The Barefoot Contessa's Empire
Micheline Maynard has a long piece in the NYT today about the mini-empire of Ina Garten, a.k.a. the Barefoot Contessa. It's interesting that she was actually reluctant to do a show herself after her first cookbook took off, because of stressful experiences filming segments for her friend Martha Stewart's show. What changed her mind? "A friend sent her a copy of "Nigella Bites," the television show that starred Nigella Lawson, the popular British cookbook writer and journalist. Ms. Garten said she liked the show, in which Ms. Lawson selected a topic, explained her menu in simple terms and often invited family or friends to sample the results." The Barefoot Contessa show ended up being produced by Rachel Purnell, the same producer behind Nigella Bites, so if you've ever wondered why the two shows have the same laidback feel, now you know.
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2 Comments:
I really enjoy reading about Ina Garten and am looking forward to seeing her new kitchen and new episodes of cooking segments.
Louise at 5:28PM on 03/19/07
I've never thought about it before, but they definitely do have the same sort of feel, although there's something about ina that just seems friendlier (not that nigella comes across as unfriendly).
yumsugar at 6:00PM on 03/19/07