$40 a Day

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$40 a Day
40aDay-logo.jpg
Title card from 2002 to 2003
Genre Travel, food
Created by Rachael Ray
Starring Rachael Ray
Theme music composer Jonathan Merrill
Killer Tracks
Opening theme "Money Money Money"
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 77
Production
Executive producer(s) Allison Page
Tara Sandler
Jennifer Davidson
Scott Templeton
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Pie Town Productions
Release
Original network Food Network
Original release April 1, 2002 –
December 12, 2005
External links
Website

$40 a Day is a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray.[1] In each episode, Rachael takes a one-day trip to an American, Canadian, or European city with only US$40 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. 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.

Rachael 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, Rachael 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 $25 USD including taxes and tips (at the time, less than $40 Canadian, although she budgeted for $40 USD). 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, Rachael 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)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
1 1 "Los Angeles" Tara Sandler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 1, 2002 (2002-04-01) AD1A01
2 2 "Napa" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 24, 2002 (2002-04-24) AD1A03
3 3 "Florida Keys" Wade Sheeler and Courtney MacGregor Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 1, 2002 (2002-05-01) AD1A06
4 4 "Vancouver" Wade Sheeler and Courtney MacGregor Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 15, 2002 (2002-05-15) AD1A08
5 5 "San Francisco" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 22, 2002 (2002-05-22) AD1A02
6 6 "Orlando" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 29, 2002 (2002-05-29) AD1A05
7 7 "Seattle" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 5, 2002 (2002-06-05) AD1A09
8 8 "Miami" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 12, 2002 (2002-06-12) AD1A07
9 9 "Monterey" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 19, 2002 (2002-06-19) AD1A04
10 10 "Portland" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 26, 2002 (2002-06-26) AD1A10
11 11 "San Diego" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 10, 2002 (2002-07-10) AD1A12
12 12 "Las Vegas" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 17, 2002 (2002-07-17) AD1A11
13 13 "Santa Barbara" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 28, 2002 (2002-07-28) AD1A13
14 14 "Rome" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) AD1A17
15 15 "Paris" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 2, 2002 (2002-10-02) AD1A14
16 16 "Amsterdam" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 9, 2002 (2002-10-09) AD1A16
17 17 "Cooperstown" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 16, 2002 (2002-10-16) AD1A26
18 18 "Florence" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 23, 2002 (2002-10-23) AD1A19
19 19 "Charleston" Lesley Mayer Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 28, 2002 (2002-10-28) AD1A21
20 20 "Tuscany" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray November 6, 2002 (2002-11-06) AD1A18
21 21 "Savannah" Lesley Mayer Peter Field and Rachael Ray November 28, 2002 (2002-11-28) AD1A20
22 22 "Atlanta" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray December 4, 2002 (2002-12-04) AD1A22
23 23 "New York City" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 8, 2003 (2003-01-08) AD1A25
24 24 "Philadelphia" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 15, 2003 (2003-01-15) AD1A24
25 25 "Washington, D.C." Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 29, 2003 (2003-01-29) AD1A23
26 26 "Brussels" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray February 12, 2003 (2003-02-12) AD1A15

Season 2 (2003–04)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
27 1 "Dallas" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray March 7, 2003 (2003-03-07) AD1B07
28 2 "Vermont" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 23, 2003 (2003-04-23) AD1B01
29 3 "Oahu" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 30, 2003 (2003-04-30) AD1B04
30 4 "Cape Cod" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 14, 2003 (2003-05-14) AD1B02
31 5 "Hawaii" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 21, 2003 (2003-05-21) AD1B05
32 6 "Boston" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 28, 2003 (2003-05-28) AD1B03
33 7 "Corpus Christi" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 4, 2003 (2003-06-04) AD1B09
34 8 "Memphis" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 11, 2003 (2003-06-11) AD1B10
35 9 "Maui" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 18, 2003 (2003-06-18) AD1B06
36 10 "Austin" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 25, 2003 (2003-06-25) AD1B08
37 11 "New Orleans" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02) AD1B11
38 12 "Nashville" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 9, 2003 (2003-07-09) AD1B12
39 13 "Laguna Beach" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 23, 2003 (2003-07-23) AD1B13
40 14 "Sedona" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray September 3, 2003 (2003-09-03) AD1B15
41 15 "Palm Springs" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10) AD1B14
42 16 "Milwaukee" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray September 17, 2003 (2003-09-17) AD1B17
43 17 "Tucson" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray September 24, 2003 (2003-09-24) AD1B16
44 18 "Chicago" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 8, 2003 (2003-10-08) AD1B18
45 19 "Montreal" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray December 10, 2003 (2003-12-10) AD1B24
46 20 "Denver" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 7, 2004 (2004-01-07) AD1B21
47 21 "Aspen" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 21, 2004 (2004-01-21) AD1B22
48 22 "Portland" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray February 25, 2004 (2004-02-25) AD1B23
49 23 "Santa Fe" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray March 10, 2004 (2004-03-10) AD1B20
50 24 "Adirondacks" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 2, 2004 (2004-04-02) AD1B25
51 25 "Cleveland" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 9, 2004 (2004-04-09) AD1B19
52 26 "Saratoga" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 16, 2004 (2004-04-16) AD1B26

Season 3 (2004–05)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
53 1 "Park City" Wade Sheeler Peter Field and Rachael Ray August 20, 2004 (2004-08-20) AD1C02
54 2 "Grand Canyon" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray August 27, 2004 (2004-08-27) AD1C04
55 3 "Durham" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray August 29, 2004 (2004-08-29) AD1C08
56 4 "Las Vegas" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray September 10, 2004 (2004-09-10) AD1C05
57 5 "Bermuda" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray September 24, 2004 (2004-09-24) AD1C06
58 6 "Sun Valley" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 15, 2004 (2004-10-15) AD1C01
59 7 "Chattanooga" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray October 29, 2004 (2004-10-29) AD1C10
60 8 "Hilton Head" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray November 12, 2004 (2004-11-12) AD1C07
61 9 "Asheville" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray November 19, 2004 (2004-11-19) AD1C09
62 10 "Telluride" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray November 26, 2004 (2004-11-26) AD1C03
63 11 "Newport" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray December 17, 2004 (2004-12-17) AD1C12
64 12 "Martha's Vineyard" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 7, 2005 (2005-01-07) AD1C13
65 13 "The Hamptons" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 22, 2005 (2005-04-22) AD1C11

Season 4 (2005–06)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
66 1 "Mystic" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray January 21, 2005 (2005-01-21) AD1D02
67 2 "Nantucket" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray February 4, 2005 (2005-02-04) AD1D01
68 3 "Salem" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray February 18, 2005 (2005-02-18) AD1D03
69 4 "Jackson Hole" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 12, 2005 (2005-04-12) AD1D06
70 5 "Mount Rushmore" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray April 19, 2005 (2005-04-19) AD1D07
71 6 "Ashland" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 3, 2005 (2005-05-03) AD1D05
72 7 "Coos Bay" Wade Sheeler and Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray May 13, 2005 (2005-05-13) AD1D04
73 8 "South Beach" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray June 10, 2005 (2005-06-10) AD1D09
74 9 "Ft. Lauderdale" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 8, 2005 (2005-07-08) AD1D10
75 10 "San Juan" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray July 22, 2005 (2005-07-22) AD1D11
76 11 "Antigua" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) AD1D12
77 12 "New York City" Don Colliver Peter Field and Rachael Ray December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02) AD1D08

References

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External links