An icon of culinary prowess receives star-studded praise.
In the November issue of Food Network Magazine, the name on everyone’s lips is Ina Garten. This month’s theme focuses on Thanksgiving dishes, and there’s a special section in the magazine dedicated to Garten, the issue’s cover star.
Along with the issue outlining a brief history of the barefoot Contessa, information about her book and a list of her favorite things, a double-page spread is dedicated to the glitz and glamor of the glitzy who share their love for the culinary icon.
Opening the list of celebs showing their love for Garten is Taylor Swift, who has previously spoken about how she enjoys cooking Barefoot Contessa’s real meatballs and spaghetti.
The pop star is sure to have had a bite or two of a recipe from Garten during one of her many ‘Midnights’, and Swift shares that she has a bow for the celebratory star’s TV show. now its 20th year of broadcast.
“I’ve been blessed to meet Ina a few times and get to know the beautiful woman behind the TV show and the cookbooks,” Taylor Swift wrote in Food Network Magazine’s November issue, adding that she thinks that Garten is one of those people. people who are “better, funnier, warmer than you expected.”
It’s a sentiment Garten shared for Swift as well, once calling her “a beacon of light” in an Instagram post celebrating the singer.
“My most powerful memories of Ina date back to when I first saw her TV show,” Swift wrote. “I was a teenager and my life revolved around touring. On my rare days off at home, I hardly ever cooked because it had always felt like a chore. Watching Ina cook a meal changed my perspective on cooking and reframed it as something relaxing. She made cooking feel like self-care. Since then, cooking has been my escape from stress and one of the only ways to really calm me down during a tough day. I will always be grateful to him for giving me this.
Along with Swift’s kind words for Garten, fellow chefs and Food Network stars like Bobby Flay and Michael Symon are sharing their affection for the times they spent with their colleague and friend.
Former TODAY presenter Katie Couric also shared her favorite memory of Garten, remarking that she thinks the Contessa is as warm and comforting as her recipes. “How lucky are we to have 20 years of Ina? Congratulations to the Barefoot Contessa! writes Couric.
Rounding out the list are a slew of Tony and Emmy award-winning actors who were lucky enough to be in Barefoot Contessa’s presence, including Tina Fey, Julianna Margulies and Nathan Lane, who said they spent time with Garten and his husband Jeffrey has always been a delight.
“Maybe we can get Ina to run for president,” Lane wrote. “I think Ina Garten could bring this country together.”
The longest quote, however, comes from Jennifer Garner, who said that Garten’s recipes have become a part of her daily life in a meaningful way.
“Not a day I spend in the kitchen that doesn’t involve Ina recipes,” Garner wrote. “I made her roast chicken last night. I’m making her chocolate Oreo ice cream today. I’m going to make her a skirt steak tonight. I’m kind of a cook Ina.
Garner, who loves Garten so much that she even created her own mock cooking show in the style of “Barefoot Contessa”, recounts how the two became friends after Garner appeared on the show. After a casual “no makeup sweatpants” reunion, the two struck up a friendship that saw them spend time chatting on the phone and even reuniting at In-N-Out where Garner found Garten having sex. clean the table with a damp cloth.
“You always hope your heroes come close the way you think of them, and she’s so much more,” Garner wrote, adding that she found even more depth, humor, wit, intelligence and ferocity in Garten since they met. “Look, we all fell in love with her just for what we see, but it’s so cool to meet someone and have it all be true.”
