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
Its continuously humbling to work hard, you know? As long as youve got a good work ethic and a sense of humor, I dont think anybody can become too much of an egoist under those circumstances. – Rachael Ray
If you want to look at the state of humans, you should look at the state of animals first. People are choosing whether or not they can feed an animal and their family. And every shelter coast-to-coast is stuffed. – Rachael Ray
I do 280 episodes of TV a year, write 15 recipes for the magazine, and publish an annual book. With all of that, we try to get one weekend a month with Isaboo at our home in the Adirondacks to relax and recharge. – Rachael Ray
On one level, nothings really changed in my life. I still drive my daughter in the car pool on Monday. But its impossible not to be aware of this rush of attention its impossible not to be seduced by it once youve entered into it, seduced by being unhappy when the attention wanes. – Michael Tolkin