Ina Garten is the host of Food Network's Barefoot Contessa and Be My Guest. In 1978, she found herself working in the White House on nuclear energy policy thinking, "There's got to be more to life than this!" She saw an ad for a small food store for sale in a place she'd never been: East Hampton on Long Island. She and her husband drove up to investigate and made the owner an offer on the spot. Two months later, Ina became the owner of Barefoot Contessa, a 400-sq. ft. specialty food store.

Barefoot Contessa grew to become a 3,000-square-foot food emporium where 20 cooks and bakers prepared food. In 1996, Ina sold the store to her employees. In 1999, Ina wrote her first book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which was one of the best-selling cookbooks of the year. In 2001, Ina followed with best-selling Barefoot Contessa Parties, inviting readers into her home to share ideas and recipes. Her follow-up cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Family Style (2002), Barefoot in Paris (2004), Barefoot Contessa at Home (2006), Cooking for Jeffrey (2016) and more, showcase her easy, delicious and foolproof recipes. Ina has also written for Martha Stewart Living Magazine, O, Oprah Magazine and House Beautiful. She currently lives in East Hampton, New York and Southport, Connecticut, with her husband Jeffrey, who is a professor at the Yale School of Management.