In 1999, Ina Garten joined her friend for an episode of “Martha Stewart Living.” While filming, Garten made a major faux pas while cooking in Martha Stewart’s picture perfect kitchen. In a scene that didn’t make it onto the show, she took a bite of food and kept talking. It’s something viewers would later see all the time on her own Food Network cooking show, “The Barefoot Contessa,” but at the time it didn’t fly at Stewart’s house.
Garten told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that she went in for a taste of the recipe that Stewart was preparing but producers cut out the sloppy scene. “I took a spoonful of it and tasted it and go, ‘This is really good.’ And the Martha Stewart crew said, ‘Cut! You can’t talk with your mouth full.’ And I was like, ‘Why? It’s a cooking show.'” That outtake caught the eye of a network executive who offered Garten her own show — and while it took some convincing, the rest is history.
Read Related Also: Shell profits double to record $57 billion following invasion of Ukraine
Garten told “How to Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black” that the difference between her show and Stewart’s was that she did things “a little simpler” and made them “doable” for her viewers, whereas Stewart was known for her elaborate presentation. But Stewart’s confidence did help newbie Garten find her own lane in the crowded foodie world. “She’s so confident and so good at what she does that I just kind of took my cues from her,” Garten told People in 2016. “I think I took my confidence from her confidence.”
