Ina Garten was ready for the luck

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Ina Garten was Ready for the Luck"

Podcast Information

• Title: Consider This from NPR
• Host: Ari Shapiro
• Episode: Ina Garten was ready for the luck
• Release Date: November 28, 2024
• Description: The hosts of NPR's All Things Considered help you make sense of a major news story and what it means for you, in 15 minutes. New episodes six days a week, Sunday through Friday.

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Ina Garten was Ready for the Luck," host Ari Shapiro delves into the life and career of Ina Garten, widely known as the Barefoot Contessa. Garten's journey from a government policy analyst to a beloved culinary icon is explored, highlighting her philosophy on cooking, her personal struggles, and the secrets behind her successful brand.

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Ina Garten’s Early Life and Background

Ari Shapiro begins by painting a picture of Ina Garten’s early years, contrasting her serene public persona with a tumultuous childhood.

[00:50] Ina Garten: "So it's a half a pound of butter. I know it's a lot of butter."

Garten reveals that her passion for cooking was not inherited from her parents. Raised in a “cold and sometimes abusive family” (Ari Shapiro, [00:50]), Garten found solace and identity through cooking, a stark departure from her mother's view of food as merely nourishment.

[04:11] Ina Garten: "My mother thought food was for nourishment. My mother really didn't connect with people."

Despite this challenging upbringing, Garten acknowledges the influence of her grandmother, who loved to cook and created a nurturing environment:

[05:02] Ina Garten: "I think I inherited something more from my grandmother, who loved to cook."

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Transition from Government to the Culinary World

Garten's career took a significant turn when she transitioned from working in Washington, D.C.'s Office of Management and Budget to the culinary world. The spark came from a seemingly insignificant event:

[03:28] Ina Garten: "And when we saw the ad, it's a really stupid little ad. And what appealed to me about this ad is incredible."

An old ad for a Hamptons shop reignited her passion, leading her to open her own specialty food store. This move marked the beginning of her transformation into a culinary entrepreneur.

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Building the Barefoot Contessa Brand

Ina Garten's success as the Barefoot Contessa is attributed to her unique approach to cooking and branding. Her philosophy centers on simplicity, indulgence, and the joy of cooking without guilt.

[00:42] Ari Shapiro: "It's this philosophy of simplicity, indulgence, and absolutely no guilt."

Garten emphasizes the importance of using store-bought ingredients to save time and reduce complexity, making gourmet cooking accessible.

[00:25] Ina Garten: "Store bought is fine. I mean, by the time you cook the eggplant, sliced all the ingredients and assembled it, who wants to start making marinara sauce? Not me."

Her ability to connect with audiences through small gestures of encouragement, such as praising their efforts, has endeared her to many fans.

[00:38] Ina Garten: "I mean, so far almost everything has been in your vegetable bin or your pantry."

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Philosophy on Cooking and Simplicity

Garten's cooking style is renowned for being "comfort food with an upgrade," blending simplicity with flavorful enhancements. She discusses her knack for elevating simple dishes:

[09:29] Ina Garten: "I've learned over the years that it's the thing that gives something an edge and vinegar or lemon juice or Parmesan, something like that really kind of wakes up all the flavors in a dish."

Her approach involves enhancing basic recipes with readily available ingredients to create dishes that are both easy to prepare and exceptionally delicious.

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Overcoming Challenges and Learning Curve

Transitioning from a government role to the culinary industry was not without its challenges. Garten had to learn the intricacies of running a business, managing a staff, and developing her brand from scratch.

[06:21] Ina Garten: "I think I seek them out. I think I'm not happy if I don't have a challenge."

Garten recounts the steep learning curve she experienced, including sleepless nights and the necessity of learning through hands-on experience.

[07:33] Ina Garten: "I was too tired to go home."

Her resilience and willingness to embrace challenges were key to her eventual success.

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Personal Insights and Advice

Garten offers valuable insights on turning passion into a successful career. She emphasizes the importance of "figuring it out" and aligning one’s career with what they love.

[08:26] Ina Garten: "Figure it out. There's always a way to figure out how to do what you love doing."

She advises individuals to revisit their childhood passions to discover their true calling, a method shared by career experts.

[08:26] Ina Garten: "What you use to do when you were 10... you were just doing things for fun."

Garten’s philosophy extends beyond cooking, encouraging a mindful approach to life and career choices.

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Conclusion

Ari Shapiro wraps up the episode by highlighting Ina Garten’s remarkable journey from a discontented government employee to a culinary legend. Garten’s story is one of resilience, passion, and the relentless pursuit of making simple, delicious food accessible to all. Her new memoir, "Be Ready when the Luck Happens," encapsulates her experiences and the serendipitous moments that shaped her legacy.

[10:37] Ari Shapiro: "Well, Ina Garten, it has been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you for spending the time with us."

