All the Things You Didn’t Know About Rachael Ray

Host Rachael Ray as seen on Food Network's Rachael Vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook Off Season 1

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All About Rachael

Ever wondered about Rachael’s ideal dinner guests, celebrity crush or favorite food? Read on for some surprising facts about this star.

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She's a Burger Fanatic

“Meat for dinner is my favorite. I’m a burger-obsessed person. I love burger night — I love ground meat of any kind!” she says.

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She Loves a Man Who Cleans

The way to her heart isn’t through food — it’s through washing dishes. “A man in the kitchen is very sexy,” she says. “Gentlemen: Get your butt behind the sink and you will be dessert!”

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She’s Very Picky About Eggs

Although eating on a budget is important to her, eggs are “one of those grocery items worth paying a premium for,” she says. She prefers Araucana (a South American breed of chicken that produces small, bluish-green eggs), though she recommends any type of cage-free egg from a small farm.

Ready to cook. Close-up top view of wooden cutting board and knife laying on it

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She Doesn't Like Fancy Kitchen Tools

“I’m not a big gadget person,” she says. In fact, her top kitchen staple is a large cutting board, which she lays over her sink to create extra counter space. Other picks: her Vitamix, an immersion blender and a Microplane — which is particularly “brilliant” in her book.

Women in her living room reading book and drinking tea

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She Wears Makeup Only for Work

She’s all makeup and blown-out hair for the cameras, but it’s a different story at home. “The second I’m inside my front door, I wash my face and put my hair in a ponytail. My entire wardrobe consists of flannel pajamas and [New York] Jets slippers,” she says.

LONDON - FEBRUARY 17: Singer Tom Jones arrives for the UK film premiere of "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind" at the UGC Haymarket February 17, 2003 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Li/Getty Images)

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She Has a Thing for Old-School Celebs

Her first (and biggest) celebrity crush was Tom Jones. Talk about a dream come true: She had the chance to meet — and feed — him on The Rachael Ray Show. “I really love feeding people that I’d never think in a million years I’d get to meet,” she says.

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She's a Dark-Meat Person

She’d take bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs over chicken breast any day. “I prefer it because you can’t screw it up,” she says. “It’s always affordable and always tasty.”

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She's a Committed Person

When asked, she keeps her relationship advice short, simple and to the point: “Once you go through all four seasons together, you gotta put a ring on it!” she says with a laugh.

White and brown interior for small kitchen with green elements

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She Designs for Small Spaces

Living in Manhattan for years taught her to get savvy about space — something that continues to inform her design choices. She designed her oval-shaped baking sets with cramped quarters in mind. “You can turn [the sister set of pans] sideways and they’ll both fit in your oven,” she says. “I did that because I’ve always had small kitchens.”

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She'd Pick Family Over Fame Any Day

When asked about her ultimate dinner guests, she nixed Hollywood actors and famous musicians. In fact, one of them wouldn’t even be human: She’d love to have dinner with her first dog, Boo, and her grandfather. “If there is a heaven, that’s who I’d be partying with,” she says. “My grandpa would want spaghetti with a lot of sardines or anchovies and Boo would want butternut squash.”