Lady Luck: Ina Garten discusses her memoir at Segerstrom Hall
Ina Garten admitted that she felt pressure to write her memoir for years.
“It took me so long to decide to do it, and I thought to myself, ‘Who is going to want to read that?’†said the Food Network personality, also known as the Barefoot Contessa. “How interesting can that be?â€
The resounding applause inside the sold-out Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa answered her question.
Garten’s long-awaited memoir, “Be Ready When the Luck Happens†released on Oct. 1, is already a New York Times bestseller, joining her catalog of 13 bestselling cookbooks. On Oct. 24, she joined actress and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus on stage to talk about the new book and the life she is lucky to live.
Although Garten is often portrayed in her kitchen in the Hamptons, she began her career in a very different environment. She was working at the White House as a staff member of the Office of Management and Budget when she answered an ad in the New York Times’ Business Opportunities section for a 400-square-foot specialty food store called Barefoot Contessa in Westhampton Beach.
For the new book, Garten’s longtime collaborator, Deborah Davis, interviewed her, and the two women also visited important locations from Garten’s life, which helped retrieve memories. They paid a visit to the house she shared in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Jeffrey Garten, to recall the conversation they had before they went to look at the store. Unbeknownst to the couple, the store would become the catalyst for an entirely new career for Garten. Being back in the same spot and remembering that fateful day reignited emotions for the now 76-year-old.
“Deborah said, ‘Let’s stand in front of the steps and tell me about the conversation you had with Jeffrey when you were leaving to go to Westhampton,’ and I lost it,†said Garten. “I forgot that it was such a hard conversation. I had to actually be there to remember the emotion of it … I forgot how unhappy I was in Washington.â€
Garten left her bureaucratic job and took over the Barefoot Contessa shop, and went on to write cookbooks inspired by the cooking and catering she did there. She eventually launched two television series: “Be My Guest†and “Barefoot Contessa†on Food Network and Max, earning five Emmy Awards and three James Beard Awards.
Louis-Dreyfus, who hosts the award-wining podcast “Wiser Than Me,†asked Garten what she thought of the memoir-writing experience.
“Was it exhausting?†Louis-Dreyfus asked.
“It was exhilarating,†Garten said.
While Garten is often compared to other domestic goddesses like Martha Stewart and Paula Dean, Garten possesses an accessibility that has made her popular across a wide range of audiences. She has popularized phrases like “How easy is that?†and “Store-bought is fine†that makes her lifestyle attainable rather than aspirational.
Garten credits much of her success to luck, as the the title of her new book implies.
“When I was buying a specialty food store, I was really lucky that I had chosen a field at time when women were going back to work and they had jobs, they had families and they had houses to take care of and they started buying dinner to take out. The specialty food stores were really happening. I was really lucky that I caught this.â€
But she also acknowledges that although she had never worked in a kitchen before, she had taught herself to cook, and she spent time renovating houses and taking out loans to fund such projects. The skill set she cultivated prepared her in the years leading up to taking over the store.
“I did these things because they were fun, not because it was work, and I realized I was ready when the luck happened,†said Garten.
In the book, she discuss some things her many fans already know, like her long romance with her husband of over 50 years, but there are also stories that are less familiar, particularly ones about her difficult childhood.
“A friend of mine who writes about childhood development said the expression is: what goes in early, goes in deep,†said Garten.
Most of all, her fans were also there for talk about cooking, which Garten manages to present in away that is both enticing and achievable. She and Louis-Dreyfus gushed while discussing a French salad, served warm.
Garten described “a warm vinaigrette with chicory and bacon.â€
“I imagine its hard to make,†said Louis-Dreyfus.
“It’s not, you just have to get the balance of flavors right,†Garten said. “I am actually working on that for my next cookbook.â€
Garten told funny, personal stories about camping with her husband and trouble she has gotten into with her bad French. She also shared about her professional life, learning how to run Barefoot Contessa on the fly and the process of putting together her first book proposal. Garten took questions from the audience submitted ahead of time about favorite recipes and cooking, and signed copies of her books, including the new memoir, were for sale in the lobby.
Garten said she feels fortunate that each time in her life she dove into a new adventure, be it business ownership, cookbook writing or launching a show on the Food Network, the experience always worked out incredibly well. Luckily, it seems her memoir can be added to that list of successes.
“Deborah said somebody is going write your memoir, and it should be you,†said Garten. “And I finally said, ‘Ok, sign me up.’â€
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