Barefoot Countess chocolate cake. Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Chicken

Ina Garten is a cook, writer and charming TV presenter, whom many know under the pseudonym Barefoot Contessa.

As a chef, Aina takes two things seriously: selecting quality, fresh ingredients and saving time when preparing food.

The Barefoot Contessa's talent for cooking quickly, but at the same time tasty and varied, is undoubtedly recognized by Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey and Patricia Wells. They and many other celebrities have been tasters of Aina’s magnificent dishes more than once.

From analyst to gastronomic expert

Her love for food began after a trip to Paris. It was in France that she enjoyed visiting markets, where the cult of high-quality and fresh food reigned.

Upon returning to the USA, Aina studied French and English cookbooks with interest, enjoyed experimenting on the stomachs of her friends and family, and perfected her recipes.

And the kitchen “won”: Aina quit her job at the White House and decided to become a gastronomic expert. Having seen an advertisement in the newspaper about the sale of a grocery store, Aina, despite her lack of experience in the food sector, bought it. The store was called "Barefoot Contessa" (Barefoot Contessa).
When I saw the store, I immediately fell in love! I had no experience in the food industry, but I knew this was what I wanted to do! The fact that Aina coped with the new task became clear within a year. The store left its cramped island of 37 square meters and moved to a larger premises - 280 square meters. The store specialized in elite quality food: here you could find fresh lobsters, the best cheeses, caviar and, of course, ready-made dishes from Aina.

The store received recognition from the press and local celebrities. Regular customers included Steven Spielberg and Lauren Bacall.

Aina ran the store for almost 20 years, after which she sold it and went on vacation for six months in search of culinary inspiration. And she found him...

From Entrepreneur to Emmy Award

Aina’s books stood out from their competitors with a large number of large photographs of ready-made dishes and a simple presentation of the cooking process. Her books were more like fashion magazines than the serious encyclopedic Talmuts that were common to see at that time.

After the success of the books, Aina was actively invited as a guest on television shows, and in 2002, the British Food Network channel got the “Countess” as a host and made her own show of the same name, Barefoot Contessa.

The producers of the Food Network made the right decision with their choice of star. In 2005, Barefoot Contessa received its first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cooking Show, and in 2009, Aina won an Emmy for Outstanding Cooking Show Host.

In recent years, Aina has released several more cookbooks: Barefoot in Paris, Barefoot Contessa at Home, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics (the show of the same name is currently on the Food Network channel), How Easy is That, Foolproof, Make It Ahead.

This is how the recognizable brand “Barefoot Countess” was finally formed. And he began to actively conquer the world.

Barefoot Countess's Pantry

Since 2006, the Barefoot Contessa brand has produced canned food, marinades, sauces and dry mixes for cakes. All of them are the basis for the Barefoot Contessa's most popular dishes: coconut cupcakes, maple oatmeal muffins, mango chutney and lemon curd.

The entire line of products is quite expensive and is sold only in upscale stores.

1. Aina did well at school and loved the exact sciences. Now, it helps her in cooking. Aina composes her recipes the same way she solves equations: clearly, accurately and accurately.
2. Aina met her husband Jeffrey at age 15. After 5 years they got married and still live in perfect harmony.
3. "Countess" knows how to fly an airplane. When her husband fought in Vietnam, Aina took flying lessons to take her mind off bad thoughts.
4. Aina's friends include Taylor Swift, Neil Patrick Harris and Wolfgang Puck.
5. The Barefoot Countess's most popular dish among her fans is Baked Beet Salad with Cheese.

Ina Garten's Recipes

This is a recipe from the wonderful Ina Garten. Her husband simply loves chicken, and Aina has managed to please him for many years with excellent dishes from this seemingly ordinary bird.

It is this lemon chicken recipe of hers that is very popular in the states. And this is not surprising. Available ingredients and simple steps give excellent results.

The chicken turns out beautiful, incredibly juicy and tender. It’s very difficult to resist eating it all in one sitting. Even if there are only two of you for one chicken.

INGREDIENTS:
for 4 servings

Whole chicken - 1 piece
Carrots (large) - 1 pc.
Onions - 2 pcs.
Garlic - 2 heads
Lemon - 1 piece
Butter - 30 g
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Salt, pepper - to taste

Peel the onions and carrots and chop them coarsely. Peel one head of garlic and separate it into slices.

Cut the lemon lengthwise into 6 pieces.

In a large baking dish, combine the onion, carrots, garlic and half of 3 lemons.

Salt, add a tablespoon of sugar and olive oil. Mix well, distributing the spices and oil over all the vegetables.

Wash the chicken and pat dry thoroughly with a paper towel or napkins.

Salt inside the belly. We also send the remaining 3 slices of lemon and a head of garlic there. The garlic must first be washed and cut crosswise.

We tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string. This is necessary so that the chicken retains its shape and juiciness during baking.

At this stage, we ask everyone who is carefully watching their figure to leave the room. Coat the entire skin of the chicken evenly with melted butter.

Salt and season the outside of the chicken.

We wrap the tips of the wings back. This way they won't burn.

Place the chicken on top of the prepared vegetables, breast side up. Bake on the lower tier of the oven at 200 degrees for about 1 hour.

Remove the finished chicken from the oven and immediately cover with a layer of foil. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

This time is needed so that all the juices saturate the chicken flesh and do not leak out at the first cut.

Have you ever asked yourself why going to a luxury restaurant costs so much? Not only because of the exotic ingredients, but also because of the chef's reputation. They can make a ton of money by managing the kitchens of high-end restaurants or by opening their own. If a chef has a signature style, his own cookbooks, or a TV show, then he becomes mega-popular, and his capital can exceed a million dollars. Do you need proof? Please - here are the top richest celebrity chefs.

