Rachael Ray can follow all her best recipes to a tee this holiday, but Christmas won’t feel the same, no matter what.
“My mom passed away,” the celebrity chef and TV personality tells Yahoo at the start of our call — the first time she’s spoken publicly about it. “I have been crying quite a bit, but they’re tears of gratitude.”
Elsa Scuderi had a remarkable “92-year run,” Ray, 57, says of her mother. A restaurateur who heavily influenced the Rachael Ray's Meals in Minute s host’s culinary career, Scuderi was a true “workhorse” who, at the height of her career, ran 12 restaurants. That drive rubbed off on Ray, who says her mother “gave me my work ethic” and “snapped us into ‘man-up mode’ from childhood.”
Ray was by her mother’s side in her final days, leaving nothing unsaid.
“She passed at home, in my home, and that's what she wanted,” Ray says. “We had lots of wonderful adventures together, and in her last days, all I did was tell her the great stories of our lifetime together. The closure was a wonderful gift. It’s certainly the best gift this holiday season.”
She adds: “I’m very grateful to be her daughter. I've had a very blessed life in many, many ways. So it's just not the happiest of holidays this year, but still one I'm filled with nothing but gratitude for. … It’s just a weird time of year to be without her.”
For nearly three decades, Ray has strived to make people's lives easier and more nourishing through her quick, approachable recipes, often inspired by her family, including her maternal grandfather , who lived with them. With catchphrases aplenty — ”Delish,” “Yum-o” — the 30 Minute Meals guru has built an empire spanning media, kitchenware and pet food.
Yet this has been a time of new opportunity. In 2023, Ray signed off from her eponymous syndicated daytime talk and lifestyle show after 17 years to pivot. She launched her own production company, Free Food Studios, and partnered with A+E Global Media’s Home.Made.Nation to create in-the-kitchen programming and develop new culinary talent. The slate — which also includes Rachael Ray Holidays, Rachael Ray's Rebuild and Rachael Ray in Tuscany — airs on A&E and FYI and streams on Disney+ and Hulu. In October, the deal was extended through 2026.
Unlike some cooking shows , Ray is in her own home — whether it’s in New York or Tuscany — chopping things up in her kitchen and putting the remnants in her garbage bowl . The shows are personal and family-centric, with her husband of 20 years, entertainment attorney and musician John Cusimano, mixing cocktails, and her sister, Maria Betar , lending a hand, just as Mama Scuderi would have no doubt approved.
“It's our real lives, our real kitchens,” Ray says about the new shows . “I have more control over what I do now that I'm the partner instead of the talent. It's a different group of opportunities and freedom that I have.”
She adds, “It's just exciting to still be relevant, especially as a woman in her 50s.”
