Before She Was The Food Network Icon We All Love, Ina Garten Worked For The White House, Was A Supportive Army Wife, Camped In Europe, And Got Her Pilot’s License

She harnessed her dinner party hosting skills upon returning to the States, and her parties soon became well-known traditions within her community. Then, in 1972, she and Jeffrey moved to Washington, D.C., where they got government jobs. 

Jeffrey worked in the State Department, while Ina started an entry-level position at the White House. Eventually, she kept working her way up and worked for the White House Office of Management and Budget. She became a budget analyst and the nuclear energy budget for presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. 

When Ina wasn’t working at the White House, she continued to cook, entertain, and renovate houses in nearby neighborhoods to make some extra money. Not long after, Ina saw a newspaper ad for a food store in the Hamptons and used her house-flipping money to buy it. It was the Barefoot Contessa food store!

Ina quit her government job in 1978, moved back to New York, and became the store’s owner. She decided to keep the original Barefoot Contessa name, which is how her Food Network show got its title. Ina did most of the cooking for the store herself despite having no formal culinary training. She employed local chefs and bakers, and before long, the store became a local success. By 1985, she was able to move the store into a much larger location and expand it.

It became a Hamptons staple. Ina eventually sold the store to two employees after working there for two decades, and the store eventually closed in 2004, but Ina still carries its legacy. In the late 1990s, Ina started writing and publishing her own series of cookbooks, like The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which became a bestseller. 

Barefoot Contessa Parties! was published in 2001 and captured the attention of Martha Stewart and the Food Network. Her own show Barefoot Contessa premiered in 2002, and she has since become an Emmy Award winner for it.

Ina is still recording episodes of Barefoot Contessa and making appearances on other cooking and food-related shows. She is also a columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine, and, of course, still happily married to Jeffrey. They still live in the Hamptons. 

Did you know anything about Ina’s impressive past before now?

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