Ina Garten is the author of many cookbooks and hosts a successful cooking show, Barefoot Contessa. After the Food Network star handed over the reins to her store of the same name, she entered the publishing world and published her first cookbook, Barefoot Contessa cookbook. Here’s why Garten says this was a “big game”.
Ina Garten worked in a specialty store and in the White House before the Food Network
Garten did not begin his career in the food industry. Before becoming a famous chef, she worked in the White House as a budget analyst under the Ford and Carter administrations. She focused on nuclear energy policy.
In 1978, Garten saw a newspaper ad for the sale of a specialty grocery store called Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptons, New York. “I went home and I told Jeffrey about it,” Garten said during an interview with PBS. “And he said, choose something you love to do. If you love to do it, you’ll be really good at it.”
Garten took a chance and answered the ad. She says she made a low offer when she thought there would be a negotiation. However, the previous owner called the next day and accepted her offer. To Garten’s great surprise, she became the new owner.
Ina Garten says her first bookstore was a big risk
Garten spoke to Food Network about her career journey. She says her first bookstore was risky. This is because the publisher demanded that she buy half of the published books so she could sell them in her specialty store, Barefoot Contessa. Therefore, she had to buy 5,000 books.
“I didn’t really think about how many books it was,” Garten says. “It was a big roll of the dice.”
Garten was nervous about whether her books would sell. However, she had nothing to worry about. The large shipment of books was delivered to Garten’s store, but just three days later someone called and told her that she should send all the books back at once. According to the Food Network, the first batch of 5,000 copies and another 15,000 books ordered by the publisher were sold out, and they needed more copies.
Ina Garten never thinks she will stop writing cookbooks
If you’re afraid that Garten will stop writing cookbooks, fear not. The barefoot Contessa star loves writing cookbooks so much that she can’t see herself ever stopping. If things continue to go her way, she will write books in the years to come.
“I just think it’s in my DNA,” Garten said in an interview with Epicurious. “When I get up in the morning, I think, what do I want to do today? Testing recipes is what I feel like. And I’m going to walk out of the house and next to this big, open barn and just have a good time. ”
“I simply can not believe I’m going to do this,” Garten adds. “After having several careers first – like a nuclear energy policy won and running a specialty grocery store – it’s as good as it can get.”
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