TLDR: Ina Garten was working in economic policy in Washington when she saw a New York Times ad in 1978 and bought a tiny Hamptons food store, Barefoot Contessa, with a second mortgage. Her Food Network show premiered on November 30, 2002, after a producer chased her for about a year. Checked October 29, 2026.
Ina Garten looks like the calmest person on television, and her path there started with a government desk, no business experience and a second mortgage.
This guide follows her path from Washington to the Hamptons to Food Network, using her memoir interviews and the show’s official history. For the marriage behind it, see our guide to Jeffrey Garten.
A Washington Job She Did Not Love
Ina was born Ina Rosenberg on February 2, 1948, in Brooklyn, according to Britannica, and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. She married Jeffrey Garten in 1968.
CBS News reports that in the 1970s she and Jeffrey both held economic policy jobs at the White House. She has said the work was not her.
The Ad That Changed Everything in 1978
Shortly after turning 30, Ina saw an ad in The New York Times for a small specialty food store in Westhampton, New York. NPR reports that she offered $20,000 against a $25,000 asking price and the owner accepted.
She had never run a business. The money came from a second mortgage on the couple’s Washington home, as CBS tells it.
Where the Name Barefoot Contessa Came From
Ina bought the store with its name already attached. NPR says the nickname came from the previous owner, Diana Strata, whose family had called her that.
Wikipedia adds that the store opened in 1975 and was named after the 1954 film. Both can be true, and the sources do not say which story came first.
Growing the Store and Selling It
Ina moved the store to East Hampton and ran it for almost two decades. CBS says she sold it in 1995, while the official Barefoot Contessa site says 1996, to the store’s manager and chef.
Her first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, came out in 1999, per the official site.
The Television Disaster That Almost Ended It
Her first brush with TV did not go well. Food Republic recounts that a short-lived show filmed at her Hamptons house in 2000 overloaded the septic system, a truck got stuck fixing it and the director fell ill.
It was run by the same production company behind Martha Stewart’s show. Ina vowed never to do television again and kept that promise for about two years.
How Food Network Got Her Back
A Food Network producer, Eileen Opatut, wanted home cooks and not restaurant chefs, and she pursued Ina for about a year, per NPR. Ina agreed to 13 episodes after watching Nigella Lawson’s show.
Her own words about the deal were that the episodes would not be great. Barefoot Contessa premiered on Food Network on November 30, 2002, according to Wikipedia.
The Martha Stewart Disagreement
NPR also reports that when Martha Stewart Living producers wanted Ina to measure ingredients the way Stewart did, Ina insisted on doing it her own way. She told them they needed her to be herself, and the disagreement was never resolved.
That is Ina’s account, and the sources do not give the producers’ side.
Emmys and a Long Run
Wikipedia lists Ina as winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host in 2009 and 2010, and again in 2021. It says the show’s original run ended on December 19, 2021.
Her 2024 memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, covers all of this and a difficult childhood she has described in her own words. For other Food Network stars and their lives off camera, see our Food Network personal lives roundup.
Ina Garten Frequently Asked Questions
How did Ina Garten start Barefoot Contessa?
She bought a small specialty food store in Westhampton, New York in 1978 after seeing an ad in The New York Times. NPR reports she paid $20,000.
When did the Barefoot Contessa show premiere?
On November 30, 2002 on Food Network, according to Wikipedia.
Why is it called Barefoot Contessa?
NPR says the name came from the nickname of the store’s previous owner, Diana Strata. Wikipedia says the store was named after a 1954 film.
When did Ina Garten sell her store?
CBS says 1995 and the official Barefoot Contessa site says 1996.
Did Ina Garten work at the White House?
CBS reports that in the 1970s she and Jeffrey both held economic policy jobs at the White House.
