Ina Rosenberg Garten (born February 2, 1948) is an American author
and host of the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa. Known for
creating fine cuisine foods with an emphasis on quality ingredients and
timesaving tips, she has been championed by Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, and Patricia
Wells as an authority on cooking and home entertaining.
Garten had no formal training; she taught herself culinary techniques with
the aid of French and New England cookbooks. Later, she relied on intuition and
feedback from customers and friends to refine her recipes. She was mentored
chiefly by Eli Zabar, of Eli's Manhattan and Eli's Breads fame, and domestic maven
Stewart. Among her hallmark dishes are cœur à la crème, celery root remoulade,
pear clafouti, and a simplified version of bœuf bourguignon. Her
culinary career began with her gourmet food store, Barefoot Contessa; Garten
parlayed this success into a string of best-selling cookbooks, magazine
columns, self-branded convenience foods, and a popular Food Network television
show.
The consistent use of the original store name through
Garten's books, television show, and product line has led fans to refer to her
as simply "the Contessa"