Watching Rachael Ray

Today, Rachael takes us all backstage on one of the biggest nights of her life - Café Uno Notte. I’m totally distracted by those big ass earrings… and the fact that her shirt is tucked in and the pants a little tight. But anyway…

She brought together five teenage chefs and President Clinton together to help her with the first annual charity event for Yum-O! and to launch the new Yum-O! Cookbook. Pretty daunting task for these kiddos, who not only cooked, but created their own menu. Rachael pulled them from all over the country to New York two days before the event.

Rhianna 17 says that she likes to make people happy with food. She was picked on in Jr High for being “the fat girl” and learning to cook helped chang her life. She wants to be a culinary teacher. Brett, 18, has been cooking since he was 11 and he loves to cook for his family, and teaches his younger brother helping him to open up to Brett and enjoy the meal at the end of the day. He’s also an assistant at the Young Chef’s Acadamy. 17 year old Aria is called the cake girl. She started her wedding cake business at 13, and is pleased to clear up misconceptions of how young she is by brandishing her portfolio. Bernie, 16, has been cooking as long as he can remember as his dad and grandparents are all professional chefs, and he wants to open his own restaurant. Chloe, 15, says she’s like an artist, plates are her canvas. She loves watching people discover new flavors - seeing their face as the taste explodes in their mouth is worth it.

They thought they were coming to New York to help Rachael cook something, but they discover upon arrival just who they will be cooking for - they’re the chefs, and will be running the kitchen with the help of Iron Chef Michael Symon.

With 24 hours to prep and create a menu,, Michael Symon takes them on a shopping trip through New York Markets and discover some of his favorite places to taste and work together to pull off a menu worthy of a president. Aria is tagged to make a big fancy cake, and Michael pairs up those with a little less experience with the more confident ones to even out the nerves a bit.

With 8 hours to prep and cook, they check over the finalized menu, and everyone gets their own Chef coats. The menu sounds fantastically yummy. They’re off and cooking, and the nerves are high, as they hope they don’t cut their fingers off, or stick to the meatballs, though Symon doesn’t leave them alone, there to help wherever he’s needed. Then disaster strikes with Aria and the cake! The third layer crumbled as she tried to place it on the cake, so now she has to go with two tiers instead of three, and she is struggling to not cry and says it’ll be fine, it’s all good. Hang in there Aria!

Out in the dining room, KC is on hand to take over the decorating of the entire tent, including framed pictures of the young chefs highlighted on the walls along with a chalkboard filled with their sayings. She shoes off to the kids, and they’re thrilled with the look and the way they’re showcased. Everyone gets an Enviro-Tote with Yum-o! on it too. She shows Rachael around when she arrives, and then President Clinton arrives for a tour of the kitchen as well.

The kids are shocked and amazed to meet President Clinton in the kitchen. Brett says he almost blacked out, but said some great things - to have someone that big give you the time of day is amazing. Rachael and President Clinton are shocked at how good the food looks - in a good way. President Clinton talked about their families with them, and Rhiannon says it’s mindblowing to think that someone like him thinks of her as a role model.

The dinner went off fantastically, and when it came time for desert - Aria’s cake - Rachael surprises each of the kids with a $10,000 scholarship toward their first year of collage, no matter where they want to go. Yum-o! wasn’t forgotten either, as they raised $200,000 for the charity during an auction. Everyone agrees that it was a fantastic evening, and it was topped off by Carly Simon giving a little mini concert - bringing many of the folks to tears. (..I don’t get it. But then again, I’m not a fan. Heh.)

To finish off the show, it’s dinner time, with Ratatouille.