With the Food Network program “Barefoot Contessa,” Ina Garten became a beloved household name. An essential element of her success is her confiding, authentic warmth—her encouragement for even the most novice home cook. Garten is “the real deal,” in the opinion of David Remnick, who has known her and her husband for many years. Although she is a gregarious teacher and presence on television, Garten prefers to do her actual cooking alone. “Cooking’s hard for me. I mean, I do it a lot, but it’s really hard and I just love having the space to concentrate on what I’m doing, so I make sure it comes out well,” she says. Garten joins Remnick to reflect on her early days in the kitchen, and to answer listener questions about holiday meals and more. Her latest book is “Be Ready When the Luck Happens,” a memoir.This segment originally aired on December 16, 2022.Plus, Alex Barasch picks three of the best erotic thrillers after being inspired to study the genre by his recent Profile of the director of the new film, “Babygirl.”
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From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
Welcome to the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Ina Garten is not just a household name. She's beloved. With the help of her Food Network program, The Barefoot Countessa, not to mention all those viral videos, Garten has 14 million cookbooks in print. Her success doesn't come from pioneering recipes or being in the foodie avant-garde.
It's got more to do with a confiding, authentic warmth that tells you that you too can make coq au vin, or a roast tenderloin, or some roast carrots even. Just follow the recipe. You can do it. Her approach to food is classic and, above all, accessible. I've known her for a while, and I must tell you that the person you see on TV is the one you get in person.
Funny, unpretentious, a shrewd businesswoman, and a master of every chicken recipe known in the history of chicken. When she goes on book tour, she doesn't come to a bookstore. She sells out the Kennedy Center. She's pretty successful. A couple of years back, Ina Garten published a book called Go-To Dinners, and I asked her to join me on the program.
Now, I have to start out by telling you the last time I had a famous cook on the show, I may have told you this, it was Jacques Pepin. And on the radio, with my laptop in the kitchen, I made crepes with him. Wow. Exactly. With my wife, Esther, laughing at me in the corner of the kitchen. So we're not going to cook. We're just going to talk.
We're not cooking. We'll cook in person. How's that?
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