That viewers can picture David Venable at their side, helping them cook something new or newly imagined like he grew up doing with his single mom is part of the compelling attraction of QVC’s most-watched show.

More a practical, hands-on demonstrator than a food trend pioneer, Venable is true to his story: a regular guy who turned to QVC from broadcast journalism in 1993 when the West Chester company was just 7 years old and far from the $8.8 billion heavyweight it is today.

“He is so insanely sincere when he goes to work,” celebrity chef Rachael Ray said in a New York Times feature last week. “David doesn’t go to work to sell. He goes to work to be enthusiastic. His audience can smell a fake, and David is not fake.”

He has risen the QVC ranks from a culinary fill-in to the adored star of his own twice-weekly show,“In the Kitchen With David,” and he has little trouble hosting other food celebrities and stardom-seeking chefs and authors.

Among his more memorable introductions is guest Ina Garten and the ensuing company-record sale of 30,000 copies of her book in 25 minutes, 4 seconds. And he regularly showcases the likes of Rachael Ray, who once sold $4 million in cookware in a single overnight marathon. Ray, in particular, said she likes the unique QVC format because she can tell the story behind each product.

“He interviews guests before the show,” the Times article stated, “but works mostly off his inherent interest in cooking and tips from a producer who tracks call volume in real time, watching how viewer interest rises or falls depending on what Mr. Venable does on air. He speaks to Mr. Venable constantly through an earpiece, telling him how sales are going and when to take another bite of a brownie or mention the price of the ribs.”

It’s a presentation of cookware and cookbooks that brings to life the mesmerizing food that accompanies them so much that viewers can practically smell and taste it.

“No one else is doing that,” Venable said in the feature. “People don’t just want the recipe. They want to be part of the story.”

Read much, much more of what goes on behind the scenes in the kitchen with David Venable in The New York Times here.