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Ina Garten and Jeffrey: A love story for the ages

Few couples in the public eye match the adoration that Ina Garten and her husband, Jeffrey, so clearly have for one another.

Fans of "Barefoot Contessa" might recognize Jeffrey from his many appearances on Garten's show - always showing up at just the right moment to gush over how delicious the meal she has prepared is.

However, you might not know much else about the long-lasting couple, from how they met to how he encouraged her to pursue her cooking passion.

Here's a complete timeline of Ina Garten and Jeffrey's incredible love story.

1963: Ina Rosenberg met Jeffrey Garten when she was 15 years old and visiting her brother at Dartmouth College.

Their romance began to blossom after Jeffrey spotted Ina on campus from the library window.

"Look at that girl, isn't she beautiful?" Jeffrey told his roommate at the time, according to Food Network. As it happened, Garten's roommate knew precisely who she was — Ina Rosenberg, the younger sister of a friend whom he had planned a date with that night.

After the date didn't lead anywhere, Jeffrey sent her a letter with his photo in it. The future cookbook author was immediately interested.

"He saw me on the street and then sent me a letter with a photograph of himself in it," she told People in 2018. "I just remember running through the house and going, 'Mom, Mom, you've got to see this picture of this guy. He's so cute!'"

1963: Months later, a young Jeffrey and Ina went on their first date, but it was far from smooth sailing.

After Jeffrey picked up Ina, who was still in high school at the time, he drove them over to a bar in Port Chester, New York, where the legal drinking age was 18.

"It was a disaster," she told Food Network. "I had never been to a bar in my life! The guy at the door says, 'Where's your ID?' and I thought, 'What ID?'"

They ended up going to a coffee shop instead, where they had a "perfectly good time," according to Jeffrey.

1968: Ina, 20, and Jeffrey Garten, 22, wed at Ina's parents' house in Stamford, Connecticut.

After they were married, Ina and Jeffrey Garten settled in North Carolina after Jeffrey enlisted in the Army. With no plans to continue her studies at Syracuse University, Ina focused on cooking for her husband.

However, Jeffrey pushed her to pursue her passions for business and cooking, and she ended up getting her pilot's certificate on the side.

"We were part of the first generation where there was a fork in the road for a lot of women, whether to pursue their careers or stay at home," Jeffrey told People in 2018. "Ina was a cross between the two. She would send me brownies in a shoebox when I was in college and make me sweaters, but it never crossed my mind that she wouldn't also do something really interesting professionally."

1969: The newlyweds were separated by thousands of miles during Jeffrey's service in the Army and a long-term trip to Tokyo for his job, but their love letters kept them strong.

"I wrote to Ina every single day," he told People in 2018 of his time stationed in Thailand. "During the whole year, I was only able to call her once."

Ina saved all the letters and has spoken about reflecting on them 50 years after the pair tied the knot. One of Jeffrey's letters mentioned how he'd love to take her to Paris, despite not having enough money for a hotel.

Paris still holds a special place in the couple's hearts and is where they've spent their anniversary every year.

1971: It wasn't until the pair took a trip to Paris on a shoe-string budget that Ina truly explored her talents in the kitchen.

Using all the ingredients France had to offer, Ina prepared all their meals on a small gas camping stove.

"I had always thought about French food as 'cuisine' with complicated preparations and slowly simmered sauces," Garten wrote in her cookbook "Cooking for Jeffrey," according to Bon Appétit. "I discovered French street markets and simple, seasonal food that was based on incredibly good ingredients."

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by Anonymousreply 42February 5, 2021 7:19 PM

"It was the first formative period in her cooking," Jeffrey told Food Network. "All those little shops in Europe — the boulangeries — Ina would walk through them and just glow."

When they returned home, Ina began working her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in order to hone her skills.

While in DC, Ina Garten spent her days earning her degree from Georgetown University and later on working at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Jeffrey, meanwhile, worked in the State Department. At night, the Gartens entertained their throngs of friends at weekly dinner parties.

"People still talk about her parties," Jeffrey told Food Network. "They were legendary."

According to Insider, Garten worked under both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, helping to write the nuclear energy budget.

Ina Garten and Jeffrey decided early on in their relationship not to have children.

"It was a choice I made very early," Garten said during an appearance on Katie Couric's podcast in 2017. "We decided not to have children. I really appreciate that other people do and we will always have friends that have children that we are close to..." Garten explained. "I really felt, I feel, that I would have never been able to have the life I've had. So it's a choice and that was the choice I made."

"We don't have any children. I'm her family," Jeffrey told Johns Hopkins Magazine in 2016.

1978: Shortly after her 30th birthday, Garten quit her government position and bought the small Barefoot Contessa shop in East Hampton, New York.

"When I told [Jeffrey] I wanted to move to New York and open a food store, he said, 'Let's move to New York!'" Garten told People in 2018. "That he would not object to moving to a different state for my career was so unusual, particularly 40 years ago."

