Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanette.
Hi jeanette, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My career has always revolved around food, storytelling, and connecting with people. I spent more than 15 years working at The Rachael Ray Show, where I started behind the scenes and eventually became a culinary producer and on-air contributor. During that time, I helped develop recipes, produce food segments, and tell stories that made cooking feel approachable and fun for everyday families.
Once the show ended, I was ready to build out more of who I was as a producer, creative, mother, food lover and New Jersey enthusiast, which is when @JeanetteMadeIt was born. It’s where I share recipes, restaurant discoveries, product reviews, family adventures, and the realities of balancing work, motherhood, and life. What started as a passion project has grown into a thriving community of people who trust me to give honest recommendations and bring them along for the journey.
Today, I work as a food writer, content creator, and media personality, collaborating with brands, covering food and lifestyle trends, and creating content that helps families discover great food and experiences. Through it all, my mission remains the same: to create content that informs, inspires, and helps people make meaningful memories around food and family.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I think that’s part of what makes the journey worthwhile. One of the biggest challenges was building a personal brand while maintaining work/life/family balance. You think you have a full work day, and the school nurse calls to say your child needs to be picked up. and vice, versa – I don’t want to be constantly working when my kids are around, I chose this lifestyle in part to be really present with them and not commuting for endless hours a week at a 50 hour a week job.
Another challenge has been adapting to the constantly changing media landscape. The way people consume content today is completely different than it was even five years ago…sometimes 5 minutes ago! It’s a constant evolution and Staying relevant means being willing to learn new skills and embrace change, even when it’s uncomfortable.
What I’ve learned along the way is that success rarely happens in a straight line. Some of my best opportunities have come from taking chances, saying yes to things that felt a little scary, and being willing to pivot when a plan wasn’t working. Those challenges have ultimately helped me grow both professionally and personally.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Today, I wear a few different hats, but at the core of everything I do is storytelling. I’m a food writer, content creator, and former television producer who helps people discover great food, products, experiences, and traditions. My work spans recipe development, product testing, restaurant features, family lifestyle content, brand partnerships, and editorial writing.
My experience working under Rachael Ray gave me a unique understanding of both what makes a great story and how to present it in a way that connects with an audience. Today, I bring those same skills to my own platform, where I create content that feels approachable, trustworthy, and entertaining.
I’m probably best known for my honest approach. Whether I’m ranking grocery store products, trying a viral recipe, highlighting a local restaurant, or partnering with a national brand, my audience knows they’re getting my genuine opinion. In a world where so much content feels overly polished or transactional, I’ve built my platform around authenticity and trust.
What I’m most proud of is creating a career that bridges traditional media and modern digital content. I’ve been able to take the storytelling skills I learned in television and apply them to a rapidly changing media landscape while staying true to who I am. I’m also incredibly proud of the community I’ve built—one that values curiosity, family, good food, and real recommendations.
I think what sets me apart is that I don’t just create content; I produce it. My background in media taught me how to identify compelling stories, understand audience behavior, and create content with purpose. Every post, article, video, or partnership starts with the same question: “Why will people care?” That combination of editorial experience, on-camera personality, and genuine connection with my audience has allowed me to build lasting relationships with both viewers and brands.
Spending 17 years in a kitchen with wildly talented food professionals was very helpful in shaping my lens. I love making creative food displays (grazing boards/tables/candy bouquets), and locally, my community looks to me for the next it cool food thing they can purchase and enjoy with friends…an extension of storytelling that I love. My friends call me a “jill of all trades”
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
One thing that surprises people is that while many know me from food content and television, I actually spent most of my career behind the scenes before ever stepping in front of a camera. Producing taught me to think like a storyteller first, which is probably why I approach content differently than many creators today. Even now, when I’m filming a quick social media video, I’m thinking about narrative, audience engagement, and what will make someone stop scrolling.
I’ve also won 2 Emmy Awards for my work in television – one with my Rachael Ray Show team and one for being the showrunner on a food network series, Delicious Miss Brown. They sit on a messy shelf in my kitchen office nook.
Another thing people may not realize is that I have my B.S. in Biology! I think that way of learning still suits me, because I genuinely love the research side of what I do. Whether I’m testing viral recipes or ranking flavors of something, I enjoy digging into the details and understanding the “why” behind something. The taste test, restaurant feature, or final video is only a small piece of the process…the investigation is often my favorite part.
One more thing is as creative and good of a cook that I am, I am such a bad baker. I’m not sure if this is just a distracted era of my life (my kids are 6 and 3), but focusing on a baking project long enough to make it work…ain’t my style right now. Luckily there are amazing local bakers in my area I can lean on!
Pricing:
- This isn’t pricing, but Amongst all the content creation, I still run and own a local catering business where I mostly do on site grazing tables and installations of cool food displays
- My local where to eat/go content has been performing the best in the last month, solidifying my community is always looking for the next delicious bite
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jeanettemadeit.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jeanettemadeit
- Facebook: instagram.com/jeanettedonnarumma
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanettedonnarumma
- Twitter: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeanettemadeit. – Tik Tok!
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeanettemadeit
- Other: https://parade.com/author/jeanette-donnarumma – link to all my stories on parade.com
