For two decades, Rachael Ray had been an intrinsic part of the Food Network’s DNA. She was both prolific — one year she reportedly delivered a staggering 263 episodes to the cable channel — and versatile. With her easy-going on-air presence and an arsenal of accessible recipes, she joined the network in 2001 with her landmark program, “30 Minute Meals” along with several travel shows, including “$40 a Day” and “Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels,” which she eventually parlayed into her long-running CBS talk show “Rachael Ray.”
Then, last May, Ray announced that she was moving on from “Rachael Ray” after 17 seasons. There was some industry chatter that she was leveraging the popularity of the show to negotiate a new blockbuster contract with the Food Network (one reportedly bigger than Bobby Flay’s multi-year $80 million deal), however, she instead announced that she was shifting into production by launching Free Food Studios, formed last year with longtime collaborators Brian Flanagan, Anthony Amoia and Sean Lee.
