Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, lives a storybook life with her husband Jeffery, in East Hampton. Before becoming the much-loved author and TV personality that she is today, Ina worked in the White House on nuclear energy policy. One day she thought to herself “There’s got to be more to life than this!” and that moment began her transition to store owner and journey to Food Network host of Barefoot Contessa.
Here 31 delicious Ina Garten quotes.
“Cooking is one of the great gifts you can give to those you love.”
― Ina Garten
“Anyone who tries to make brownies without butter should be arrested.”
― Ina Garten
“You can be miserable before you have a cookie, and you can be miserable after you eat a cookie, but you can’t be miserable while you are eating a cookie.”
― Ina Garten
“You don’t have to do everything from scratch. Nobody wants to make puff pastry!”
― Ina Garten
“The most important thing for having a party is that the hostess is having fun.”
― Ina Garten
“Food is not about impressing people. It’s about making them feel comfortable.”
― Ina Garten
“The most overrated tool: a pasta maker.”
― Ina Garten
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup is the ultimate comfort meal.”
― Ina Garten
“Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food. Cooking at home shows such affection.”
― Ina Garten
“I love to take something ordinary and make it really special.”
― Ina Garten
Ina Garten Books:
Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks: A Cookbook
Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust: A Cookbook
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients: A Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again: A Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
“If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken.”
― Ina Garten
“I time everything. I’m a scientist at heart.”
― Ina Garten
“Never let ’em see you sweat. Guests feel guilty if they think you’ve worked too hard to make dinner for them – which of course you have!”
― Ina Garten
“I try to greet my friends with a drink in my hand, a warm smile on my face, and great music in the background, because that’s what gets a dinner party off to a fun start.”
― Ina Garten
“My extravagance is my garden – it’s the first thing I look at every morning when I wake up. It gives me so much pleasure.”
― Ina Garten
“The dirty little secret is that I grew up in a household where there were no carbohydrates allowed, ever. No cookies, no bread, no potatoes, no rice. My mother was very extreme in terms of what she served. Since I left home more than 40 years ago, I’ve been making it right for myself.”
― Ina Garten
“When I wrote ‘Barefoot in Paris,’ I wanted to make simple recipes that you could make at home that tasted like French classics.”
― Ina Garten
“I worked for the Office of Management and Budget in the White House, on nuclear energy policy. But I decided it would be much more fun to have a specialty food store, so I left Washington D.C. and moved to the Hamptons. And how glad I am that I did!”
― Ina Garten
“Take one flower that you like and get lots of them. And don’t try to ‘arrange’ them. It’s surprisingly hard to do a flower arrangement the way a florist does one. Instead, bunch them all together or put them in a series of small vases all down the table.”
― Ina Garten
“I’ve taught myself how to use good, fresh ingredients and to prepare them as simply as possible by cooking only to enhance their intrinsic flavors.”
― Ina Garten
Ina Garten Books:
Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks: A Cookbook
Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust: A Cookbook
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients: A Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again: A Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
“People have more fun if they don’t eat so much they have to be taken home in an ambulance.”
― Ina Garten
“The thing about all my food is that everything is a remembered flavor. Maybe it’s something I had as a child or maybe it’s something I had in Milan, but I want it to taste better than you ever thought.”
― Ina Garten
“I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. It’s the only holiday I insist on making myself.”
― Ina Garten
“My mother would never let me in the kitchen. I always wanted to cook, but I was never allowed to. Her view of the world was, ‘Cooking is my job, and studying is your job.’ I think, in retrospect, she didn’t like the chaos. She was very orderly. It had to be her way.”
― Ina Garten
“I always like to have flowers on the table. I think they make it look special.”
― Ina Garten
“I always have music. I love it to be very upbeat. When you’re having drinks, I like something like Cesaria Evora. During dinner, I like the much more traditional – old Frank Sinatra and things like that.”
― Ina Garten
“I measure everything, because I always think that if I’ve spent so much time making sure this recipe was exactly the way I want it, why would I want to throw things into a pot?”
― Ina Garten
“I’m really a scientist. I follow recipes exactly – until I decide not to. And then I’ll follow something else exactly. I may decide I could turn this peach tart into a plum tart, but if I’m following a recipe, I follow it exactly.”
― Ina Garten
“In the summer you want fresh, light and sort of quick things; in winter you want things that are comforting, so your body really tells you you want to go towards potatoes, apples, fennel, things that are warm and comforting.”
― Ina Garten
“I don’t like sitting at a table that’s too large, where everyone is too far apart. That’s a party killer.”
― Ina Garten
“They say that gardens look better when they are created by loving gardeners rather than by landscapers, because the garden is more tended to and cared for. The same thing goes for cooking. I only cook for people I love.”
― Ina Garten
Ina Garten Books:
Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks: A Cookbook
Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust: A Cookbook
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients: A Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again: A Cookbook
Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family