It became her new passion project and would be the key in launching her to superstardom.

"Jeffrey said, 'If you love it, you'll be really good at it,'" Garten told the New York Times' Sam Sifton during a virtual chat for the release of "Modern Comfort Food," her latest cookbook. "And that's the best advice anybody ever gave me."

Jeffrey also kept busy and worked his way to becoming managing director at Lehman Brothers.

1995: After Jeffrey took a job as the dean of Yale's School of Management, Ina got to work decorating his commuter home to be just like their one in New York City.

While Jeffrey was on business for Lehman Brothers in Tokyo, Garten did the same thing for his apartment there, even going so far as to hire a Japanese artist to replicate his desk chair.

Their Southport, Connecticut, home looks almost identical to how it did over 20 years ago — except for a few personal touches courtesy of Jeffrey.

"Ina doesn't like any evidence of her public life," he told Food Network, "so I collect all the newspaper and magazine articles. The walls are covered with pictures of Ina."

As a first-time author, Garten was new to the publishing business and wasn't sure the book would be successful. However, her husband was always supportive.

"She has natural talent, but it's backed by so much effort and so much focus," he said. "When she had the store, she'd work until midnight all the time. The discipline of her recipe testing and how seriously she takes it — she doesn't settle for anything but the best. She's like a runner who collapses at the finish line even though she was ahead the whole race."

Her hard work paid off — the first initial 5,000 copies of "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," plus an extra 15,000 the publisher ordered in advance because of strong press engagement, sold out almost immediately.

"We're always texting each other and calling," she told People. "But I have to say I really look forward to Thursday or Friday when he comes home and the weekends are sacrosanct."

by Anonymousreply 1February 2, 2021 6:18 PM

"When we're not together, I'll send her five or six texts per day," Jeffrey said. "I love looking at her schedule. I can envision where she is and what she's doing, and it doesn't feel like we're apart. If I could be with her seven days a week, 24 hours a day, that would be my ideal."

"I feel like I prepared my whole life to be quarantined, or working towards a place where we could be quarantined," the Barefoot Contessa told People in September 2020. "Jeffrey writes and he teaches remotely, and I think [he] is going to look back on these days as the good old days. I make him lunch, I make him dinner and he's home all the time."

"He would always leave on Monday and come back on Friday and I stayed in one place," Ina said. "I always wondered what it was going to be like when he retired. And when this happened, I thought, oh, I guess that's what's it's going to be like ... I have to say, it's great."

by Anonymousreply 2February 2, 2021 6:18 PM

Omg, I can't believe how much Jeffrey looks like Ari Melber in this photo!

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by Anonymousreply 3February 2, 2021 6:19 PM

Jeffrey was a real cutie. Frankly, I think Ina's weight issues work in her favor in the looks department. It's kept the wrinkles away. If she was to lose all that weight the years would show like mad. She doesn't look anywhere near 73.

by Anonymousreply 4February 2, 2021 6:24 PM

Ina was very pretty way back when .

by Anonymousreply 5February 2, 2021 6:26 PM

This is a sweet story.

by Anonymousreply 6February 2, 2021 6:36 PM

I can't believe that Jeffrey put up with her FNARTS for 50 years.

Peeeee yeeeewwwww!!

by Anonymousreply 7February 2, 2021 6:37 PM

[quote] Their romance began to blossom after Jeffrey spotted Ina on campus from the library window.

Now people can spot her from outer space.

by Anonymousreply 8February 2, 2021 6:43 PM

[quote] Their romance began to blossom after Jeffrey spotted Ina on campus from the library window.

Is that before or after he noticed the hot footback jock stud walking in front of Ina?

by Anonymousreply 9February 2, 2021 6:47 PM

Sounds like a successful, lavender marriage.

by Anonymousreply 10February 2, 2021 7:03 PM

I heard the secret ingredient for most of her dishes is to start with a sofrito of minced children. It's also a good rub for Friday night roast chicken!

by Anonymousreply 11February 2, 2021 7:13 PM

R11 = Marjorie Taylor Greene

by Anonymousreply 12February 2, 2021 11:04 PM

It's shocking that she's 73. Doesn't look it.

by Anonymousreply 13February 2, 2021 11:13 PM

Awww, they’ve been together since they were merely chubby. Cute couple.

by Anonymousreply 14February 2, 2021 11:50 PM

She doesn't look a pound over 220.

by Anonymousreply 15February 2, 2021 11:57 PM

Has her fart output increased or decreased in the past 50 years?

by Anonymousreply 16February 3, 2021 3:15 AM

She farts BABY farts now, literally.

by Anonymousreply 17February 3, 2021 6:26 AM

I shoulda known YOU’D know where to find the shents and the PROSCIUTTO!

by Anonymousreply 18February 3, 2021 6:35 AM

— Fans should know the price you pay

— Food Network should know the price I pay

by Anonymousreply 19February 3, 2021 6:43 AM

How the fuck has he withstood her farts all these years???

by Anonymousreply 20February 3, 2021 7:08 AM

With all her money why can't she lose weight and do something with herself. She's frumpy

by Anonymousreply 21February 3, 2021 10:14 AM

It's cool that they like each other so much.

by Anonymousreply 22February 3, 2021 10:28 AM

[quote] How the fuck has he withstood her farts all these years???

