When Cutchogue’s Tanya McDowell learned that she’d been nominated by a friend to attend a special taping of the “Rachael Ray Show” at the studio in New York, she had no idea of what was in store. But she came away with a boatload of gifts — including a trip for two to Bermuda.
McDowell, who was nominated by her friend Patricia Burns for the show, which celebrated those working in the food service industry and aired Thursday, had no clue that the show would be Rachael Ray’s “Thank A Million” show, TV host’s biggest giveaway show ever, with a total of $1 million in gifts “to real-life heroes in the food service industry — everyone from a chef dedicated to getting kids back on their feet, to a waiter who saved a baby’s life,” according to the show’s website.
Also appearing on the show was Tom Selleck.
For McDowell, the day was a whirlwind, from beginning to end. McDowell, a server/dining manager at the Crazy Fork in Mattituck, has long been a fixture on the local restaurant scene, working at Front Street Station in Greenport and then at Fisherman’s Rest in Cutchogue before it closed.
Heading to New York last Thursday, McDowell wasn’t even sure she’d make it to the taping on time, due to an accident on the highway on the drive in. “I arrived at the Rachael Ray show 45 minutes late, thinking there was no way we were getting in.” Still at exit 31 on the Long Island Expressway at 9:10 am., she didn’t arrive at the studio until 10:50 a.m. and hopes were fading.
But Lady Luck was smiling on McDowell and her friend Christy Grattan, as they got to the studio and were ushered straight inside and to their seats.
And from that moment, the magic unfolded as a bevy of gifts was bestowed on the hardworking audience — the bounty included the trip to Bermuda, bedding, Rachael Ray cookware, food delivered to her home, hair care products, six months of a professional house cleaning service, a foot massager, jewelry, a blender, candles, luggage, airline miles redeemable for two round trip airline tickets, and more.
“I’m still in shock,” McDowell said the day after the taping. “It’s exciting.” McDowell, who has three kids, has also been a volunteer for the Cutchogue Fire Department for 10 years.
Rachael Ray, she said, decided to pamper those in the food service industry because she, herself, was once dishwasher who empathized with how difficult the profession could sometimes be.
After the show, McDowell said she and her friend were so jubilant that they called everyone they knew.
But the day after the taping, McDowell was back at work, shooting the breeze with the customers who have become as close as family, in a job that she loves.
Reflecting on her experience, McDowell said if she could send a message to Rachael Ray, she’d say, “Thanks a million!”
