Martha Stewart: Rachael Ray Can't Cook

She's an "entertainer," says crafts queen

Homemaking guru Martha Stewart said Rachael Ray doesn't have the chops to be a TV chef -- and slammed her cooking for being half-baked.

Stewart, who was locked up from 2004-05 for insider trading, told ABC's "Nightline" that Ray's efforts are "not good enough for me" and that the prolific author whose embrace of phrases such as "Oh my gravy!" is admittedly nauseating simply rips off and recasts old recipes for her new 30-minute meal books.

"She's more of an entertainer than she is, with her bubbly personality, than she is a teacher like me," said the crafts queen. "That's not what she's professing to be."

Ray, who has built an empire out of hosting a TV show and peddling cookbooks, said she refused to allow Stewart's searing comments to ignite a food fight.

"Why would it make me mad?" Ray told ABC. "Her skill set is far beyond mine. That's simply the reality of it. That doesn't mean what I do isn't important, too ... I don't consider it needling. I really just think she's being honest."

The "yum-o" dropping TV chef who coined such gems as "entreetizer" (an over-sized appetizer) and "stoup" (stew and soup) has had no formal training and admitted in the past she can't even make coffee.

"I'd rather eat Martha's [food] than mine, too," she said.

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