Ina Garten »
Phonecall With Ina Garten
Published on: May 19, 2009 – 6:31 pm by Jillian Madison 
Comment
Other posts on Food Network Humor:
---Phonecall: Ina Garten & TR
1 Trackback(s)
- Aug 3, 2009: food: a “new” classic roast chicken | urban bohemian
THIS WEEK: Ina Garten's "beginner" recipes, new Food Network shows starting in September, thumbing through an issue of Semi-Homemade magazine, Rachael Ray's daytime talk show, Aarti's "accountability group", Claire Robinson on Big Daddy's House, another sensual reading of Alex Guarnaschelli's tweets, sink or swim voicemail, and much more.
Once you notice her nervous giggle, it’s ALL you notice. Seriously.
“Party in Jeffrey’s pants? Great! I’ll be there at 10!”
Oh the Ina Giggle. Guaranteed to rear its ugly head at least 30 times per episode.
I don’t think there is enough on this site to make fun of Chopped. Rice cakes, fruit punch, cocktail onions and plantains? gag
It’s so hilarious because it’s so true! You can really have a GOOD laugh when you watch her show, make sure its GOOD.
She’s been in the pantry nipping on one of her various liquors….now, how bad can that be??? (giggle, giggle) BURP
I’d take Ina’s nervous giggle any day over Paula Deen’s cackle !
So true!
Yes – the stupid phone calls are getting annoying and detract from the show. I really like Ina but the giggling has to be toned down a bit. She is beginning to sound like she is on medication – but it seems like it is not GOOD medication.
i know! so annoying! and the phone calls are so FAKE and scripted. when she calls someone you can see the person she calls meaning the camera crew was over there knowing that ina would call.
My local newspaper ran an article on her a few years ago and referred to it as her “hearty chorkle”, and now that’s all I can think about anytime she laughs.
Her freakish giggle scares me… She’s probably been drinking from the alcohol that she uses ALL THE TIME! *coughs* alcoholic….
Bless her heart, but Ina is absolutely the worst actor in the world. Let her stick to cooking yummy things and get rid of those stupid, forced interactions with her friends. Besides, I’m starting to feel sorry for her, slaving over that hot stove cooking stuff for other people, and then seeing her sitting all alone at her computer while her friends party up.
i so agree. u definately said it! lol
Has anyone noticed that she wears the cooking shirt all day long while cooking, then she goes to the market in the same shirt, THEN she goes to parties or has the people invited to her house and the poor dear still has on that shirt?? We have a bet in our house to see if she changes clothes; no one will take the bet now that she will. She’s obviously ashamed of her size but she wolfs down more butter and dough and fattening cheeses than ever. Food Network is contributing to her death by asking her to keep doing these fat shows. If she DOES fix a salad, she douses it will fattening oils instead of lemon juice for a dressing. She’s likely to get breast cancer or hardening of the arteries way before her life ends, Food Network should ask her to do a diet year where she does her fattening recipes without the fat and we follow along while she diets and exercises. It’d be a hit.
@ Cameron – Yeah, I noticed that and mentioned it, but I guess I thought I was the only one since nobody responded. Here’s what I wrote back in April:
Wait a second. I just figured it all out!! Ina NEEDS the thirty three bucks (for two dollars worth of product). This will give her some disposable income to purchase some freakin new clothes. Poor lady has to wear the same shirt every single day! And even when she’s having a party she doesn’t even have something to change into after she’s cooked all day! Poor Ina.
I also agree with you regarding the type of food she cooks. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching Ina but if you are watching your health, weight, cholesterol, yada yada, you really can’t replicate alot of her recipes. Especially the cookies and deserts. Too much fat and sugar. Yikes. Anyway, glad someone is on the same page as me. With as much $$ as she and Jeffery have, you’d think she could afford to AT LEAST TAKE A SHOWER before a party!
Ina does change her clothes. That is her Barefoot Contessa uniform.
Over the years she has gained a few LBS but nothing that cannot fixed.The woman is 60 yrs old and looks much younger if you ask me. Her weight gain is a true reflection on her love of food and she probably tests all her recipes for her countless cookbooks. That and her husband is also a huge foodie too.
I think Ina will retire shortly and with this, she will probably lose a bit of the weight.
As for her not taking shower, Byrd Brain you have no clue as to how TV shows are shot and the sequences they follow, do you ?
It’s a joke, Kyle. Get a grip.
Her double chin is a true reflection of NO WILL POWER. For God’s sake, the woman has a beach to walk on everyday, take advantage of THAT!!
