Ina Garten and Jennifer Garner’s friendship almost didn’t happen. The famous chef and the Hollywood actress have been buddies for over 12 years, but a simple mix-up nearly stopped them from ever meeting.
Garten, who’s 76 and hosts the popular cooking show “Barefoot Contessa,” spills the beans in her new memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens.” She explains that her assistant, Barbara, used to handle fan mail. Lots of people wrote in wanting to cook with Ina on her show, not realizing that her guests were actually her real-life friends.
“People who didn’t understand that the guests on my show were my friends in real life often wrote to see if they could cook with me,” Garten writes. “Barbara handled my correspondence and always sent polite letters explaining how the show worked.”
But one day, Barbara made a big mistake. She tossed out a letter from Jennifer Garner because she didn’t know who the actress was. Luckily, Ina caught wind of it just in time.
“She seemed smart, funny and so grounded, very un-Hollywood,” Garten remembers thinking about Garner. “I thought she was someone I could have fun with.”
Ina decided to reach out to Jennifer when she was filming in Los Angeles. They set up a cooking date, and the rest is history. The two hit it off right away and have been close ever since.
Their friendship has led to some fun moments over the years. Garner invited Garten to her 40th birthday party, which wasn’t your typical Hollywood bash. Ina describes it as a laid-back affair with 40 women in comfy clothes and sneakers, no fancy hairdos allowed.
“She very sweetly invited me to her birthday party, which was amazing,” Garten says. “And they were wonderful, wonderful women and it was a very good time.”
Recently, the pair teamed up again. Jennifer appeared as a guest on Ina’s show “Be My Guest,” cooking up a storm in Garten’s famous East Hampton kitchen. They even filmed one of Jennifer’s popular “Pretend Cooking Show” videos for her Instagram followers.
The two clearly admire each other. Garner has called Ina her “Queen” and “Cooking Fairy” on social media. Garten gushes about her friend too, saying:
“She is grounded and principled and smart and incredible parent and great cook. She’s just extraordinary.”
It’s a good thing Ina caught that letter before it was too late. Otherwise, we might have missed out on this heartwarming Hollywood-meets-Hamptons friendship.
