$40 a Day

February 2024 August 2026 March 2025 40aDay-logo.jpg Title card from 2002 to 2003 Travel, food Rachael Ray Rachael Ray Jonathan Merrill Killer Tracks "Money Money Money" United States 4 77 Allison Page Tara Sandler Jennifer Davidson Scott Templeton 30 minutes Pie Town Productions Food Network 2002 4 1 2005 12 2 $40 a Day was a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray. In each episode, Ray takes a one-day trip to an American, Canadian, or European city with only $40 US, to spend on food. While touring the city, she finds restaurants to go to (often based on local recommendations), and usually manages to fit three meals and some sort of snack or after-dinner drink into her small budget. The show premiered on April 1, 2002, five months after the debut of 30 Minute Meals, making it her second show on the Food Network. Some clips are sometimes used in Ray's later series, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels. Another Food Network series, Giada's Weekend Getaways starring Giada De Laurentiis, is similar in format, as noted by Anthony Bourdain.https://www.mashed.com/371327/whatever-happened-to-rachael-rays-40-a-day/ Whatever Happened To Rachael Ray's $40 A Day? Felix Behr Mashed.com April 1, 2021 February 6, 2024 In 2010, The Travel Channel began airing reruns of the show. As of 2013, the show is no longer in reruns on the Travel Channel. Details According to Ray, visiting a fast food restaurant, particularly those of national chains, is considered cheating (she says so explicitly in the Orlando episode). On occasion, smaller sit-down restaurant chains (such as Bahama Breeze in the Las Vegas episode, or Bongos in the South Beach episode) are visited. Generally, non-food items and non-food-related activities are not included in her budget. Ray always offers tips on what to see in the various cities, as well as hints on how to save money and find bargains while traveling. She also emphasizes researching whatever city she plans to visit through the Internet and asking the local citizens for their recommendations. Initially, Ray only used item prices against her $40 limit. She started including applicable taxes and tips during the first season. On occasion, she does go over budget; however, during her trips to Philadelphia and Arizona, she did so on purpose. Her cheapest day was in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2003, when she spent just under US$25 including taxes and tips (at the time, less than $40 Canadian, although she budgeted for US$40). On occasions, she has had to get creative to stay on-budget; for example, she accidentally blew half her budget on her second meal in her first Miami episode. The pilot, shot in Los Angeles, had a 12-hour limit, but subsequent episodes raised it to 24 hours. Usually episodes begin in the morning with breakfast, occasionally brunch. Episodes almost always feature four paid meals, but on at least one occasion, in the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC), she did five meals. Also on rare occasion, only three meals are paid, and a fourth ends up being free. On only one occasion, in Antigua, she partook of a hotel's free Continental breakfast, but she still did four paid meals in that episode. On her first visit to Las Vegas during the first season, Ray began with dinner and stayed overnight, ending with breakfast. She did several episodes in Europe when the euro was still valued less than the U.S. dollar. She has not visited Europe since the U.S. dollar has fallen under the euro in value. She has also visited several island locales, including Bermuda and Antigua, both of which generally accept the U.S. dollar. Ray has occasionally drawn controversy when some meals end up calculating with less-than-traditional tips. Episodes Season 1 (2002–03) #7BA400 1 1 Los Angeles Tara Sandler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 4 1 AD1A01 7BA400 2 2 Napa Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 4 24 AD1A03 7BA400 3 3 Florida Keys Wade Sheeler and Courtney MacGregor Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 5 1 AD1A06 7BA400 4 4 Vancouver Wade Sheeler and Courtney MacGregor Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 5 15 AD1A08 7BA400 5 5 San Francisco Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 5 22 AD1A02 7BA400 6 6 Orlando Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 5 29 AD1A05 7BA400 7 7 Seattle Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 6 5 AD1A09 7BA400 8 8 Miami Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 6 12 AD1A07 7BA400 9 9 Monterey Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 6 19 AD1A04 7BA400 10 10 Portland Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 6 26 AD1A10 7BA400 11 11 San Diego Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 7 10 AD1A12 7BA400 12 12 Las Vegas Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 7 17 AD1A11 7BA400 13 13 Santa Barbara Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 7 28 AD1A13 7BA400 14 14 Rome Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 8 14 AD1A17 7BA400 15 15 Paris Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 10 2 AD1A14 7BA400 16 16 Amsterdam Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 10 9 AD1A16 7BA400 17 17 Cooperstown Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 10 16 AD1A26 7BA400 18 18 Florence Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 10 23 AD1A19 7BA400 19 19 Charleston Lesley Mayer Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 10 28 AD1A21 7BA400 20 20 Tuscany Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 11 6 AD1A18 7BA400 21 21 Savannah Lesley Mayer Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 11 28 AD1A20 7BA400 22 22 Atlanta Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2002 12 4 AD1A22 7BA400 23 23 New York City Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 1 8 AD1A25 7BA400 24 24 Philadelphia Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 1 15 AD1A24 7BA400 25 25 Washington, D.C. Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 1 29 AD1A23 7BA400 26 26 Brussels Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 2 12 AD1A15 7BA400 Season 2 (2003–04) #73CEE0 1 27 Dallas Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 3 7 AD1B07 73CEE0 2 28 Vermont Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 4 23 AD1B01 73CEE0 3 29 Oahu Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 4 30 AD1B04 73CEE0 4 30 Cape Cod Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 5 14 AD1B02 73CEE0 5 31 Hawaii Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 5 21 AD1B05 73CEE0 6 32 Boston Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 5 28 AD1B03 73CEE0 7 33 Corpus Christi Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 6 4 AD1B09 73CEE0 8 34 Memphis Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 6 11 AD1B10 73CEE0 9 35 Maui Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 6 18 AD1B06 73CEE0 10 36 Austin Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 6 25 AD1B08 73CEE0 11 37 New Orleans Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 7 2 AD1B11 73CEE0 12 38 Nashville Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 7 9 AD1B12 73CEE0 13 39 Laguna Beach Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 7 23 AD1B13 73CEE0 14 40 Sedona Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 9 3 AD1B15 73CEE0 15 41 Palm Springs Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 9 10 AD1B14 73CEE0 16 42 Milwaukee Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 9 17 AD1B17 73CEE0 17 43 Tucson Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 9 24 AD1B16 73CEE0 18 44 Chicago Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 10 8 AD1B18 73CEE0 19 45 Montreal Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2003 12 10 AD1B24 73CEE0 20 46 Denver Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 1 7 AD1B21 73CEE0 21 47 Aspen Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 1 21 AD1B22 73CEE0 22 48 Portland Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 2 25 AD1B23 73CEE0 23 49 Santa Fe Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 3 10 AD1B20 73CEE0 24 50 Adirondacks Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 4 2 AD1B25 73CEE0 25 51 Cleveland Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 4 9 AD1B19 73CEE0 26 52 Saratoga Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 4 16 AD1B26 73CEE0 Season 3 (2004–05) #8A4300 1 53 Park City Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 8 20 AD1C02 8A4300 2 54 Grand Canyon Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 8 27 AD1C04 8A4300 3 55 Durham Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 8 29 AD1C08 8A4300 4 56 Las Vegas Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 9 10 AD1C05 8A4300 5 57 Bermuda Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 9 24 AD1C06 8A4300 6 58 Sun Valley Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 10 15 AD1C01 8A4300 7 59 Chattanooga Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 10 29 AD1C10 8A4300 8 60 Hilton Head Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 11 12 AD1C07 8A4300 9 61 Asheville Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 11 19 AD1C09 8A4300 10 62 Telluride Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 11 26 AD1C03 8A4300 11 63 Newport Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2004 12 17 AD1C12 8A4300 12 64 Martha's Vineyard Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 1 7 AD1C13 8A4300 13 65 The Hamptons Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 4 22 AD1C11 8A4300 Season 4 (2005–06) #ECB900 1 66 Mystic Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 1 21 AD1D02 ECB900 2 67 Nantucket Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 2 4 AD1D01 ECB900 3 68 Salem Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 2 18 AD1D03 ECB900 4 69 Jackson Hole Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 4 12 AD1D06 ECB900 5 70 Mount Rushmore Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 4 19 AD1D07 ECB900 6 71 Ashland Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 5 3 AD1D05 ECB900 7 72 Coos Bay Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 5 13 AD1D04 ECB900 8 73 South Beach Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 6 10 AD1D09 ECB900 9 74 Ft. Lauderdale Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 7 8 AD1D10 ECB900 10 75 San Juan Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 7 22 AD1D11 ECB900 11 76 Antigua Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 8 12 AD1D12 ECB900 12 77 New York City Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray 2005 12 2 AD1D08 ECB900 References External links Category:2002 American television series debuts Category:2002 English-language television series debuts Category:2005 American television series endings Category:2005 English-language television series endings Category:Food Network original programming Category:Food travelogue television series Category:English-language American television shows