How Rachael Ray Celebrated Her 2,500th Episode

Celebrity chef Rachael Ray just celebrated the 2,500th episode of her popular talk and cooking show Rachael Ray. The quirky chef first began sharing her quick and helpful recipe tips while working at a gourmet food shop in New York, and offering cooking classes. A local TV newscast promoted her "30-Minute Meal" classes and she was eventually noticed by Food Network. Numerous shows, books, and two Daytime Emmy Awards followed for her talk show Rachael Ray (via Biography).

Now, in celebration of the show's 2,500th episode, Ray invited her entire audience to cook with her. On the menu: beef pot pies (a vegetarian option was available). Eight Rachael Ray super fans joined Ray during the Zoom broadcast to follow along with the recipe live. Ray said, "We are here, even through the pandemic, and 15 years together; and we hope you guys are cooking along" (via Inside Edition). In true Rachael Ray style, she had a couple of time-saving tricks up her sleeve for the recipe.

Ray is known for making recipes a bit easier. So, when she made Impossible meat (for the vegetarian option) and beef pot pies for the 2,500th episode, she cut some corners with the recipe, calling it a "knockoff pot pie," because there was no bottom on the pie. Ray used a ready-made puff pastry for the top crust, which was baked separately, while other ingredients were being cooked on the stovetop (via Rachael Ray).

Ray created both the beef and meat-free versions side-by-side during the episode, using Impossible meat and vegetable stock for the meat-free version, and ground sirloin and beef stock for the beef version (via Rachael Ray). The super fans followed along with the recipe via Zoom and Ray checked in with them throughout to make sure their pot pies were coming along. In the end, everyone involved said that the pot pies were easy to make and delicious.