FOOD NEWS
The Martha Stewart Mishap That Launched Ina Garten's Career
By Kalea Martin
Celebrity chef Ina Garten is best known as Food Network’s “Barefoot Contessa,” the same name as her gourmet food store in Easthampton, New York. While other celebrity chefs started their TV careers on cooking competitions, Garten kicked off hers during a guest appearance on a longtime friend’s show.
Garten revealed to CBS that when she was invited to guest-star on an episode of “Martha Stewart Living” in 1999, one of the outtakes ultimately changed her career. "I took a spoonful [of food] and tasted it and [went], 'This is really good.' And the Martha Stewart crew said, 'Cut. You can't talk with your mouth full.' And I was like, 'Why? It's a cooking show,'" Garten said.
After a Food Network executive saw the outtake, they immediately became interested in giving Garten a show. Though Garten initially turned the offer down, she said she later agreed, with the condition that she didn't have to film in front of a studio audience.