Ina Garten facts for kids
Garten in 2006
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| Born | Ina Rosenberg February 2, 1948 New York City, U.S. |
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| Education | Syracuse University George Washington University School of Business |
| Spouse |
Jeffrey Garten
(m. 1968) |
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Television show(s)
Barefoot Contessa
Be My Guest |
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Ina Garten (/ˈaɪnə/ EYE-nə; born February 2, 1948) is a famous American TV cook and author. She hosts the popular Food Network show Barefoot Contessa. Before becoming a chef, she even worked for the US government!
Some of her well-known dishes include Perfect Roast Chicken and French Apple Tart. Ina started her cooking journey with a special food store called Barefoot Contessa. Later, she wrote many best-selling cookbooks and hosted her own TV show.
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Ina Garten's Early Life
Ina Rosenberg was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. She grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. Ina was one of two children. Her father, Charles H. Rosenberg, was a surgeon. Her mother, Florence, was a dietitian.
Ina was encouraged to do well in school. She was good at science. She says she uses this scientific way of thinking when she tries out new recipes. Her mother wanted Ina to focus on schoolwork, not cooking. Ina describes her father as a very social person. She feels she is more like him.
When she was 15, Ina met her future husband, Jeffrey Garten. This happened during a trip to visit her brother at Dartmouth College. After high school, she went to Syracuse University to study economics. However, she paused her studies to get married.
Ina's Career Journey
Ina and Jeffrey got married on December 22, 1968. They soon moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While Jeffrey was serving in the military during the Vietnam War, Ina started cooking and entertaining. She also got her pilot's license.
After Jeffrey finished his military service, they took a four-month camping trip in Europe. They spent time in France, which made Ina fall in love with French cuisine. She saw open-air markets and fresh ingredients there. When they returned to the US, she started to improve her cooking skills. She studied famous cookbooks like Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Ina and Jeffrey moved to Washington, D.C., in 1972. Weekly dinner parties became a tradition for them. Ina got even better at entertaining guests at home.
Working in Washington, D.C.
In Washington, Ina worked at the White House. Jeffrey worked for the State Department. Ina first worked for the Federal Power Commission. Later, she joined the White House Office of Management and Budget. She became a budget analyst. This meant she wrote reports on nuclear energy for presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
While working at the Office of Management and Budget, Ina also taught herself to cook. She bought and fixed up old houses in Washington, D.C. She used the money she made from selling these houses to buy her next big thing: the Barefoot Contessa food store.
The Barefoot Contessa Store
Ina left her government job in 1978. She saw an ad for a small food store called Barefoot Contessa in Westhampton Beach, New York. She explained later that her government job was interesting but "wasn't me at all."
After visiting the store, she bought it and moved to New York. She often worked 12-hour days at the store. The original owner had named the store after a 1954 movie starring Ava Gardner. Ina kept the name. She liked that it sounded "elegant but earthy."
Three years later, Ina moved Barefoot Contessa to a bigger place. In 1985, she opened a second store in East Hampton (village), New York. East Hampton had people living there all year, not just for summer. This meant more customers. In East Hampton, Ina made the store much bigger. It grew from 400 square feet (37 m2) to over 3,000 square feet (280 m2). The larger store sold special foods like lobster Cobb salad, caviar, and imported cheeses.
As the business grew, Ina hired local chefs and bakers. Famous people like Steven Spielberg even praised the shop in the news.
In 1996, after running Barefoot Contessa for two decades, Ina wanted a change. She sold the store to two employees. She still owned the building. For a year, she took a break from cooking. She built an office above the store. There, she studied the stock market and thought about new business ideas. Her website, Barefoot Contessa, became popular. She started selling coffee and other items online.
By 2003, Barefoot Contessa was a well-known spot in East Hampton. The director Nancy Meyers even used the store as a set for the movie Something's Gotta Give. The store closed permanently in 2003. This happened when the lease ended, and Ina could not agree on terms with the new owners. Ina did not reopen the shop. Today, the building houses a Rag & Bone store.
Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks
In 1999, Ina started focusing on publishing books. She continued the Barefoot Contessa name with her 1999 best-selling book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. The book did much better than expected. It had recipes that made her store famous. Ina sold over 100,000 copies in the first year!
In 2001, she released Barefoot Contessa Parties!. This book also got great reviews and sold well. Barefoot Contessa Family Style came out in 2002. Her first two cookbooks were nominated for James Beard Awards. These awards are very important in the food world.
