It may be the most magical time of the year for Rachael Ray’s fans. On the heels of the FYI shows Rachael Ray in Tuscany and Rachael Ray’s Meals in Minutes, the TV cook is the star of a new A&E show, Rachael Ray’s Holidays, which premiered on Sunday, December 8.
“Isn’t this exciting?” Ray says in a trailer for the new show, as seen in her Instagram video below.
In a press release for the program — which kicked off with back-to-back episodes at 10 a.m. Eastern this morning — A&E explains that Ray loves to cook and entertain, particularly during the holiday season. “In each half-hour episode, Rachael Ray’s Holidays brings viewers into Rachael’s kitchen as she shares some of her favorite holiday dishes,” the network adds.
Furthermore, A&E says, Ray has “every type of holiday recipe covered for any type of gathering and celebration.” (Think chestnut and sausage stuffing, roasted garlic and rosemary prime rib, beef and chorizo chili with queso, and holiday lasagna.)
“Cooking and entertaining are both central parts of my life, but around the holidays it takes on an especially significant role for myself, my family, and many others” Ray says in the release. “It’s a time [when] we all gather to celebrate, and the joy of food and cooking is so unifying, so I’m especially excited to invite audiences into my home to share the familial traditions and recipes that make this time so meaningful.”
A&E also followed the two-episode Holidays premiere with the linear premiere of Rachael Ray’s Rebuild, which started streaming on Hulu last year. In that series, Ray and her team help disaster-impacted families get back on their feet.
Ray’s new show comes after clips from her Tuscany show sparked concerns for her health this summer, as some fans worried the former Rachael Ray host was slurring her speech.
Then, in October, Ray revealed on her new podcast, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, that she had suffered “a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks.”
Amid the ongoing speculation — which Ray has not publicly addressed — some have fans called for Internet users to leave Ray alone. Others have pointed out that the TV host is just getting older. When TMZ asked Ray’s team about the Instagram videos that had fans concerned, her reps responded to say they had no comment on the matter.
Rachael Ray’s Holidays, Sundays, 10a/9c, A&E
