Quentin Bacon

There is a lot more to Ina Garten than a plethora of comforting home-cooked recipes. The domestic diva has been extremely successful (even before her Food Network fame!), and has lived quite the interesting life...

1. Even as a child, Garten was always very meticulous.

She excelled in school, especially in science classes, which played a big part in Garten's culinary career later in life. She has said that all of her recipes and ingredients are measured precisely — as if they were a scientific equation.

2. She and her husband, Jeffrey, met when she was only 15 years old.



Garten was visiting her older brother at Dartmouth College when she ran into Jeffrey and romance quickly blossomed. Garten decided to put her education on hold after high school to be with him, and the happy couple were married in December of 1968 — she was 20 and he was 22.

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3. She's a pilot.

Garten didn't just stay home and cook while Jeffrey was deployed in the Vietnam War; she took flying lessons and got her pilot's license to keep herself busy.

4. Her career didn't start in food. It started in the White House.

She worked in The White House Office of Management and Budget under Presidents Ford and Carter as the budget analyst, where she was responsible for writing the nuclear energy budget, among other things.

5. Her nickname, "The Barefoot Contessa," comes from the name of the speciality store she bought in the Hamptons.

She used the funds gained from buying, flipping, and selling houses to purchase The Barefoot Contessa in 1978. The previous owners had named the shop after the 1954 movie The Barefoot Contessa, starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart.

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6. Garten collects cookbooks and cake stands.

Across from her East Hampton house, her workshop and test kitchen called "The Barn" has a whole room dedicated to her collection. The room is lined with shelves — books on the bottom and cake stands on top. She has even referred to herself as "a cake stand hoarder"!

7. Her most popular recipe (ever!) on Food Network is the Balsamic Roasted Beet Salad.

The delicious dish takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to make, but is filled with sweet beets and cheesy goodness and is totally worth it.

6. Her go-to menu for dinner parties is a rack of lamb and orzo with roasted vegetables — served with whiskey sours.



Garten says everybody loves this meal, but you will have to measure everything exactly to get the desired taste.

Monica Wang

9. She has never watched herself on TV.

"I couldn't possibly. If I watched a show, I don't think I'd ever do it again," she once said. She is, however, a big fan of serial dramas, like Homeland.

10. She doesn't like to cook for herself.

When making a solo meal, she says she throws together a salad but never turns on the oven.

11. Garten counts Tina Fey and Taylor Swift as her friends.

Also in her friend circle: her fellow Food Network stars, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Wolfgang Puck, and, of course, Jeffery!

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Just another day at the office - OMG cooking with Taylor Swift! Love her!!! @taylorswift @foodnetwork_magA photo posted by Ina Garten (@inagarten) on Mar 13, 2014 at 3:07pm PDT

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12. Before her success at Food Network, Garten tried to sell a cooking show to Martha Stewart Living.

Stewart, however, didn't like the idea and demanded that all of the pilot tapes that Garten had already recorded be destroyed.

13. Her Food Network show, The Barefoot Contessa, has been on the air for 13 years.

When she was first approached about the TV show, Garten refused. However, after several attempts to persuade her, she finally agreed to film 13 episodes for the first season. Since then she has filmed over 240 episodes. Her show is enjoyed by approximately 1 million viewers.

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