(Revised and expanded, 14 December 2009)

Ina Garten, the Food Network's "Barefoot Contessa," hosts a popular cooking show and has published six cookbooks. Her first two books - The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (1999) and Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun (2001) - capitalized on her reputation in The Hamptons as a caterer and owner of a chic specialty food store - The Barefoot Contessa.

The Food Network brought Garten a national following, and she has since published four best-selling cookbooks: Barefoot Contessa Family Style (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), and Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients (2008). Some of her sauces, relishes and desserts are marketed under the Barefoot Contessa Pantry label.

Ina Garten projects a calm, Manhattanite-in-the-Hamptons personality, a nice contrast for those who easily tire of the Food Network's more energetic stars. Garten's recipes are sound, tasty, and relatively easy to prepare, and her cookbooks are well-edited and include beautiful food photography. I recommend her Indonesian Ginger Chicken, Endive and Avocado Salad, and Herbal Ice Tea. These recipes are often included in the Food Network's online recipe database, usually for a limited time when older episodes are repeated. Be sure to print out any of her recipes that interest you.

The food industry is a second career for Garten, a former nuclear energy policy specialist for the U.S. White House Office of Management and Budget. She resides in the New York/Connecticut region of the U.S. Northeast with her husband, Jeffrey, an accomplished international trade specialist and former Dean of the Yale School of Management.

References:

Liz Seymour, "Entertaining Barefoot." The Washington Post, Thursday, November 18, 2004; p H11 (interview)

Ina Garten and Martha Stewart, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (New York: Clarkson Potter, 1999), book jacket text.

Martha Stewart, "Ina Garten: Back to Basics," Martha Moments blog, October 15, 2008. (Martha Moments - yes, it seems Ms. Stewart has a measure of self-deprecating humor).

Barefoot Contessa website, About Ina.