Her cookbooks have many colorful photos. Each recipe often has a full-page picture. Some people say this takes up space that could be used for more recipes. But her cookbooks are very popular. In 2005, fellow chef Giada De Laurentiis said Ina was one of her favorite authors. As of 2023, Ina has published thirteen cookbooks. More than 14 million copies have been printed!
Ina's recipes are known for being rich and delicious. The New Yorker magazine called her "America's reigning queen of tastefully-deployed butterfat." In 2010, a group called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine criticized her cookbook Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?. They said it used too many high-fat ingredients. However, many people defended her cooking style.
Barefoot Contessa on Food Network
Ina became well-known through her cookbooks and appearances on Martha Stewart's show. In 2002, she got her own show on Food Network. After her cookbooks became successful, Food Network asked her to host a cooking show. An early try in 2000 didn't work out. Ina found it hard to get used to a big TV crew.
However, a different company offered a show with a smaller crew and a more relaxed setting. Ina agreed to film 13 episodes. Barefoot Contessa started in 2002 and was very popular.
Her show often features her husband and their friends. It usually only has celebrities who are her friends. Barefoot Contessa has about one million viewers per episode. It has some of Food Network's highest ratings.
In 2005, the show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award. In 2009, Ina won her first Emmy for Best Culinary Host. That same year, Ina signed a new contract with Food Network. She also agreed to release two more cookbooks. She reportedly got a very good deal for her books. People have asked her to create her own magazine, furniture, or cookware. But she has said no, because she doesn't want to make her life more complicated. In 2023, her book Go-To Dinners sold over 800,000 copies and became a number one bestseller.
In 2022, Ina launched a new show called Be My Guest on Discovery+ and Food Network. On this show, she invites celebrities to visit her.
Barefoot Contessa Pantry
In 2006, Ina Garten and her business partner launched a line of packaged foods. These included cake mixes, marinades, sauces, and preserves. They were branded as Barefoot Contessa Pantry. These foods were based on her most popular recipes. They included coconut cupcakes, maple oatmeal scones, and lemon curd. These items were quite expensive. They were sold in fancy kitchenware and gourmet stores.
Other Barefoot Contessa Publications
After her first three cookbooks were so successful, Ina wrote Barefoot in Paris. She also wrote columns for O, The Oprah Magazine. She helps the magazine with tips on entertaining, cooking, and party planning. House Beautiful magazine also had a monthly column by Ina called "Ask the Barefoot Contessa" until 2011. In this column, she gave cooking and lifestyle advice to readers.
She also created a small line of note cards and journals. She wrote introductions for other cookbooks too. One of her recipes was featured in The Best American Recipes 2005–2006. Another dish was chosen for Today's Kitchen Cookbook, which has popular recipes from The Today Show. For Thanksgiving 2010, her recipes were shown on Google's homepage. In June 2012, she started a Facebook blog. In 2019, she shared her recipe for potato latkes for a children's book called Goodnight Bubbala.
Awards and Honors
In 2021, Ina Garten was chosen for the first-ever Forbes 50 Over 50 list. This list celebrates successful entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators over 50 years old.
Personal Life
Ina's husband, Jeffrey Garten, worked in the US government. He was Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade from 1993 to 1995. He was also the dean of the Yale School of Management from 1995 to 2005. Jeffrey often appears on Ina's cooking show. He helps her with simple tasks or tastes her dishes. They live in Manhattan, East Hampton, and Paris.
Ina is a registered Democrat in New York. She has given money to the presidential campaigns of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, and Barack Obama. She generally avoids talking about politics in public.
Ina also served on the Design Review Board for East Hampton. This group helps decide on building permits and approves how buildings look. They work to protect the town's history and beauty.
Ina Garten has written a memoir with Deborah Davis. It is called Be Ready When the Luck Happens and will be published in October 2024.
Works
Books
- The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (1999), Clarkson Potter, ISBN: 0-609-60219-5
- Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes For Easy Parties That Are Really Fun (2001)
- Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family (2002)
- Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home (2004)
- Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again (2006)
- Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients Clarkson Potter. 2008. ISBN: 978-1400054350.
- Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That? Clarkson Potter. 2010. ISBN: 978-0307238764.
Magazine Columns
- "Entertaining is Fun!" (Martha Stewart Living 1999–present)
- "Entertaining." (O, The Oprah Magazine 2003–present)
- "Ask the Barefoot Contessa." (House Beautiful 2006–present)
Television
- From Martha's Kitchen: Ina Garten's Kitchen Clambake (2000)
- Barefoot Contessa (2002–2021)
- Chefography (2006-2010)
- 30 Rock (2010-2011)
- Be My Guest (2022–present)
Images for kids
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A robot for kids
See also
In Spanish: Ina Garten para niños