Ina's dutch ovens excite Jeffrey not only in the kitchen.

by Anonymousreply 23February 3, 2021 1:51 PM

She's terrific, down-to-earth, talented, and educational.

Although my partner doesn't really cook a lot. he LOVES Ina Garten, her cookbooks, her recipes, etc. One of the first gifts I gave him when we started dating a few years ago was one of her cookbooks. I meant it as a goof. Maybe we had been dating three months. He opened the Ina Garten cookbook and I started laughing, thinking he'd find it humorous and goofy. Nope! He loved the cookbook. He gushed about me and the cookbook to his friends and family. For the next three months, he'd make recipes from it for me and his family.

For his birthday, I gave him another Ina Garten cookbook. More kisses, more loving, more joy, more cooking. He started inviting MY friends / family to his place for brunch and dinner. I will always be grateful and appreciative to Ina (and Jeffrey).

by Anonymousreply 24February 3, 2021 2:00 PM

What's mediocre vanilla doing in this pantry when I told you NO MEDIOCRE VANILLA EVER!!!

by Anonymousreply 25February 3, 2021 2:05 PM

This will make Martha Stewart's head swivel. Real vanilla extract is not always better than the imitation vanilla extract. Some of the compounds in pure vanilla can not survive the extreme heat in the baking process and imitation vanilla actually provides a better taste in the final product.

This cookbook author did a cookie taste test with pure and imitation vanilla. The testing group preferred the cookies made with imitation vanilla 2 to 1.

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by Anonymousreply 26February 3, 2021 2:21 PM

This thread REEKS of Ina's farts!

by Anonymousreply 27February 3, 2021 5:31 PM

She does test her recipes and ensures that they come out as they are shown. She does a lot of “assembling” of expensive treats, but that’s actually handy advice for neophytes like me. I do admire the production values of her television program (you can see and hear everything you’re meant to). She is telegenic and pleasant to watch, but often uses way too much garlic. I like all the simple classic kitchenware in her barn/kitchen/studio, and the orange sofas in her cookbook library. Frau Nirvana.

All the fart jokes on this thread are very lame. Was that joke ever funny?

by Anonymousreply 28February 3, 2021 5:40 PM

The Matt Lauer incident (I know, he’s a perv) where Ina farted and he kept covering his nose is classic! Her farts STINK!!!!

by Anonymousreply 29February 3, 2021 6:37 PM

R24 Hey Ina, glad you could make it! Did you know there's a child near you that wants to meet you,  but you have to wait until they get home from their chemo treatment.

by Anonymousreply 30February 3, 2021 7:07 PM

Americas Test Kitchen rated this as the best vanilla extract.

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by Anonymousreply 31February 3, 2021 7:19 PM

Their romance began to blossom after Jeffrey spotted Ina on campus from the library BATHROOM window.

by Anonymousreply 32February 3, 2021 8:00 PM

Ina and Jeffrey are the poor frau's Julia and Paul.

by Anonymousreply 33February 3, 2021 8:22 PM

[quote] All the fart jokes on this thread are very lame. Was that joke ever funny?

FNART!

by Anonymousreply 34February 3, 2021 9:44 PM

No babies? Lavender?

by Anonymousreply 35February 3, 2021 10:14 PM

Ina Farten is a fat slob. F her. Jeffrey doesn’t.

by Anonymousreply 36February 3, 2021 10:31 PM

R29 Any clips of that?

by Anonymousreply 37February 3, 2021 10:59 PM

And you just know Ina's pussy really stinkz bigly

by Anonymousreply 38February 4, 2021 12:11 AM

[quote] No babies?

Perhaps you didn't read Ina's biography - Coat Hangers & Plungers: How Easy Is That?

by Anonymousreply 39February 4, 2021 12:46 AM

Anyone have her cookbooks? I've caught her shows every now and then. A lot of her dishes look really good.

by Anonymousreply 40February 5, 2021 3:59 AM

Lol R39.

Ina was a caterer and Jeffrey is a professor in Connecticut.

They're very wise, in that they knew they wouldn't be able to invest much time into raising kids, so they simply didn't have any.

by Anonymousreply 41February 5, 2021 2:25 PM

That fat old cow would FART out kids,

by Anonymousreply 42February 5, 2021 7:19 PM
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