you sound just like him! i never said he said he was a great chef. not once. and yes, he had more credentials than rachel ray. so what? not everyone has to. there are markets for everyone of different levels. and some people like me dont need some fancy ass shit that uses weird ass ingredients. so ray tapped into those people who liked more simple food.
his buddy eric rippert is a great chef. way better than rachel. but i bet i would like hers more than his $200 plate of food that would leave me still hungry when i was done. i am pretty sure she never tried to pass herself off as any master. but like many classically trained chefs, he shit on regular cooks.
and he wore his being an asshole and former drug addiction as a badge of honor. my ex step dad was the same way (with the asshole part). he would always say, "yea, i am an asshole, but at least i admit it!" congrats. you are still an asshole.
and of course there was his war on chain restaurants. according to him it was absolutely impossible for them to have a single decent thing to eat. that just tells me he is completely out of touch and elitist