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    32 Surprising Facts About Ina And Jeffrey Garten

    Who knew?

    1. Before she became an international food star, Garten worked in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

    2. She worked on nuclear energy policy.

    3. But she wasn't fulfilled. "My job in Washington was intellectually exciting and stimulating, but it wasn't me at all,'' said Garten in an interview with the New York Times.

    4. So she put in an offer to buy a specialty food store in Westhampton Beach, New York — and to her surprise, it was accepted.

    5. The store was called the Barefoot Contessa (which later became the name of her cookbooks and television series).

    6. At that time, Ina had never worked in a restaurant or store...

    7. And after several years of successfully running the business (and moving into a bigger space), she sold it to an employee.

    8. In 1999, she published her first cookbook, the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

    9. She was originally very reluctant to be on television.

    10. She loves Shake Shack...

    11. But hates cilantro.

    12. The one store-bought ingredient that she doesn't think is fine is grated Parmesan.

    13. Although Ina has her famous barn in East Hampton, New York, she also has a $4.6 million apartment in Manhattan, just a few blocks from Central Park.

    14. Her drink of choice is a whiskey sour.

    15. For a few years in the 1970s, Ina bought and flipped old homes in Washington, DC.

    16. She doesn't mind when fans approach her (in fact, she likes it).

    17. She thinks that the first two things people should learn to make are roast chicken and coffee.

    18. The historical figure that she identifies with the most is Julia Child.

    19. She once baked a pavlova with Taylor Swift...

    20. And said that she was, "a very good cook."

    21. She has her pilot's license.

    22. And has never watched her own TV show.

    23. Her dream dinner party would consist of Julia Child, Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Barbara Liberman (her best friend), and her husband.

    24. Some consider her a feminist icon — and in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette she said, "I grew up in a generation of women who didn't expect to work. When I was in college I just assumed I'd get married and that would be my life. I was just at the cusp of women waking up and saying, 'Wait a minute, I could actually have a great life. I can do whatever I want. I can stay home if I want to. I can work if I want to.' And I got to do both."

    25. Ina considers her husband, Jeffrey Garten, to be the first feminist she ever met. Jeffrey (just like Ina), has had an impressive career...

    26. He spent 13 years working on Wall Street...

    27. And is a dean emeritus at the Yale School of Management.

    28. From 1968 to 1972 he served as an officer in the 82nd Airborne, aide-de-camp to the commanding general of the Special Forces, and was an adviser to the Royal Thai Army. 🤓

    29. In an interview with Cherry Bombe, Ina called him “the best mentor I’ve ever had."

    30. Ina's idea of perfect happiness is "Sundays in Paris with Jeffrey."

    31. Her tenth book is actually dedicated to him — it's called Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook...

    32. And after 47 years of marriage, Ina (in response to being asked how she would like to die during an interview with Food & Wine) simply said, "as long as Jeffrey and I go together and we end up in a big suite with a view of the ocean."


    How easy was that?