- Everybody's favorite culinary star, Ina Garten,
is more than her perfect roast chicken,
spectacular hosting skills and charming character.
So, we dove a little bit deeper,
to find 13 things you may not know
about the remarkable woman, behind Barefoot Contessa.
Number one, Ina Garten can fly an airplane.
If you're wondering, what in
the world, then you're not alone.
She thought, it would be fun, to learn,
after watching her college roommate learn.
She attended pilot classes in 1969,
and later received a license to fly solo.
The school in Fayetteville, North Carolina,
didn't have any flight instructors
that were willing to teach a women,
so they found an instructor from another city.
Fortunately, times have flown way past that era.
Number two, Meghan Markle made Ina's Perfect Roast Chicken
on the night of Prince Harry's proposal.
That's right, the Duchess of Sussex
was roasting Ina's signature chicken,
when Prince Harry got on his knee.
Ina claims that her roast chicken
has facilitated countless marriages around the world.
Some people even call the dish, Engagement Chicken.
I'm just hoping, it will get my
husband, to mop the floor, tonight.
Number three.
Her weekly message routine has lasted over 34 years.
Who has a massage routine?
One day she woke up, and realized, she was working too hard,
so she did two things, she got a red Mustang Convertible,
and started a weekly message routine.
You're quite the diva, Ina.
Number four.
Before Ina became a successful chef
and TV star, she worked in the White House.
Ina's food career began, when she needed a change
from writing nuclear energy budgets for the White House.
She saw an ad for Barefoot Contessa,
which was a specialty food store, for sale in The Hamptons.
She made a lowball offer, and
to her surprise, they accepted it.
#Dreamcometrue.
Number five, move over, Joanna Gaines,
Ina Garten used to flip houses.
While she was working in the White House,
she bought neglected homes, and polished them for resale.
She believes that starting with high quality furniture,
goes a long way, in making a beautiful living space.
That believe applies to cooking, she says.
High quality ingredients is the key for great tasting food.
She clearly had money, before this whole thing started.
Number six, she excelled in her high school science class.
Her knack for cooking stems from
her love of science, but now,
instead of science experiments, she creates new recipes.
I've been doing that since I was a kid.
When writing recipes for cookbooks,
she goes through a long process.
She test each recipe, under different cooking conditions,
because she can't predict, how people will cook at home.
I'm glad that science class was useful for something.
Number seven, when she was growing up,
Ina's mum didn't allow her in the kitchen.
Her mother aspired for Ina's continued academic success.
Ina told CBS News, she used to say,
"It's my job to cook, and your job to study."
Ina's not even trained professionally.
In fact, she first learned to cook
from cookbooks, by Julia Child.
Nothin' wrong with that.
Number eight, Ina was an early adopter of the Internet.
For a long time, I could only check my email.
She used the website, barefootcontessa.com,
to extend the Barefoot Contessa physical store.
The earliest available version of the website,
featured coffees, deserts and other
specialty items, but phone orders, only, please.
No way that would work today.
Number nine,
sometimes she struggles to make perfect recipes.
Finally, something we have in common.
In fact, she's worked on a Boston
Cream Pie recipe for six years.
It still hasn't made it into a cookbook, yet.
She won't include it in the book,
until she gets (explosion) the flavoring just right.
Ina, give it up.
Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there.
Number 10, Ina doesn't watch her own show.
Oh, me either.
She doesn't watch any shows.
She's often asked to make guest appearances
on other shows, but she always turns them down.
She doesn't like seeing herself on TV.
Don't be so hard on yourself, Ina.
We love watching you.
Number eleven, Ina and her husband, Jeffrey,
backpacked in Europe for four months, in 1971.
Go, Ina!
They slept in a tent, and cooked
over a gas stove, while exploring Europe.
This trip was a culinary revelation for Ina.
The french street markets exposed her
to the power of simple ingredients.
She says, her last meal on earth,
would be a hotdog from Frenchie's in Paris.
I get you, Ina.
I love a good hotdog.
Number 12, is her secret to a successful marriage.
She and Jeffrey attribute the success of their marriage,
to the fact that they both believe,
the other to be the most important person in the world.
How sweet is that?
In fact, she based one of her recent cookbooks,
on their relationship and included recipes
of his favorite dish, Perfect Roast Chicken.
Number 13, her entourage includes,
Jennifer Garner, Elmo, and Taylor Swift.
When do I get an entourage?
She's even cooked a birthday dinner
for Jennifer, and hosted Elmo on Barefoot Contessa.
Hey, Ina, wanna come on my show?
Mom vs The Barefoot Contessa?
If you're scared, say you're scared.
You gotta admit, Ina Garten is pretty cool.
Comment below, and let me know,
who you like to hear about, next.
Follow me on Instagram,
and check out my show, Mom Versus.
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(upbeat music)