[10:43] Ina Garten: "Thank you so much, Ari. It's great to talk to you."

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Notable Quotes

• Ina Garten ([00:25]): "Store bought is fine."
• Ari Shapiro ([00:42]): "It's this philosophy of simplicity, indulgence, and absolutely no guilt."
• Ina Garten ([04:11]): "My mother thought food was for nourishment."
• Ina Garten ([09:29]): "Comfort food with an upgrade."

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Key Takeaways

• Simplicity and Accessibility: Ina Garten’s success is built on making gourmet cooking simple and accessible.
• Personal Resilience: Overcoming a challenging childhood and transitioning careers showcases her resilience and determination.
• Philosophical Approach: Her approach to cooking emphasizes simplicity, flavor enhancement, and the joy of entertaining without guilt.
• Continuous Learning: Garten’s willingness to embrace challenges and learn new skills was crucial to building her brand.
• Inspiring Advice: Encourages individuals to pursue what they love by aligning their careers with their passions from childhood.

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For those unfamiliar with Ina Garten, this episode offers an insightful look into her life, philosophies, and the making of a culinary icon. Whether you’re a fan or new to her work, Garten’s story is both inspiring and instructive for anyone looking to turn passion into a successful endeavor.

Transcript

[Ari Shapiro]

Over the past two decades, that zippy theme song under pictures of good food, Hampton's beaches and a beautiful kitchen has become synonymous with Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. The former government policy wonk herself has become synonymous with effortless, tasty and simply elegant cooking. Store bought is fine, she often says.

[Ina Garten]

I mean, by the time you cook the eggplant, sliced all the ingredients and assembled it, who wants to start making marinara sauce? Not me.

[Ari Shapiro]

And then there are the small gestures of encouragement she gives her viewers. Like, how easy was that?

[Ina Garten]

I mean, so far almost everything has been in your vegetable bin or your pantry.

[Ari Shapiro]

It's this philosophy of simplicity, indulgence, and absolutely no guilt.

[Ina Garten]

So it's a half a pound of butter. I know it's a lot of butter.

[Ari Shapiro]

But it's really good that has made the Barefoot Contessa Ina to her many fans, so beloved. But as a kid, Garten felt anything but loved. Raised in a cold and sometimes abusive family, it wasn't until she met the now famous Jeffrey that she began to find herself.

[Ina Garten]

Jeffrey took somebody who was really very insecure and helped me find my voice.

[Ari Shapiro]

And she built an empire. Consider this for this Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrating gratitude and food. We'll take a look at how Ina Garten built a successful business, powerful brand and Happy Life. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro.

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[Ari Shapiro]

Wise.Com Ts and Cs apply it's consider this from NPR. There are the cooking show's 13 bestselling cookbooks, a thriving food business in the Hamptons that she sold decade ago and now a memoir that hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list. None of that was in Ina Garten's plan. Her legendary career began when she was working in Washington, D.C. as a somewhat discontented government employee. One day, she was sitting at her desk at the Office of Management and Budget and came across an ad in the paper. Ina Garten told me she hadn't seen or thought of the ad in years until the co writer of her new memoir, Be Ready when the Luck Happens, dug it out of the archives.

[Ina Garten]

And when we saw the ad, it's a really stupid little ad. And what appealed to me about this ad is incredible. I mean, first of all, it was like it was a shop in the Hamptons, spelled S H O P P E. So pretentious, nobody would answer that ad.

[Ari Shapiro]

The phrase that stands out to me in the ad is unlimited potential.

[Ina Garten]

Yeah, that wasn't true either.

[Ari Shapiro]

And yet it was uncannily accurate.

[Ina Garten]

It was, actually. You're right. I hadn't thought about that. But you're right.

[Ari Shapiro]

Garten didn't grow up in a family that valued great food or entertaining. In the 1950s, her mother ran a traditional home where food was strictly fuel.

[Ina Garten]

My mother thought food was for nourishment. My mother really didn't connect with people. So I think that she did what she thought a mother should do, but didn't really understand what it was about. And so she got food on the table, but it was broiled chicken and canned peas, and it was devoid of any flavor, and it was also devoid of any pleasure. There were no carbohydrates, there was no fat. There was nothing that would give anybody any sense of well being.

[Ari Shapiro]

So you didn't get your love of food from your parents. But there was one detail from your family history that stood out to me, which is that your grandfather, who immigrated from Russia, opened a candy store.

[Ina Garten]

Isn't that extraordinary?

[Ari Shapiro]

Do you think you inherited something from him?

[Ina Garten]

I think I inherited something more from my grandmother, who loved to cook. And many years later, when my grandfather had a business which we euphemistically called scrap metal, but it was really basically a junkyard where they separated parts of cars. All the employees knew that they could come next door, where my grandparents lived and just help themselves to anything in the refrigerator. And my grandmother was always cooking.

