books

a barefoot contessa

Lovin'
Spoonful

Celebrity chef Ina Garten

weaves a passionate tale

sprinkled with recipes

in her latest book,

Cooking for Jeffrey.

Carla Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

Quentin Bacon
Photography

46-

c.

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Ina and Jeffrey Garten at

their wedding in 1968

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52 December 15 2016

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estselling author Ina Garten
has cooked up a new cook-
book — combining friend-
ship, tenderness and respect with 48
years of marriage.
Garten, famously known as the
Barefoot Contessa, adds her 10th
book, Cooking for Jeffrey (Clarkston
Potter; $35), to her repertoire. Garten's
previous Barefoot Contessa offerings
are straightforward cookbooks, burst-
ing with delectable recipes. But this
new book is unique — because it's
personal. Cooking for Jeffrey is a love
story entwined with food.
"Cooking is one of the great gifts
you can give those you love Garten
writes in the book's introduction.
Before each of the chapters, she
describes a personal vignette about
her life with her husband. These mini
portraits exude a tender, devoted rela-
tionship.
The first story begins when she
meets Jeffrey — not exactly a meet-
ing so much as a sighting. Jeffrey
spotted her from the window at the
Dartmouth library and inquired about
her. In a classic coup de foudre —
French for lightning bolt — he was
smitten from afar. Coincidentally, his
roommate knew her, and they met. A
bar was suggested for their first date,
but she was underage. When they
were turned away, the couple went to a
coffeehouse.
The stories go on to tell a timeline
of their marriage from camping trips
to a Paris rendezvous to an auspicious
dinner Garten attended, cooked by a
friend. She was inspired by the prepa-
ration, taste and presentation. She
then began entertaining and hosting
dinner parties herself.
In 1978, Garten was working as a
budget analyst in the White House
when she read about a specialty store,
the Barefoot Contessa, for sale in the
Hamptons. The couple decided to buy