There was a giant serving of frosting when dueling domestic divas Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray bumped into each other at hot new restaurant Il Buco Alimentaria & Vineria.
The atmosphere froze over when the rival cuisine queens found themselves at nearby tables at the buzzy Great Jones Street eatery on Thursday night.
Witnesses said Stewart, whose daytime television show was recently canceled, was “noticeably glaring in Ray’s direction throughout her meal.” Meanwhile, Ray, who was seated with Time magazine food writer Josh Ozersky, became visibly uncomfortable — so much so that after having her appetizer, she left with her main course in a doggie bag.
Sources told us Stewart may have the knives out because Ray’s daytime show is moving into her now-vacated studio.
Another witness told us: “Martha was staring Rachael down as soon as she walked in with a group of friends. Martha looked disgruntled. You could definitely feel Martha’s heat in that kitchen.”
A third source added: “They were both there for dinner unbeknownst to the other. Rachael’s daytime show is moving into Martha’s old studio. I’m sure Martha isn’t excited that Rachael is moving into her space. Rachael is fond of Martha; she’s had her on her show before. It was very uncomfortable for Rachael. She and her group had their appetizers, then asked for their entrees to go.”
Relations between the two TV titans came to a boil once before, in 2009, after Stewart told “Nightline,” “[Rachael] just did a new cookbook, which is just a re-edit of a lot of her older recipes. And that’s not good enough for me . . . Rachael is different. She’s more of an entertainer . . . with her bubbly personality, than she is teacher, like me. That’s not what she’s professing to be.” Stewart later issued a half-apology. Ray’s spokesperson declined to comment, and Stewart’s rep said, “Martha was not aware Rachael was in the restaurant.”