''Barefoot Contessa'' is an American

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typ ...

that premiered November 30, 2002, on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

, and is currently the oldest show on the network's daytime schedule. Hosted by celebrity chef

Ina Garten Ina Rosenberg Garten ( ; born February 2, 1948) is an American author, host of the Food Network program '' Barefoot Contessa'', and a former staff member of the Office of Management and Budget. Among her dishes are ''cœur à la crème'', celery ...

, each episode features Garten assembling dishes of varying complexity. Though her specialty is French cuisine, she occasionally prepares American, Asian, British or Italian foods. Her show also gives tips on decorating and entertaining. The show's title, which comes from the Italian word for

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

ess, was originally used by Garten in her best-selling cookbook, ''The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook'' (1999). The cookbook was in turn named after Garten's specialty food store, which she bought already named in 1978. The store, which is no longer in operation, opened in 1975 and was named after the 1954 film of the same name. Garten sold the store to the employees prior to its closure.

Overview

Garten's show features the preparation of a simple multi-course meal, usually for her close friends, colleagues or husband,

Jeffrey Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film ...

. Her recipes often include fresh herbs, which she 'hand-harvests' from her backyard garden. Table settings include both simple and comfort dishes, and are often accompanied by her 'own' flowers or those brought in by Michael Grim, a friend and local florist who is frequently on the show. Garten deconstructs simple French recipes like

boeuf bourguignon Beef bourguignon () or bœuf bourguignon (; ), also called beef Burgundy, and ''bœuf à la Bourguignonne'',''Random House Dictionary'online at dictionary.com/ref> is a French beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy, and beef stock, t ...

or Baba au Rhum cake. She focuses on preparing foods efficiently, allowing more time to eat and spend with guests. The show is mainly recorded in Garten's home in

East Hampton, New York The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a tot ...

and features fast-moving camera shots and closeups (e.g., fully ripened fruits, eggs falling from the shells, or bubbling pots of homemade stock).

Episode guide

International airings

''Barefoot Contessa'' airs in Australia on

Food Network (Australia) SBS Food is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first revealed it would lau ...

and the

Lifestyle Food Lifestyle Food (stylised as Lifestyle FOOD) is an Australian pay-TV food channel, solely dedicated to food, wine and restaurant society. The channel is a subsidiary of Lifestyle, which runs 24 hours a day on the Foxtel. On 19 September 2016, ...

Channel on the

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

platform, in the UK on the Food Network UK, in Poland on the channel Kuchnia.tv, and in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

on the

Fatafeat Fatafeat (Arabic: فتافيت), is a Middle Eastern food and lifestyle television channel owned by Takhayal Entertainment, which is part of Warner Bros. Discovery On , Fatafeat stopped broadcasting as a free-to-air channel and started being encr ...

Channel.

Awards and nominations

The show was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

in 2005 in the category Best Service Show; in the year 2009, it was once again nominated for a

in the categories of Outstanding Culinary Program and Best Culinary Host; Garten won her first Emmy in the latter category.

References

External links

Barefoot Contessa on The Food Network

Barefoot Contessa in the UK
* * {{Food Network series 2002 American television series debuts 2000s American cooking television series 2010s American cooking television series 2020s American cooking television series Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Program winners English-language television shows Food Network original programming Television shows filmed in New York (state)