Today I had the good fortune to be part of the audience for a taping of the Rachael Ray Show. This is what happens when you’re otherwise unemployed – people invite you to do something and you get to say yes because you literally have nothing else to do. 

Image Credit: Rachael Ray Magazine

So after reading and re-reading the e-mail that detailed when/where/what to wear about 12 times, I headed off to meet up with Jeff and A (Jeff gets his full name because he IS Jeff in Harlem, I forgot to ask A what I should call her. You’ll learn why this anonymity is important in a minute) so we could grab lunch before we went to the studio. And yes, they dictate to you what you may not wear. Sequins and velour tracksuits are on the list of no – which makes me sad this list doesn’t also apply to every day situations.

We waited in line for what seemed like ages before we could pass through security. Then there was more waiting to do when we actually got upstairs to where they tape the show. We were kept in the “audience holding room” where they tried to keep us occupied with bagels and bottled water. Finally someone came out to explain the rules – no gum chewing, no phones, etc. and then we were allowed into the studio itself. 

The actual seating area is on a turntable and the set is shaped around that. I never gave any thought to this issue, but when you have a complex set with different “room” areas, you need the audience to face whichever “room” you’re in while taping. So the audience turns. 

Fortunately, rather than have some annoyed “I’m too busy and important to do this” director-type trying to explain everything to the audience members, the show has a “warm up guy” – RC. Essentially his role is to keep the audience entertained so we remember to behave while the cameras are rolling. 

Rachael Ray is not a live show, so even though she rushes to commercial breaks this isn’t because a commercial is imminent. The stage manager ducks in front and holds up a little sign so she knows to wrap up her segment. Then about 4 or 5 people descend on that area of set and start preparations for the next segment. 

It was hard to actually see the cooking because of all the equipment in the way, but we got to see two different recipes being prepared and a segment on how to pick out cheeses. I love cheese, so there were lots of good tips to learn. But what I found most exciting was the point during the show where Rachael told us what the snack of the day would be.

For those of you who don’t know, Miss Fiercehair is a huge RR fan, to the extent that she even uses Rachael’s signature acronym EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). She’s also a big cupcake fan, so when I saw that we would be getting spaghetti and meatball cupcakes as our snack of the day, I almost jumped out of my seat. 

Then there was a moment which I think might have been terrifying for Jeff when I realized not only were we getting these cupcakes, but we were getting the book which tells us how to make these cupcakes. In my excitement I grabbed his arm, probably scaring him half to death. Sorry Jeff!

After a short video, they passed out our cupcakes, which I lovingly transported all the way home so I could photograph it for you all. 

And then while Rachael was changing outfits, there was a segment where RC decided to give out prizes. He pulled a girl from the audience to guess the name of the song that the sound guy was going to play. And next he came and pulled me up! 

It was the moment I had been anxious about the entire taping. He would call on random people from the audience and ask questions about them – usually of the “what do you do” variety. I hoped he wouldn’t call on me because who wants to admit to a room full of people that you’re (1) currently unemployed and (2) not following the unspoken rules about being currently unemployed, namely that you’re not staying at home and wallowing in shame over your lack of employment out of sight of all of those people who are so fortunate as to still have jobs ? 

Anyway, he pulled me up to guess the song and asked me just that. So I said I was a writer, and when he asked what I wrote, I shamelessly mentioned this blog. And then I couldn’t guess the song that played (Angel of Harlem). But I don’t feel terribly bad about that because it’s a U2 song and we all know how I feel about them. 

But he asked me to put a link to his website on my blog, and so there it is. 

I still got a prize, even though I couldn’t guess the song. Probably because I had to come stand in front of the whole audience. A sweet little box of these coconut and chocolate chip concoctions

Anyway, if you get a channel that carries the Rachael Ray show, you can expect to look for me in about a week or two. When I get more details, I’ll pass them on. 

And now I present to you my spaghetti and meatball cupcake:

If you’re wondering, the cake was vanilla, the “spaghetti” was frosting, the “meatball” was a ferro rocher candy, and the “spaghetti sauce” was fruit preserve. And that whole cookbook I got was full of fun creations like this, so expect to see some fun things in the near future. 

I’m really excited to do something like this again. It was tiring, and took a lot of waiting, but as long as I’m here I might as well go see those shows I can, right?

Edit: I fixed Miss Fiercehair’s link above. Sorry, Fiercehair!