Contractor Anthony Carrino talks about helping families alongside Rachael Ray in ‘Rachael Ray’s Rebuild’

NEW YORK — Celebrity Chef Rachael Ray and her friend and contractor Anthony Carrino are teaming up to help families rebuild after experiencing a disaster with their homes.

Rachael experienced a disaster when her home caught fire and destroyed her kitchen back in August 2020.

Now that she has rebuilt her home, she and Carrino are helping others do the same.

“I’ve known her for nearly a decade, merely by proxy of me doing her daytime show so many times,” Carrino said. “We became fast friends. To be able to do a proper show with her is really cool. I tell friends, she’s the lady you think she is.”

It could be from a fire, flood, or other natural disaster. There’s a lot of emotion that goes into rebuilding.

“To be able to put my skill set to use and really get these folks home in a timely manner was very special,” Carrino said.

Carrino says that dealing with the permitting process and with insurance companies can sometimes take more of a toll on the homeowner than the actual disaster.

“It’s like pulling teeth to get information, my 25 years’ experience in this business was something I was able to lean on to help these folks who have never gone through a renovation let alone the disaster that they faced,” he said.

Once the construction is complete, Carrino says that Rachael cooks the family one of her famous meals in their new kitchen to help welcome them back home.

All 10 episodes of Rachael Ray’s Rebuild will premiere on Monday, October 23, streaming exclusively on Hulu.