Please don’t make excuses for fat people; they do it enough for themselves. It makes ALL OF US pay way more for insurance than we need to be doing, all because most of America can’t and won’t establish a routine of exercise and moderation in eating.
I like Ina, she looks great! Look at Raytard, she’s aged about 20 years since getting married to the slovenly Jaaaahn almost 5 years ago.
I can’t watch Rachael Ray; her voice grates on my nerves almost as bad as Paula Deen’s.
I’m sure Ina is a fabulous friend and good democrat, but she does NOT look great; she looks overweight and her assistant said in an interview that Ina turned down food network time after time ONLY because she knew she was fat and would look even fatter on camera, in kinder words than those, sorry.
I have enjoyed Ina’s Barefoot Contessa Show while working on a dissertation and need a calming distraction from time to time. I also love cooking. As a cancer survivor, I am very, very careful with my cooking and try to cook as close to nature as possible using healthy fresh ingredients, and as such, pick and choose among her recipes. I am not a dessert lover so not problematic, as baking seems less forgiving with modifications. Her fish and chicken recipes are wonderful. Of course, I would like to see her a bit leaner looking only because it would reflect better health, but she is a lovely presence and her show is calming and classy. After a rough day my husband and I watch it to relax, and adore the Jeffery episodes as they seem very devoted and cute with one another…”How nice is that!” : )
I really hope Ina cuts back on entertaining her gay friends. She and the Food Network want to shove their lifestyle down our throats and it’s getting old. I cant concentrate on recipes when I see two men making goo goo eyes with eachother, ruins the whole show. No, not a homphobe, just keep your sexual innuendos out of the kitchen.
Julie, stop shoving your retarded, bigoted idiocy down my throat. If you`re `not homophobic` then why would you care that many of her guests are gayÉ Obviously you do have a problem with it. Stop lying to yourself and go seek help, I`m always mystified by people who care or feel affronted by someone else`s sexual orientation. Get a life and a brain maybe?
A person who uses “retarded” as an epithet telling someone else to get a brain? Good luck with all that.
You know what, Dave? I am sick up to my eyeballs of the way, way, way, way, way oversensitivity of the gay community. Love whomever you want to love, no problem, but act like an adult and stop calling people ridiculous names just because they’re not throwing a gay-pride party for you every other weekend.
She strikes me as a drunk.
Even though I really enjoy Ina and have all of her cookbooks, I agree with most of the jibes about the “Barefoot Contessa: hob-nobbing with the rich and famous, the silly giggle, pricy ingredients, etc. That said, I have never thought of Ina as “a drunk.” She enjoys champagne, cocktails or wine in social settings, but as a conscientious and cordial hostess, I doubt that she ever drinks to excess. jmo
Overall, I like Ina, but the elitism is starting to get to me. Today, she confided to us how she likes to use GOOD quality grass-fed beef for her sliders, for crying out loud. They’re SLIDERS! And if I hear her motto “… classic dishes with the volume turned up” one more time … I’ve had to remove all throwable objects from my living room so I won’t smash my new flat screen.
“…she likes to use GOOD quality grass-fed beef…”
Ina acknowledges Niman Ranch in her cookbooks and mentions it on at least one show where she uses ground beef. I visited their website: Ground chuck is $7 a pound, plus shipping. Along with the brioche rolls, Gruyere cheese, arugula, and heirloom tomatoes, those were some very special sliders for her card sharks!
Hey, I reallly like grass-fed beef, I just think they’re wasted on sliders. Give me a nice steak, though, and I’m right there. Yummm!
Regardless of all the negative, demeaning comments about Ina,— her recepes, her friends, and her patrician life style—she brings true class and sophistication to the Food Network. Her love of people—straight, gay, or whatever is truly a breath of fresh air and so intrinsically intwined to great entertaining—I love her show and watch it faithfully with my partner—so there!!!
Absolutely agree with you, JohnOlsen! I own all of Ina’s cookbooks and have used many of her recipes. I wasn’t always able to afford those ingredients, but my husband and I deserve to indulge ourselves at this stage in our lives. While we’re certainly not wealthy, we would feel very comfortable among Ina and her eclectic “assortment” of friends with whom we could discuss the arts, business, food, wine, or travel. Ina is a consummate and genuine hostess and makes all of her guests feel welcome and comfortable. Like she says, “It’s not about the food – it’s about the friends.”
[...] for me to watch it on an early weekend morning. Even though her new series format has garnered a lot of ridicule, I can’t help loving Barefoot Contessa’s Ina Garten. The new series is subtitled [...]
I have watched Barefoot Contessa. Must say that Ina seems rather plain (which is a good thing!) She doesn’t seem snobbish at all. I am rather curious as to why she never bore children. Any facts on that? Oh, by the way, she does look height challenged. What is her height? Also, maybe she needs to retire and let someone younger have a shot at stardom?
