Neighbor:

Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa

By Sabrina C. Mashburn

In this season of romance, thoughts inevitably drift to Paris, the most romantic city in the world. Unfortunately, with the weather far from spring-like and Valentine’s Day falling on a Wednesday, a trip to Paris is probably not in the cards for most East End couples. For fans of the Food Network, however, a trip to Paris for Valentine’s Day is as easy as a trip to Ina Garten’s East Hampton kitchen, where the Barefoot Contessa transports her viewers all the way to the banks of the Seine, using culinary marvels concocted with ingredients culled from our very own East Hampton shops. Even Hamptonites who do not watch her show all remember her exquisite food shop, The Barefoot Contessa, on Newtown Lane in East Hampton that supplied Hamptons households with fine foods and catered parties all over the island for twenty years. The success of the East Hampton shop is what catapulted the Contessa (as her fans know her) to stardom, making her an easy choice for one of the then-fledgling Food Network’s coveted cooking shows.

In the latest Food Network project, Ina, Giada di Laurentis and Paula Dean traveled to Europe to sample food and bring back inspiration from the birthplace of gourmet cooking. Giada stuck to her specialty, gallivanting around Italy sampling cheeses and Bacci chocolates, while Paula and Ina each took their audience on a trip to Paris. Paula Dean, the American-as-apple-pie Southern lady famous for adding butter and sugar to almost everything she prepares, ooh-ed and aah-ed her way through market after market. Ina Garten’s trip to Paris was different, however. Paris seemed like a second home to her. She knew where the best places to buy everything and anything were, and instead of eating out, she prepared a lavish French feast for some of her friends in Paris, just as she normally would in her East Hampton home. Best of all, when she returned, the Contessa showed her audience how to replicate the meal she had prepared in France using ingredients available to everyone on the East End.

Herein lies the secret behind the success of the “Barefoot Contessa” television show, cookbooks and famous East Hampton shop — not only are her recipes beautiful to look at and delectable to taste, they are also easy enough for a home cook to whip up and make with ingredients that are easy to find. The accessibility of Ina’s style has attracted thousands of fans, from guests at parties she catered, to readers of her first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and her painstakingly documented guide to all things concerning la cuisine de France, Barefoot in Paris. The Contessa herself is also accessible — her home address is on her website, as are all of her style and culinary secrets, from her painted kitchen walls to her favorite brand of ice cream maker and stemware, for all of her fans to learn from and enjoy. She even divulges the telephone numbers of where to buy everything in her kitchen. This warm hospitality is perhaps the reason why tradition-obsessed Hamptonites welcomed her and her shop with open arms, despite the price tags of the exotic, fine foods she stocked.

Ina was not always an East Hamptonite, and came to be a fixture in the town by sheer serendipity. Born and raised in Brooklyn and Stamford, CT, Ina was told to concentrate on her schoolwork and to ignore her passion for the art of cooking and fashion design. Once in college, Ina studied fashion design for a year at Syracuse University, then left her studies to marry longtime boyfriend, Jeffery Garten, who was serving in the National Guard during the Vietnam War. When the Gartens moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Ina began to nurture her love of cooking and entertaining by throwing weekly dinner parties for her friends. She also found time to become a certified pilot. Her passion for cooking and adventure was ignited during a three-month camping trip in France, and Ina came back to the United States brimming with new recipes and entertaining ideas.

In 1972, Ina and her husband moved to Washington, DC, and soon Ina was busy earning her MBA from George Washington University and eventually procuring a job working at the White House. However, no matter how hectic her life became, she found time to hone her French cooking skills and throw weekly dinner parties for her friends. Ina soon grew restless in the business world and began to search for a more creative outlet. On her website she explains that, “In 1978 I was working in the White House Office of Management and Budget and I came across an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons… and I fell in love.” The Hamptons fell in love with her, too, and for the next eighteen years, The Barefoot Contessa shop, and its new owner, reigned supreme over all other fine food stores on the East End. What started as a little, 400-square-foot shop in Westhampton Beach eventually grew into a 3,000-square-foot fine food emporium and catering business. The Barefoot Contessa’s services expanded from selling fine foods and catering parties to the creation of their own line of coffees and prepared foods. A culinary star was born. From Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, to Steven Spielberg and Lauren Bacall, everyone in the Hamptons was singing the praises of the great cooking Contessa.

After years of requests for a cookbook, Ina sold her shop to two of her employees in 1996 and set to work on The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook in her office above the store. After the release of her first cookbook, hungry fans all over the country were clamoring for more recipes from the Hamptons Contessa. In 2001, she published Barefoot Contessa Parties!, followed by Barefoot Contessa Family Style in 2002, Barefoot in Paris in 2004 and Barefoot Contessa at Home in 2006. Due to the success of her shop and cookbooks, Ina was approached by The Food Network to star in a show based on the recipes in her cookbooks, and although she was hesitant to accept the offer, the promise of working with the same production team as the inviting show “Nigella Bites” eventually prompted her to accept the offer. Instead of shooting in a studio, Ina decided that, like Nigella, she would invite her viewers into her home as she cooked with her husband, Jeffrey, and her close friends. This decision brought East Hampton into the spotlight as well, as Ina’s beautiful home and relaxed demeanor were the perfect example of what life in the town could and should be like. By bringing The Barefoot Contessa to East Hampton, and showing the world that all things gourmet and splendid do not have to come out of New York City or Parisian kitchens, Ina gave chefs in small seaside towns the world over reason to find new inspiration in their local produce.

Although other fine and organic food shops have since replaced The Barefoot Contessa, the brand continues to grow with Ina’s imagination, and her line of cookware, Barefoot Contessa Pantry, as well as her television show. No matter where she directs her energies next, you can be sure that Ina Garten will continue to promote the truly Hamptons spirit of simple, beautiful living complemented by delicious food and lively conversation with good friends.