Rachael Ray's Most Awkward On-Air Blunders

With two decades of cooking on live television, it's safe to say that Rachael Ray is an expert in the kitchen. Known for her eponymous talk show, "The Rachael Ray Show," which ran from 2006 to 2023, as well as many other TV appearances and countless cookbooks, Ray spends her life between the oven and the stove. She has laid bare her secrets on efficient cooking and even coined food phrases, like "EVOO" (extra virgin olive oil). But no matter how many hours of chopping and sautéing she does, Ray can't control every kitchen mishap.

The Food Network star has had more than her fair share of cooking segments gone awry — some moments even brought controversy. From small fires to exploding pesto, sometimes things don't work out the way the "Meals in Minutes" host intends. But given her laid-back approach to cooking, we wouldn't be surprised if Ray sees it all as part of the process. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for Ray, many of her mistakes have been caught on camera, and her editors are funny enough to keep a catalogue of the best bloopers online.

One incident caught on camera during a "Rachael Ray Show" taping is a great example of multitasking mayhem. During a 2015 episode of the talk show, while Ray was cooking up a delicious chicken dinner, the star turned her back on the stove to take green beans out of the oven. The mere seconds it took for her to put the tray of vegetables down on the counter were enough for a fire to start on the stove. As it turned out, Ray forgot to unwrap a dish towel from the handle of her cast iron pan, which didn't have a rubber handle attachment. Not to fret, Ray was laughing as she tossed the charred towel in the sink and said, "Well, I said it was one hot show; we started with LL Cool J and I set the kitchen on fiyah!"

A smoky kitchen happens more often than expected in Ray's home. On a 2019 episode of "The Howard Stern Show," she admitted that she has a hard time remembering what is not directly in front of her, which leads to the occasional out-of-sight fire. The one thing she said she cannot help but burn is bread. "I set bread on fire constantly and consistently," she told Howard Stern. Ray proved her point during a segment of her "Rachael Ray in Tuscany" show that she posted on Instagram in March 2025. Ray captioned the video of her crispy baguette: "The bread burning saga continues."

Nothing is more frustrating than battling a kitchen appliance. For Rachael Ray, it was a race against time when her food processor wouldn't start during a 2016 segment on "The Rachael Ray Show." While trying to puree a romesco sauce, Ray couldn't quite figure out how to screw on the lid of the food processor. "It's so embarrassing to be in public when this happens," she said. Eventually, Ray had to yell for help from a backstage crew member, who was able to secure the lid quickly, which hilariously humbled Ray.

The celebrity cook went head-to-head with her food processor again in January 2025, posting the incident on Instagram to give her fans a good chuckle. As she was explaining the difficulties of making the sauce in front of her, Ray said, "You know what else is hard to navigate? Turning on a new food processor." While she couldn't get help from a production assistant, she brought in the next best thing: her husband, John Cusimano. "This is turning into a party joke. How many people does it take to make the Cuisinart work?" Ray quipped. In the end, the pair got it going, but it just goes to show that even the best of the best have layman's problems.

Food processors are just scraping the surface of how many machine malfunctions can happen in the kitchen. Rachael Ray knows firsthand that blenders can snap back at you, too. Ray and her guest, Sunny Anderson, were making pesto chicken live on "The Rachael Ray Show" when they had a blender blunder. While blending the ingredients for the pesto, Ray and Anderson removed the appliance's lid and used the tamper to move the unblended mixture toward the blades. However, Anderson lost control of the tamper and both it and the lid went flying into the air, while pesto exploded out of the top of the blender at all angles.

Later in the clip, Anderson could be seen picking bits of pesto out of Ray's hair and clothes, as the host couldn't control her laughter. After literally ending the clip with a bang, Ray said: "You know the old adage: 'It ain't a party 'til you puke pesto.'" The audience roared with laughter, as Ray and her guest defeatedly high-fived, knowing it's all part of the cooking show fun, not to mention great for ratings.

Kitchen messes are just baked into the deal when you become a cook. That's why audiences embrace watching incidents like the great pesto explosion. However, Rachael Ray's own habit of being clumsy often increased the chances of a spill happening on the set of her talk show. In one instance, Ray accidentally spilled coffee all over her guest co-host, Kaleb Wyse, in 2015. While nudging Wyse on the arm as he was holding a cup of coffee, the brew splashed all over the table and into Wyse's hands.

Luckily, Regis Philbin was sitting at the table, making the situation ten times funnier. "This is bedlam here!" he shouted before the audience lost it (via YouTube). In Rachael Ray fashion, the talk show host said, "Hold, please!" before going and grabbing paper towels to wipe up the mess. As Philbin and Wyse continued their conversation, Ray not-so-discreetly crouched down, so she was at eye-level with the table, and wiped the surface clean. Luckily, Wyse's mom taught him not to cry over spilled milk, or in this instance, coffee.

Rachael Ray may be a culinary wizard, but she is helpless when it comes to baking. In a 2004 interview with Guideposts, Ray revealed the reason why her sister, Maria, does all the baking in her family. "Baking, to me, is like conducting a science experiment. All those precise measurements and exact times and temperatures," Ray said. "I don't have the patience for it. I don't even own a set of measuring cups." Ray's measuring cup mishap on a 2015 episode of "The Rachael Ray Show" makes a lot more sense knowing her amateur baking status.

While making a bundt cake with guest Jocelyn Delk Adams, Ray accidentally dropped a small glass measuring bowl of baking powder into the stand mixer. "So, don't do that at home," Adams cheekily warned the viewers as Ray stood there, covering her mouth and laughing. The host was so embarrassed that she made an "L" with her fingers and put it on her forehead, to signify that she felt like a loser.

The best part is that Ray knew her lack of skills with the Kitchen Aid would end up being the highlight of the episode, thanks to her crew. "On a professional talk show, the staff would edit that out," she said. "They are laughing their butts off in my control room, and that will become the promo for this show."