F: Is for Food Personalities making a show!

For those of you who have never heard of Rachel Ray you have been hiding you head in the sand. The perky chef has been all over the news as of late. First there are the rumblings that her talk show, produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, may be cancelled as soon as her contract expires in 2010. The problem is her ratings, which were a meager 2.5 when she debuted two years ago are dropping steadily. Also Rachael's set is very expensive and elaborate. If Ray is axed, a possible replacement is already in the works: King World is producing a chat show for Marie Osmond, which will be ready by 2010.

Rachael Ray is be the world's most talked about chef and not in a good way. Entire blogs are devoted to slamming the perky Food Network superstar—"Rachael Ray Sucks" is particularly vicious. On Web sites like Gullet, a "society for culinary arts and letters," users say she should be "tarred and feathered." And professional chefs, including Slate food writer Sara Dickerman, turn up their noses when Ray comes around. It's easy to see why using boxed corn muffin mix for her Cracked Corn and Cheese Squares, and chunky peanut butter in her Thai Salad With Peanut Dressing. She loathes baking so her "homemade" desserts is Black Cherry Ice Cream With Chocolate Sauce: Buy the ice cream and top with chocolate sauce and a dash of cherry liqueur (Reddi-Wip is optional). She endorsed a Burger King chicken sandwich in 2003.

Ray's ditzy demeanor also makes her easy to dismiss what with the constantly praises of her own cooking. The acknowledgments in her $40 a Day cookbook read like a high-school yearbook: "Don …You are the tallest man we've ever had on crew, and yet you pack the smallest bag—ever! Cool." And it didn't boost her credibility when she posed for pinup shots in FHM. (One featured Ray licking chocolate off a spoon.) When the magazine hit newsstands, she said, "I think it is kinda cool for someone who is goofy, and a cook, just a normal person to be thought of in that way."

Today she hit newsstands with her South by Southwest music festival, Rachael Ray's artist showcase. "I guess people think that I just live in a kitchen but I love music, every type of music." "I know that I'm more than just a cook. I think that's why people probably thought it was so weird but I married a man who has an indie-rock band, so how is it that weird when you really think about it?" The band, The Cringe (led by her hubby John Cusimano), was among the performers at Ray's showcase, which had people lined outside the door waiting to get in. But music wasn't the only draw: after all, Ray's claim to fame is her cooking. She made up three recipes for the event, including a seven-layer slider and a vegetarian macaroni and cheese, which were among the dishes served up to the packed crowd.

No matter if you like her or hate her this is one girl who knows how to stay in the lime light and cook up publicity and that is a F.A.C.T.