My mom, whos been in the restaurant business for 40 years, is the number-one influence in my life. But I look up to a lot of people in the industry. Tops on my list is Mario Batali. My mom and Mario taught me the same lesson: Food is love. – Rachael Ray

When I do a 30-minute meal, for instance, on Food Network, thats my food you see at the end of the show and its not perfect. And if sometimes things break or drop or the pasta hits the wall when Im draining it, they never stop tape. They just kind of let me go with it. – Rachael Ray

We created a line of pet food called Nutrish thats made to human standards, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to animal rescue. One of our top-tier donors is the ASPCA, and they help us challenge animal shelters all across the country to get more animals placed in homes. – Rachael Ray