My wife watches Food TV incessantly. One of my wife’s favorite shows is Barefoot Contessa. Generally, I like the show. My wife has made several of her recipes; they are quite good. Now for some negative comments:
1. The woman needs a new hairdo. Ina’s Prince Valiant or page boy or whatever you call it went out years and years ago. The woman needs a short do with some flair. She looks like an overweight choir boy from a bygone age.
2. if Ina says one more time, use “good olive oil” or “good vanilla” , I will scream. I actually went into the best gourmet food stores in Asheville, NC (one of my favorite stores) and looked for “bad vanilla” or, God forbid, “bad olive oil.” I had no success in finding any.
3. The woman needs a good Thesaurus. Every frickin thing is “perfect this” or “perfect that”. And, she loves to purr the word like Eartha Kitt!! It pays to improve your word power–how about “excellent” “ideal” “penultimate” “superb” “exquisite”–you get the drill!!
4. I am not a homophobe, but, give me a break. Stop having these lunches and dinners at the homes of obvious swishers. Don’t you have any straight friends, Ina??
5. Don’t they have any regular food stores in East Hampton. Or are they all elitist shops that we poor mortals can not afford??
6. I love it when Ina says “I think Jeffrey will be home soon!”. and, voila, Jeffrey appears. Do these people every have a disagreement?? I loved the episode when Jeffrey was making noises about gettiing a boat, and Ina dismissed it with, “Here’s to your future boat.” Jeffrey looks like he makes big bucks. My response, if I were Jeffrey, would respond, “I’ m getting the frickin boat, and that’s that!!” I have some Jewish friends who are very typical of Jeffrey and Ina, and, Jeffrey is definitely not in charge!!
7. We are talking big bux here, folks. Ina loves to remind us that she lives in the Hamptons. All of her friends appear to be millionaires, especially the ones living right on the beach with estates. Believe me, I am not jealous. My lifestyle is not Ina’s, but I ain’t eating pork and beans every meal either. I bevlieve, if you got it, DON’T flaunt it!!
8. The woman needs to knock off a pound or two. If she doesn’t have a coronary one of these days, I will be really surprised. Her idea of exercise is getting up in the morning. And Jeffrey is not much better. He could shed some tonnage also!!
But, of course, I’m perfect…
OMG!!! I’m laughing my ass off at your post!! Ina gets to me soooo much I just HAD to go online and vent. Your ‘overweight choir boy’ comment is priceless…
Her giggle makes me want to gouge my eyes out, especially when she gets all flirty with Jeffrey, like they’re gonna ‘do it’ right there on the table
Blech!!!!!!!!!
I’m only about a year late with my response, but I appreciate your post, too, Rick. Very funny! Also agree with Kapper’s comment. The way Ina overdoes the flirting with Jeffrey is gag-inducing. I’m happy she loves her husband and all that, but the Ina-as-flirty-sex-kitten routine is a bit much.
Omg!!! You people need to get a life. It’s a half an hour cooking show. Get over yourselves and stop analyzing every little detail. If you have issues just stop watching it. I have never heard such nit picking on such insignificant things. You watch it if you like the recipe you try to make it and if not that is the end of it.
Ooops, I forgot one thing about Ina!!–that laugh. Do you notice that when she is cooking and alone, the laugh is not existent?? But get Ina into a group, wow!! The laugh emerges. I think that in a group, every one else’s voice is muted and Ina’s voice and that laugh take center stage. Let’s edit that bad boy. I am not sure if it is just a nervous titter, but, listen to her gatherings. Her voice and THE LAUGH is definitely in the forefront. NOTICE TO SOUND EDITORS: Please tone down Ina’s voice and THE LAUGH!
@RICK: Your above posts are as astute as they are funny! Thanks for the laughs. My favorite is the “Prince Valiant” pageboy. That hairstyle was popular when I was in high school several decades ago.
Obviously, Ina is a very good cook and her recipes look mouth watering. I wouldn’t mind joining this elite group at the dinner table and start chowing down big time!
However, the way she has jeffery taste most of her finished products and seeing him enjoy it, while she giggles at every ridiculous thing he says is absolutley tortourous!!
I’ll admit that Ina can be a bit silly and rather goofy at times, but nobody is forcing you to watch her show. Heaven forbid she appreciate high-quality ingredients! No, poor-quality vanilla isn’t labeled as such, but if you’re incapable of discerning “good” products from “bad,” perhaps it is YOU with the problem, not Ina.
