Ina Garten, seventy-six, is one of the most beloved and successful figures in American culinary history. It all began in 1978, when she left her role writing nuclear-energy budgets at the White House to purchase Barefoot Contessa, a specialty food store in Westhampton, New York. In her two decades at the helm, she transformed the store into a gourmet destination for “earthy and elegant” fare, praised by local shoppers and celebrity clientele alike. Then, in 1999, she published The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, an instant classic packed with the simple, scrumptious, infallible recipes that would make her a household name, like Perfect Roast Chicken, Coconut Cupcakes, and Outrageous Brownies. Twelve more cookbooks have since followed, collectively selling more than 14 million copies worldwide, along with Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa, an Emmy-winning television series that ran for nearly two decades. But Garten isn’t done reinventing herself—now she’s written her first memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens.
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