Rachael Ray Reveals the 1 Thing She’d Never Put on a Burger (Exclusive)

Rachael Ray knows a bully burger.

While hosting Blue Moon Burger Bash 2.0 astatine nan New York City Wine & Food Festival connected Friday, Oct. 17, nan personage navigator and TV characteristic told PEOPLE she’s emceed nan yearly arena and its Miami counterpart for what “feels for illustration a million” years.

“It's conscionable fun,” she says of nan culinary celebration. “I mean, what's not to love? The money ever goes to a bully place. People are conscionable having nosy and eating nutrient that you tin transportation successful your hand. The full conception from nan get-go was conscionable ‘Let's inquire immoderate of nan top chefs successful nan world to put their nutrient connected thing you tin conscionable transportation astir and make it accessible for everyone.’ And it seems to still beryllium working.”

While nan participating chefs offered a assortment of toppings and condiments connected their meaty creations, Ray says she doesn’t person a individual must-have connected a burger.

“The must-have for a burger is your passion for wanting to person a burger,” she explains. “I make burgers retired of fish, meat, works proteins, everything. But nan constituent is to conscionable make nan personification you're feeding happy, that's it, and to person adjacent amounts, bread, toppings. Every wound of each sandwich that you ever eat successful each of your life should each beryllium precisely nan same.”

“And truthful I'm a existent symptom successful nan a-- astir that,” she adds. “I trim up each nan bacon into thirds. I portion each of my pickles nan aforesaid size. I make judge that each wound of each sandwich I make of immoderate benignant is precisely nan same.”

However, there’s 1 point she’d skip adding to her burgers: jarred mayonnaise.

“If I make nan aioli, I emotion it, it's good and great, but I don't for illustration shelf-stable mayonnaise that tin beryllium astir for an indeterminate magnitude of time. I don't attraction for that,” she says.

“That freaks maine out,” she adds. “I don't for illustration nan thought of a shelf-stable egg, which is weird because I support my caller eggs connected nan counter. I don't moreover support them successful nan fridge. I support them connected nan antagonistic because, if you usage them quickly, that's fine.”

Ray says she spends a batch of clip successful Italy, wherever that’s customary.

“They stamp nan existent ovum support pinch nan day of erstwhile it goes bad, truthful I know,” she says. “Most group successful mini towns especially, they bargain caller eggs, and their eggs are each stamped like, literally, connected nan shelf, truthful we each support them successful an ovum handbasket connected nan counter. That's nan measurement I grew up. That's nan measurement my grandpa did it, truthful I consciousness for illustration I person to make aioli pinch caller ovum aliases don't person it.”

This year, Ray had a typical co-host for Burger Bash: Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, who joined her while representing his basking condiment brand, Cloud23.

The arena besides featured a sheet of personage judges — including Ja Rule, Ana Navarro and Sunny Anderson — to measurement successful connected nan beefy innovations, which utilized Pat LaFrieda’s civilization burger blend arsenic a base.

Over nan past 17 years, NYCWFF has raised much than $14.8 cardinal for charitable organizations. 

This year, nan festival’s big and beneficiary was Event Zero Foundation, which promotes sustainable arena practices. NYCWFF besides collaborated pinch nan James Beard Foundation, which is devoted to building ”a vibrant, equitable and sustainably independent edifice industry.”

Ray besides hosts nan South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash each year.

While chatting pinch PEOPLE astatine nan arena successful February, nan Meals successful Minutes big reflected connected why she enjoys these events.

“I emotion nan conception of asking nan world's top chefs to travel and put their activity connected a bun,” she said.

Proceeds from SOBEWFF’s show summons income use Florida International University (FIU) and its students preparing to activity successful nan hospitality industry. Past years person already raised much than $40 cardinal full for FIU.

Ray added of nan Florida-based festival, “I travel present because I emotion nan kids and pushing each of their lives forward. For complete 20 years, I travel present retired of loyalty. I deliberation that's a large portion of life.”