In the luxurious Bellagio and more

Our top ten opens with Texas native Todd English, a chef with a net worth of $11 million. He received a good professional education (he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America) and built his own culinary kingdom. He has more than a dozen luxury restaurants, including Beso, which serves Latin American cuisine (the establishment is co-owned by actress Eva Longoria). But English’s most famous restaurants are called “Olives”; the first one opened (in Boston) in 1989, and now there is one in Las Vegas (at the Bellagio Hotel). The chef also has his own show - “Food Trip with Todd English”, in which Todd, together with the audience, penetrates into the secrets of the national cuisines of different countries.

Italian cuisine of the highest class

Since 2011, Mario Batali has “settled” in the ABC television program “The Chew”. This is a unique TV personality! He is unpretentious in his clothing and prefers to wear his "lucky" fleece vest and shorts. But at the same time, Mario doesn’t have much money ($13 million). Batali managed to raise Italian cuisine to a completely different, higher level. His restaurants are scattered not only across America (California, Las Vegas, New York), but also around the world, including Hong Kong and Singapore.

Goddess of home cooking

Briton Nigella Lawson can be called the goddess of home cooking. Her look and magnetic voice are just the tip of the iceberg, she is truly a very talented cook. Born into a wealthy family (her father was a member of the minister's cabinet under Margaret Thatcher), Nigella was not content with playing the role of a sexy rich slacker. She has written several books (not just on cooking) and has been the star of several shows, including Simply Nigella, Nigella Express, and Nigellissima. This is where the TV personality's 15 million dollar fortune comes from. Although she doesn't like to be called a celebrity chef (Lawson has no formal training and cooks "for fun"), we'll still include her in our ranking.

"Scandalous" Paula

With the name of the other “television-brewing”, the dean floors are connected, the scandal: she was fired after ten years of work on the Food Network channel due to the accusation of racist statements (the presenter used the word “Negro” in America). The promoter of gastronomy in the US South was not at a loss and opened her own culinary channel. If you have 16 million dollars in your pocket, you can afford it! Paula’s recipes were repeatedly criticized for the abundance of fat, salt and sugar (by the way, she herself is a diabetic), which did not in any way hinder Dean’s career, which was invited to the jury of the popular programs “Top Chef” and “MasterChef”.

Barefoot Countess

Since 2002, Ina Garten has hosted her cooking show, Barefoot Contessa, named after the grocery store that Ina owned. Garten did not study to be a cook; she gained all her knowledge by gaining experience from others and by looking at recipes in cookbooks. She worked at the White House, but left that position to open a store in New York and then began writing books. Now the store is closed - 68-year-old Aina, who has $44 million, invests all her energy in a TV show.

According to Creole recipes

Emeril Lagasse, a graduate of the prestigious culinary school, has an estimated net worth of $50 million. This chef appeared on television in the early 1990s, and now he hosts his own gastronomic show on the Cooking Channel (the program is already in its 4th season). Emeril calls his cooking style "New New Orleans" and uses Louisiana ingredients and is inspired by Creole cuisine. Lagasse has 13 restaurants, all bearing his name, so if you want to stop by, you won't be confused!

Oprah Winfrey of the culinary TV world

Rachael Ray is Oprah Winfrey culinary television world. Now Ray has not one, but four of her own programs. Moreover, two of them (“Rachel Ray” and “30 Minutes Meals”) received Daytime Emmy awards for best talk shows (three wins out of eleven nominations). Each year, Rachel earns about $25 million from shows, cookbooks and advertising, and her net worth is $60 million. Ray has a special style - she does everything easily and quickly, one might say, playfully. This style and her smile are inspiring; it’s not for nothing that Forbes included Rachel in the top 100 most influential celebrities in the world.

Pak Empire

Wolfgang Puck's mother worked as a pastry chef, so he was introduced to the world of cooking in his youth. It was then that he decided that he wanted to devote his life to this sacred rite. Unlike his colleagues from this rating, Pak does not have his own show. But how could the official caterer for the Academy Awards have any free time? True, he has been a guest on many programs, including “Top Chef”, “MasterChef” and “Iron Chef America”. The culinary enterprise Wolfgang Puck Companies (including 25 gourmet restaurants) brings good profits to the owner, so that his capital has reached $ 75 million.

Hell of a talent!

If you saw the program “Hell's Kitchen” with Gordon Ramsay, you might think that the chef is ruthless and does nothing but curse the careless participants? No, this is just a show, in fact he is a completely adequate person. Ask the kids who competed on MasterChef Junior! They adore Gordon. Scotsman Ramsay wanted to become a famous football player, but in 1984 he was injured and hung up his boots. He returned to school and studied hotel and restaurant management. Gordon now owns $118 million and three dozen restaurants around the world, and the very first (opened in 1998 in London) was awarded three Michelin stars.

The legendary "Naked Chef"

The manner of relaxed communication with the audience demonstrated by the British Jamie Oliver and the popularization of “live” home cooking bore fruit. With a net worth of $235 million, he ranks at the top of the list of the richest celebrity chefs. Numerous original shows (“The Naked Chef”, “Jamie’s Kitchen”, “Jamie the Chef”, “Jamie at Home”, “Jamie: Comfort Food” and so on) are incredibly loved by viewers. Admit it, you also watched an episode or two of “The Naked Chef”, Jamie is such a sweetheart! Today MBE James Oliver has five restaurant franchises. In 2002, he opened a non-profit restaurant in London, which annually trains 18 unemployed young people.