Rachael Ray

The perky 38-year-old has published over a dozen cookbooks and hosts four TV shows | Gene Edward Veith

G.K. Chesterton said that there is no such thing as a boring subject. There are only bored persons. Everything in God's creation is intrinsically interesting, though we are so dull-minded that we often miss the wonder of it all.

It follows that the right guide can make anything fascinating. You don't have to care about cars to find NPR's Car Talk entertaining, thanks to the wit and bantering of Click and Clack (aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi). And you don't have to care about cooking to appreciate Food Network superstar Rachael Ray.

Ms. Ray was a food-buyer for an upstate New York market when her classes on how to fix great meals in only 30 minutes attracted media attention. Now, the perky 38-year-old has published over a dozen cookbooks and hosts four TV shows.