[Ari Shapiro]

So where do you think you got your love of cooking from?

[Ina Garten]

I think it's kind of a. I can't tell you. It's either in my DNA or it's. I was so desperate for flavor when I and Joy when I was a kid that I always wanted to cook. And I think food was never given as in the way I feel. It's something you do for somebody you love, and it's a way to take care of them. It was just missing from my childhood.

[Ari Shapiro]

One thing that stood out to me as I read this book was that while people think of you as a great cook and entertainer, you also had to figure out pricing spreadsheets and how to manage a staff and figure out a supply chain. And eventually you became your own art director for all of your cookbooks, all while churning out a thousand baguettes a day. So how have you handled the learning curve of taking on all the new tasks that have been thrown at you your whole life?

[Ina Garten]

You know, I think I seek them out. I think I'm not happy if I don't have a challenge. I think I can't meet. So when I was in a specialty food store with no experience at all, I asked Diana Strada, who sold me the store, to stay with me for a month to teach me what I needed to know, thinking, of course you could learn it in a month. She taught me a lot of things that were really important, but I had to figure the rest out. And I really like that process. I like taking something really complicated and sorting out how to do it. When I sold the store, I thought, well, maybe my career's behind me. Maybe the best thing I've ever done will have been Barefoot Contessa. And then when I started writing cookbooks, I realized all of those years I spent running a specialty food store and selling people things that they like to eat at home. Roast chicken, roast carrots, simple food, coconut cupcakes. That informed my experience writing a cookbook, because I was writing a cookbook for people who were cooking at home. And then when I was doing it on tv, I'd written cookbooks, so I knew how to do it step by step, and I felt confident.

[Ari Shapiro]

I don't know why this detail stands out to me, but there was a night that you slept on a shelf of your shop because you were just working all hours of all day and night.

[Ina Garten]

I was too tired to go home.

[Ari Shapiro]

So it really doesn't come easy. I mean, it really does cost great sacrifice.

[Ina Garten]

I think that it's really important to know that you need to do the work, that you can't learn it from somebody else. You have to learn it by your own experience. I mean, it's like I always say this. Anybody can fly an airplane. It's what you do when something goes wrong, that's really. That's when you really learn.

[Ari Shapiro]

Since you brought it up, you have a pilot's license, too.

[Ina Garten]

Yeah, but luckily for people in the air, I don't use it. Still.

[Ari Shapiro]

When you were a kid, your father would always ask what you accomplished each day. And one of the revelations that you have reached as an adult is that doing what you love can be an accomplishment. And so when people ask you how to turn doing what they love into their life's work, what do you tell them?

[Ina Garten]

Figure it out. There's always a way to figure out how to do what you love doing. You love traveling. Go into the travel business. When I had my store, I had a customer whose specialty was helping people figure out what their career should be. And I said to her, what do you ask them? I mean, what do you need to know in order to help people? And she said, I asked them what they used to do when they were 10, because that's what you would do when you were just doing things for fun. You were doing what you felt like doing. Not like, you should be a lawyer, you should be a doctor. You could just do whatever you wanted to do. You were putting on plays with your friends. Maybe you should be in theater these days.

[Ari Shapiro]

If I say something is in the style of Ina Garten, everyone knows what that means. Like welcoming, fresh. Oh, absolutely. Abundant, indulgent, without being fussy or over the top. There is an Ina Garten style. Thank you. It is comfort food with an upgrade. How did you figure out what that style. I'm surprised that you're surprised to hear that. I would think that that's, like, deeply baked into your DNA.

[Ina Garten]

Well, I love that description of what I love to do. You know, I always think it's easy to make something simple. It's hard to make something simple and really interesting. So I've, over the years, kind of embraced where those two things intersect. But then I'm always looking for, what can I do to what simple thing can I do to make this taste better? I remember I was making a lentil soup with my assistant, and I said to her, taste it. And she tasted it. And then I thought, there's just something missing. And she said, it's delicious. It doesn't need anything. And I said to her, you know, I just. And I went to the refrigerator, and I took out a bottle of red wine vinegar, and maybe I put a tablespoon in this huge pot of lentil soup. And I said, now taste it. And it's. I've learned over the years that it's the thing that has give something an edge and vinegar or lemon juice or Parmesan, something like that really kind of wakes up all the flavors in a dish. And so that's what I'm always looking for. And it doesn't have to be a complicated thing or an expensive thing. It can be something that's already in your refrigerator.

[Ari Shapiro]

Well, Ina Garten, it has been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you for spending the time with us.

[Ina Garten]

Thank you so much, Ari. It's great to talk to you.

[Ari Shapiro]

Her new memoir is called Be Ready when the Luck Happens. This episode was produced by Vincent Acavino and Connor Donovan. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's Consider this from and welcome back to npr. I'm Ari Shapiro.

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