is always welcome to return to her show, but said, "I don't know if she would come back."

Watch:

Comments

[tttony]

11:18 AM on 12/22/2009

Me love Rachael.

[violettefemme]

08:55 PM on 12/21/2009

I don't see how anyone can really call one "better" than the other, they are simply not comparable....Martha is about creating a fine home, fine crafts, fine cuisine and the lifestyle of creativity at that level.

RR is more like the love child of a foodie and a pop culture maven....all her recipes are:

1--take a popular flavor or fast food concept, usually burgers, pizza, burritos or pasta, and flavors of ranch, chili or Italian seasoning.

2 make it into something else---if it's a burger, make it a burrito, if it's a burrito, make it a pasta

3 add jalapenos, unconditionally

optional: make it into a burrito first, then chop it up and use it as a pizza topping (extra credit, use 2 slices as the bun for a burger!)

That's Rachael Ray, basically, since she started, it's Superbowl Sunday every day!

[StellaRay]

05:45 PM on 12/21/2009

second thought, Streep could do a trilogy of cooks---Julia Childs, Martha Stewart and who?

[StellaRay]

05:43 PM on 12/21/2009

When is Meryl Streep going to do Martha? Now that would be yummy.

[apowskid]

11:45 AM on 12/21/2009

Both women are talented. If only the two could be cloned into one person! The blend of a Type A like Martha, perfection all the way and the spunky, enjoy what your doing Rachael, would create the perfect TV woman! Her name would be Ratha!

[supergenius02]

11:19 AM on 12/21/2009

Stewart is just jealous that Rachel Ray is the queen of the cooking shows. Stewart always came off as cold to me while Rachel Ray is very warm, personable and down to earth. I believe that more women see her as more like them. Plus, Rachel Ray is very cute so the guys like her too.

[grumbles]

10:21 AM on 12/21/2009

Martha is a great cook, a great stylist, a great housekeeper. She is not personable nor endearing and certainly needs help in the manners department. Rachel has been very gracious in this faux row and I, for one, wish she would let Martha have it. Martha and that daughter of hers, Alexis, both need to spend some of their fortune on the art of manners.

[mikeodd]

02:16 AM on 12/21/2009

This needs to settled in Kitchen Stadium!
It's not unprecedented -Rachel Ray & Giada battled (with the priceless assistance of Iron Chefs' Batali & Flay respectively) and it was specifically mentioned that it was by their request...so lets have it out ladies!

[Jaskoen]

04:30 PM on 12/21/2009

We DVR'd that last night - can't wait to watch it!

[mikeodd]

05:20 PM on 12/21/2009

It's a classic! I hope you did the same for 10 Best ICA Moments if you haven't seen it. Zany, yummy fun!

[Helen Manhan]

07:59 PM on 12/20/2009

RACHEL RAY IS WAY MORE LIKE NORMAL WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN. EX CON MARTHA PUTS OUT OVER THE TOP COOKING AND CRAFTS THAT HER 20 THOUSAND BEHIND THE SCENE PEOPLE SLAVE OVER AND SHE ACTS LIKE SHE DOES IT ALL HER SELF!!!!

[Jaskoen]

04:31 PM on 12/21/2009

No need to shout Helen, we're all right here.

[psychmaj323]

08:34 PM on 12/21/2009

LMAO, that's so true

[JaneQCitizen]

05:33 PM on 12/20/2009

Martha needs to come down off her high horse.

Rachael's style is for real people who have jobs, kids and not a lot of time. That's me. I don't have a garden, either Martha. So, I guess I'm not a real person either - I real person who shouldn't buy your books or products ever again.

[Spekkio]

03:43 PM on 12/20/2009

Sorry, but I prefer to watch shows with actual *chefs.* I have learned a lot from Emeril, Alton, and Gordon.

[indiamaria]

05:46 PM on 12/21/2009

Sure, we can all learn skills from the chefs. That doesn't take anything away from Ray's shows. I've learned alot from her as well especially how to laugh and enjoy cooking.

[mmonarch]

09:35 PM on 12/21/2009

My mom's in the hospital. I go there every day. We watch Rachel at lunch time. Mom has her lunch and we watch Rach together. I look at what Rachel is preparing and say to myself - either - I have that stuff in my pantry/freezer/fridge at home and that is going to be dinner tonight OR I can stop at the store and pick up this stuff because it is so easy to remember. I don't need the recipe most of the time - I can fake it. A great hot, nutritious, fresh meal. No weird ingredients, no special methods or procedures. Now, having said all of that (gee, I hate that expression but it does work) I have used Martha's recipes, Joy of Cooking, Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, Emeril. I am not a rookie in the kitchen. But I can watch Rachel for a half an hour and go home from the hospital and recreate it. I can't do that with Martha.

[mybostonjack]

02:22 PM on 12/20/2009

Both are equally irritating. We all know that the best female chef is Nigella Lawson. Bar none!

[jade7243]

08:32 PM on 12/20/2009

Not a chef... barely a cookbook author. She comes from a well-placed British family with some interesting "skeletons" in its closet. In British social circles, she was well-known for her "magnificent br/e/a/s/t/s." I have always recalled that line from an otherwise pleasant profile in Vanity Fair.

Seriously, the poor woman can barely handle a knife and if it weren't for the tragedy of her first husband dying young, leaving her a widow with two young children, she'd be just another busty brunette bustling about the buns and burners.

[Professorofdesire]

01:16 PM on 12/20/2009

I saw this. Joy was trying to egg Rachael into a controversy. Rachael wouldn't bite. The header for this story is an effort to sensationalize something that isn't at all sensational.

[RSKaz]

01:07 PM on 12/20/2009

The pot thickens! No one would be talking about either of these two divas were they not talking about themselves. Cooking should be a joy...a passion, not a competitive cat fight. If you can't stand the heat, ladies....

[lizmckenzie55]

10:17 AM on 12/20/2009

I absolutely love Rachel and use a few of her recipes on a regular basis (foodnetwork.com is a frequently used bookmark on my PC). I have never, ever used any recipe of Martha's. Martha is out of touch with middle and even lower income Americans. Come on, who really has the time or money to do what Martha does - even Emeril has recipes that are easy and cost conscious. Only one percent of the U.S. population holds the wealth and I would guess most of those people do not labor in the kitchen very much, so, in other words, Martha is pretty much useless.