Ray had experience in the kitchen from a young age, helping out in her family's restaurants in Cape Cod. In her early 20s she pursued her culinary aspirations in New York City, where she started out behind Macy's candy counter before managing its fresh foods department. In two years she became store manager and buyer for New York gourmet marketplace Agata & Valentina before relocating to upstate New York. There she managed the pubs and restaurants of Sagamore Resort on Lake George.

It was at Albany's gourmet market Cowan & Lobel, where she served as buyer, however, that Ray launched her television career. Combining her business acumen with her culinary skills, she offered cooking classes during the holidays in order to promote the market's sales. Her most popular offering, “30-Minute Mediterranean Meals,” gained the attention of the local media, and Albany's CBS affiliate station soon gave Ray a contract to produce a weekly cooking segment called “30-Minute Meals” for the nightly newscast. Ray's homespun demeanour—along with her quick and simple recipes, which used readily available prepackaged ingredients—proved to be an enormous success, and in its first year the segment was nominated for two local Emmy Awards, in addition to spawning a companion cookbook, which sold more than 10,000 copies.

Her work in local television led Ray to be hired by the Food Network, a popular cable television station. There she hosted a number of well-received programs, including 30-Minute Meals, $40 a Day, Tasty Travels, and Inside Dish. Ray's success on the Food Network allowed her to develop an extensive media brand around her preparation of 30-minute meals. In 2005 Every Day with Rachael Ray, a lifestyle magazine with Ray serving as editor in chief, began publication. She was the best-selling author of more than a dozen books, including Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals (1998), Rachael Ray 365 No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (2005), Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals: What to Keep on Hand, What to Buy Fresh for the Easiest-Ever 30-Minute Meals (2006), and Just in Time! (2007). In 2006 Ray expanded her media empire beyond cooking by venturing into the talk-show circuit with the launch of her new syndicated program, Rachael Ray.