Ina Garten’s new memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, opens with an epigraph attributed to her husband, Jeffrey: “Do what you love. If you love it, you’ll be very good at it.”
It’s a variation on that famous adage, “Find a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” But notice, Garten’s version cleverly omits the “never have to work” part. That’s because the celebrity chef, known for her Food Network show Barefoot Contessa and her cookbooks filled with casual comfort food, knows what it takes to achieve success. Her memoir, out this week, chronicles her journey from a somber childhood to her status as the queen of effortless, joyful hospitality.
The book begins with Garten’s childhood and details how she met her husband while he was a student at Dartmouth. I only knew Jeffrey as the dorky guy who strolls in at the end of her TV show and eats the brownies, so it was delightful to hear about the couple’s early life in Fort Bragg, N.C. — this guy was a Green Beret?! — and their summer jaunt through Europe on $5 a day. I also had no idea Ina Garten worked as a nuclear policy analyst in the White House before buying a specialty food store in the Hamptons and becoming the culinary icon we know today.
There’s no doubt Garten has led a life of privilege, but she also spent years waking up before dawn to make baguettes. Her memoir takes us to her dreamy apartment in Paris and dinner parties with Emily Blunt, but also to kitchen disasters and marriage struggles. It’s perfect for fans of foodie memoirs and anyone interested in the tricky business of building a brand. Or maybe, like me, you’re just curious about the woman behind that delicious roast chicken.
