Why Ina Garten Doesn't Miss Her Job At The White House - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

What was Ina Garten's job at the White House? ›

Eventually she was assigned the position of budget analyst, which entailed writing the nuclear energy budget and policy papers on nuclear centrifuge plants for presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

Currently, Jeffrey serves as the Dean Emeritus at the Yale School of Management and teaches courses on the global economy. According to his faculty page, prior to joining Yale, he worked for multiple White House administrations, served in the U.S. Army Special Forces and was a managing director on Wall Street.

In a new interview for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' podcast, Wiser Than Me, Garten admitted that it "wasn't a struggle at all" to decide against having children. "I had no interest in having children," she told Louis-Dreyfus. "I had a terrible childhood, and it was nothing I wanted to recreate.

Garten first became wealthy thanks to real estate. Before becoming famous, she purchased, renovated and flipped old homes, which gave her the funds to buy her original Barefoot Contessa shop. After Barefoot Contessa closed, she retained ownership of the property, garnering income from new tenants.

Ina husband, Jeffrey, is also a financial powerhouse. According to Celebritynetworth.com, Jeffrey is worth $100 million, mostly thanks to his former jobs as managing director of Lehman Brothers and Blackstone Group.

"Cristeta Comerford is White House Chef (Photos)".

Garten is Jewish by birth and heritage, as is her husband, but rarely refers to her religion and ethnicity, though they are showcased through the inclusion of classic Jewish cooking in her television show and cookbooks, when she makes such dishes as rugelach, challah, and brisket.

“The former owner is Italian and her family called her the Barefoot Contessa when she was young," Ina wrote. After buying the shop on a whim (with no cooking, food, or business experience, Ina decided to leave behind a job at the White House), she was inspired to keep the name.

For over 20 years, Ina Garten has shared her comforting and foolproof recipes with the world through her beloved cookbooks and "Barefoot Contessa" show. But before becoming a Food Network star, Garten wrote budgets at the White House and ran a Hamptons grocery store.

Ina Garten is opening up about her decision not to have kids. During a recent appearance on Julia Louis-Dreyfus' podcast "Wiser Than Me," the Food Network star got candid about having "no interest in having children" and how her husband Jeffrey Garten has been supportive of her choice.

How tall is Ina Garten and what does she weigh? ›

Biography and Personal Life

Garten is of Jewish descent and is currently 75 years old. She has a height of 160 cm (5'2″) and weighs approximately 70 kg (154 lbs). She has dark brown eyes and hair.

Garten ran the Barefoot Contessa store for 18 years — eventually moving it from Westhampton Beach to a bigger location in East Hampton — before she sold it to two of her employees in 1996. Three years later, Garten published her first cookbook with recipes from her store. Then, Food Network came calling.

The one meal Ina simply couldn't live without is roast chicken. She even cites it as one of the reasons her husband, Jeffrey, proposed marriage in 1968.

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Ina Garten and her husband Jeffrey Garten are celebrating New Year's Eve in style! The Food Network star, 75, and her husband Jeffrey Garten rang in 2024 while in Paris, where they own an apartment.

Jeffrey always encouraged her to work and do something that would make her happy. Her first job was working as a budget analyst for the White House Office of Management and Budget. She worked there under the Carter Ford administrations. Her specific role was to work on nuclear energy policy and nuclear energy budget.

In 1978, Garten left her job as a budget analyst at the White House to buy a specialty food store in East Hampton, NY. After 18 years, she sold the business and decided to write a cookbook. In 1999, at age 51, she published her best-seller "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," catapulting her career.

For over 20 years, Ina Garten has shared her comforting and foolproof recipes with the world through her beloved cookbooks and "Barefoot Contessa" show. But before becoming a Food Network star, Garten wrote budgets at the White House and ran a Hamptons grocery store.

Andre Rush is an American celebrity chef and military veteran. He worked in the White House as a Chef for four administrations.