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Famous TV Cook Books Plant City's Rachel Ray
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Published: February 5, 2009
PLANT CITY - Pediatrician Rachel Ray of Plant City has crossed paths with her famous namesake in a most unique way.
Producers of TV's nationally syndicated "Rachael Ray" flew the doctor to New York last month to be part of the show.
The amusing fluff piece was, simply, to demonstrate, "What is it like to have the name Rachel Ray," the physician said.
"They flew me up there, and they came down and filmed for a day here," she said.
Although the Rays spell their first names differently, the show's staff found the one in Plant City through an online search. After calling her, they probed further and found 100 more with the name from all walks of life. The number of show participants was culled to her and two other medical professionals, a nurse and a speech pathologist.
The segment includes scenes shot at the pediatrician's Lakeland medical office and Plant City home.
"It's amazing how much effort they put into five minutes of tape," Ray said.
The production crew even followed her to dine at Napin Thai restaurant in Plant City.
"They wanted to get a picture of me swiping a [credit] card" in hopes the cashier would notice her celebrity name.
Waitress-cashier Orapan "Mee" Latthipromma recognized Ray as a regular customer but did not know her by name.
"I was really surprised" to see the celebrity name, she said. "I looked at the card; well, could it be? But I knew in back of my mind it wasn't."
The comical double-take is not uncommon, Ray said. "They swipe your card, and they look at the name; they look at you, and they look at the name."
"When your name is that of a celebrity, funny things sometimes happen to you. Like once, when I went on the airplane, I went to check in, and they were all disappointed. Everyone was waiting for Rachael Ray," the TV star.
It's not her given name. "It's my married name. I wasn't born Rachel Ray," said the former Rachel Pennell.
Her husband, William Ray, a pediatrician at Plant City's South Florida Baptist Hospital, accompanied her to New York. They have four children.
The 41-year-old said she looks nothing like TV's Rachael Ray, but she has been a fan of the celebrity since the earliest days of her Food Network shows, which predate the syndicated program.
Soon after those first programs aired, a friend informed Ray, "There's a girl on the cooking channel with your name." Ray soon began watching. "When I was on maternity leave I watched a lot because I like they way she cooks," Ray added.
The live audience portion of "Rachael Ray" was part of a daylong taping of three one-hour shows before two audiences. Prior to taping, producers reviewed with Ray the questions the host would ask her during the taping. The doctor said she was "surprised how staged it all is."
Her complimentary two-day stay in "absolutely freezing" New York ended Jan. 14.
Hallie Goldfarb, a spokesman for the syndicated program, said the air date for the segment has not been set. Producers promised to alert the doctor once the air date is determined.
"Rachael Ray" airs at 2 p.m. weekdays on WFLA, Channel 8.
"It's like have a little taste of stardom without being a star," Ray said of her name.
Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433.
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