Does her slightly outdated haircut and failure to fit into size 2 jeans make her a bad cook? No, but your inability to look past her physical appearance makes you shallow and disgusting. Get over yourselves, people!
Okay Sarah, we’re over ourselves now…..we’ll make sure we behave. When can we come out of our room?
My guess is that you’re fat and have no life and can’t stand when other people do. Poor thing
I had never watched Ina until last January when I was confined for 14 weeks with a fracture. I became hooked on her show. I have a reputation as being a good cook and it was a treat to watch her. BUT! EVERYTHING posted by RICK above is true! And he had the nerve to say it! Ina’s recipe call for soooooo much butter she must have a dairy truck deliver it in the morning. Along with salt mine workers for all the salt delivery. And, yes, she should lose some weight. Good cooking does not mean you have to be HUGE….and folks, she is HUGE. Rick, you are the man!
I make it a point to never eat at a restaurant that has a “skinny” chef. That tells me they don’t even like their own food. Ina is a good “cook” and obviously enjoys her own food. I’ll buy that! —- Can’t watch Giada, just don’t believe her, she’s too skinny. Besides I bet she spits the food out after the “taste test” and the camera is turned off.
Wow, you folks sure like to dis poor Ina!!!!! Time for this page boy wearing, overweight, puuuuuurrrrrrfect Jewish momma to retire!!!!
Yeah, Ina has money. Her Hubby Jeffrey held a position in the Clinton administration and is on the board of numerous companies, so he’s paid his dues. The people are doing OK financially.
I’m scratching my head at how people are so cruel? I don’t make that kind of money, but I do enjoy her cooking and don’t presume to judge. If you don’t like her, her husband, her lifestyle or her cooking, do us all a favor and TURN THE CHANNEL!
Hey, Eric, the name of this website is “Food Network Humor”, not, my name is Eric and I think that I will get in here and be a critic of the posters. If you don’t like the postings, look for anothe website called “Let’s Defend the Foodies.” Looks like you like to stomp on the first amendment. Got some right wing tendencies, do we??
Hey Rick, sounds like you believe you can say what you think, but if anyone says something different, you have the responsibility to consider them “right wing”, does that mean you are “left wing”? As you pointed out the website is “Food Network Humor” not “Let’s Roast the Cooks”. I think anyone who throws stones should send a self-made video to allow others to throw stones back.
To A great lady that seems to enjoy her cooking and her friends! I have read some mean and demeaning comments about this lady, and all of you whom have made those comments should hang your heads in shame! Ina Garten is big, bold and most of all, Beautiful! You Go Girl! I am in love!!!
Yes, she is big and bold alright…BEAUTIFUL??? Me thinks not
Ina reminds me of a weeble-wobble waddling along. Anymore weight and she will weeble right over. For goodness sake Ina, love your show but 3 things for you:
1. Get a new hairstylist
2. Get a new wardrobe – lots of fashion choices these days for plus sizes you know – I know you can afford it
3. Hit the treadmill and put that piece of chicken down…
I have read the comments, the only thing that comes to mind is, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all”.
I shall use my constitutional right and say that many of those “humorous” comments sound like “sour grapes”. I just wonder what those who have shared their thoughts have achieved in their lives compared to Ina Garten. I enjoy her for who she is and aplaude her courage to share her creativity with all of us. I’m also amazed that she gets watched by those who seem to like bashing her.
If you don’t watch the food network for the food then why watch it? Barefoot Contessa is my favorite show mostly because she has such wonderful recipes and many of them use fresh ingredients with low fat dressings, etc. I don’t agree that she uses an over abundance of fat. I have to agree that her laugh is annoying but thankfully it only rears it’s ugly head at the end of the show. Rachel Ray on the other hand is annoying from start to finish. I like a lot of her recipes but I can’t stand her extreme bubbliness and raspy voice. It’s too much to take at the end of a work day. Maybe I should work out to her shows in the morning. Whew!
I’m really not an Ina-hater but there’s just so much about her that makes me laugh. I love hearing her say “Faaaaaabulous” like a caricature of some high-society lady. It makes me laugh every time. I don’t think she has ANY idea how far removed she is from the average person, even the well-to-do average person. I recently read an online interview where she was asked about her favorite things. One of them was a particular brand of slippers (can’t remember the name) which are cashmere and cost $480! I’m not jealous of her riches (or her slippers) nor do I hold her extravagant lifestyle against her…I just think she’s amusing. :-)
I love Ina. I think she has put on a few pounds recently. Her hair is fine by the way. She would look horrible in any other “do”. The giggle doesn’t bug me nor the gay friends. However, if she says, “Dont have any fun without me” one more time, I will scream.