Calling celebrities by their nicknames is one of the great American pastimes (we're looking at you,Timothée Chardonnay). In the food world, no gastronome boasts a moniker quite as iconic as Ina Garten, affectionately known as Barefoot Contessa. The home-cooking expert and party host extraordinaire is not, technically speaking, an actual contessa — that would suggest her beloved husband Jeffrey is an earl or count. And while she may forgo shoes while strolling along the beaches near her East Hampton home, she's not perennially barefoot.
As anyone familiar withGarten's life storywill know, she shares the name with that of the Westhampton Beach specialty food store she ran after her stint as a White House budget analyst and before becoming a TV host. In the mid-1990s, it would also become the name of her publishing debut, "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook." As for how she came up with the name in the first place, full credit goes to the 1954 Hollywood classic of the same name starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart."For me, it means being both elegant and earthy," Garten wrote on her blog in 2018.
Ina Garten's store has been closed for two decades, but fans can get a sense of it from the 1997 rom-com "As Good As It Gets," a scene from which features Diane Keaton roaming its floors while she practices her French. Writer-director Nancy Meyers would later use the store as inspiration for "Something's Gotta Give," another charming Keaton vehicle set in the Hamptons. "Ibought chicken salad and a cupcake and ate them both on a bench outside the store," Meyers toldBon Appetit. "They were just as amazing as I had imagined."
Off-screen, Barefoot Contessa was just as idyllic. In 2021, Garten shared a photo of the shop's exterior in honor of its 43rd anniversary. "The first day in the store, we grossed $87 (before expenses!), and we thought it was a disaster," she recalled. "But Friday was Memorial Day weekend (in the Hamptons!), and it turned out to be a very different story. We stayed up cooking and baking all night, and I remember thinking how happy I was!!"
Judging from the comments, Garten wasn't the only one for whom the store was a source of joy."OMG it was the only place to go to cure Sunday morning hangovers," one person wrote. "1978 — tuna salad on rye [with] a big chocolate chip cookie."
You Can Take The Contessa Out Of The Shop...
Ina Garten's days behind the counter at The Barefoot Contessa may be over, but she remains a loyal patron of specialty food shops around the world.In the Hamptons, you might find her at Loaves & Fishes, a screen-doored haven of open-faced sandwiches, gourmet baked goods, and all manner of indulgent sundries.
Meanwhile, on one of her frequent trips to Paris, you might catch her whiffing the fine fromage atBarthélémy, the cheese shop that delivers to French presidents. On Instagram, Garten called it"my favorite cheese shop in the world" — no small compliment from a virtuoso ofelaborate cheese platters.
Finally, as Garten mentions in her cookbook "Cook Like a Pro," a trip to Milan is incomplete without a stop at Peck's. In addition to its extensive selection of cheeses, cured meats, wine, and fresh pasta — the four main Italian food groups — she praises its warm marinated and roasted olives.It all goes to show: You can take the Barefoot Contessa out of the shop, but you can't take the shop out of the Barefoot Contessa.
“So many people ask, 'What does Barefoot Contessa mean?' ” Garten wrote on her blog back in 2018. “It was the original name of my specialty food store after a movie with Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart. But for me, it means being both elegant and earthy…”
The home-cooking expert and party host extraordinaire is not, technically speaking, an actual contessa — that would suggest her beloved husband Jeffrey is an earl or count. And while she may forgo shoes while strolling along the beaches near her East Hampton home, she's not perennially barefoot.
Garten. Barefoot Contessa, her famous store, was located where Rag & Bone now operates. Barefoot Contessa closed permanently in 2004, but Ms. Garten still owns the building.
“But, he wanted me to be happy, and it was okay with him.” As a working woman in the '70s, Ina's choice to not have kids “wasn't a struggle at all,” she said. “I had no interest in having children.None.
Before Ina purchased the shop in 1978, the previous owners had dubbed it the Barefoot Contessa, inspired by the 1954 Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name. Ina decided to keep the name after taking ownership, according to People.com.
“So many people ask, 'What does Barefoot Contessa mean?' ” Garten wrote on her blog back in 2018. “It was the original name of my specialty food store after a movie with Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart. But for me, it means being both elegant and earthy…”
Vincenzo is impotent due to a war wound. In a bid to produce an heir for his linage, Maria sleeps with their chauffeur. Consumed with jealously upon discovering the affair, Vincenzo kills her and her lover without ever knowing she was pregnant.
Her fame may be relatively quiet — she doesn't have a line of cookware, there isn't a namesake restaurant — but make no mistake: Ina Garten is a powerhouse celeb chef.
Ina Garten once worked in the White House and worked her way up, which eventually put her in charge of writing the nuclear budget for the United States. She also managed to earn her MBA from George Washington University at the same time. Despite her success, she decided she wanted a different life.
Instead of a chicken pot pie, Ina Garten likes to make a chicken stew and top it with flaky biscuits. She names it as one of her all-time favorite comfort foods, and we can easily see why. We think she would approve of this soup version on a cold night.
According to CheatSheet, Garten said, "I don't like wearing an apron when I'm working, so I find a denim shirt or a corduroy shirt and I buy 25 of them. It's like a uniform and I don't have to worry about it.
Garten confessed that she doesn't even go barefoot in the kitchen. For the record, she wears Merrills at the stove. "When you're on your feet for a long time," she said, "you want to wear something comfortable and supportive."
The rest is history: She didn't attend cooking school or learn from a grandmother, but she picked up skills out of necessity while running her specialty food store, Barefoot Contessa.
Ina husband, Jeffrey, is also a financial powerhouse. According to Celebritynetworth.com, Jeffrey is worth $100 million, mostly thanks to his former jobs as managing director of Lehman Brothers and Blackstone Group.
Currently, Jeffrey serves as the Dean Emeritus at the Yale School of Management and teaches courses on the global economy. According to his faculty page, prior to joining Yale, he worked for multiple White House administrations, served in the U.S. Army Special Forces and was a managing director on Wall Street.
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