Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir

Be Ready When The Luck Happens is the memoir of award-winning American chef, cookbook author, and television personality Ina Garten. Best known for her Barefoot Contessa television series and cookbooks, Garten came to prominence after opening a small gourmet food store in Westhampton, New York. Since the release of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook in 1999, she has published 13 additional cookbooks. The memoir details her early childhood, career as a civil servant, and personal life as she builds her culinary empire alongside the love of her life, Jeffrey. It also includes some of her most famous recipes. Major themes in the memoir include The Emotional Significance of Food, The Importance of Instinct and Self-Determination, and The Value of Unconditional Love and Support. 

This guide is based on the 2024 Crown Books eBook edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss domestic abuse and child abuse.

Summary

At age 30, Ina Garten is deeply unhappy with her job writing nuclear energy policy for the White House. With her husband Jeffrey’s encouragement, she decides to quit and buy a small gourmet food shop in Westhampton, New York called Barefoot Contessa. Her parents express disappointment in the move.

As a child, Ina is raised in a strict household by physically and emotionally abusive parents who refuse to support her interests. While visiting her brother at Dartmouth at age 16, she is spotted by freshman Jeffrey Garten, who writes letters asking to meet her. She is drawn to his intelligence and obvious desire to care for her. Jeffrey and Ina grow closer over her senior year through letters and a series of visits. Ina receives early admission to Syracuse University and is thrilled at the prospect of freedom in college. She spends most of her time in Syracuse plotting to visit Jeffrey, who proposes at the end of her sophomore year. The couple are married in December 1968 at her parents’ home.

The first years of marriage are thrilling for Garten, who pursues her love of cooking and hosting while also continuing college classes and earning her pilot’s license. When Jeffrey is assigned a post in Thailand, Garten returns to her parents’ home for a few miserable months before joining him. The newlyweds then move to Colorado, where Garten works as a secretary.

After Jeffrey’s military service ends, the couple have four months before he begins graduate school in Washington, DC. They decide to spend the time in Europe, camping with a small car and tent. Although the trip takes them across northern Europe, Garten is most impacted by her time in France. Garten’s travels around the country introduce her to unique cooking methods and new, fresh ingredients.

The following fall, Jeffrey begins graduate school in Washington, and Garten begins a series of impressive but unfulfilling government jobs. To distract herself, she completely renovates their apartment and hosts elaborate dinner parties, all while working full-time. Although growing frustrated with their marriage dynamic, she loves cooking for Jeffrey. Frustrated with her career, she seeks new opportunities and decides to buy a small gourmet food shop called Barefoot Contessa.

Garten’s first month at Barefoot Contessa is hectic, but former owner Diana Stratta helps her to connect with suppliers and learn about the store. Garten leads Barefoot Contessa through a wildly successful summer, but the pressures of running the store and maintaining a long-distance relationship prove too difficult, especially as Jeffrey continues to expect Garten to fulfill the traditional role of a housewife—preparing meals, keeping the house clean, and overseeing renovations—even as she builds a professional career. As the summer ends, Garten asks Jeffrey for a separation. She spends a lonely month alone in New York before returning to their DC home while Jeffrey is on a six-month trip. After Jeffrey attends therapy and they agree to cast off traditional gender roles, the separation ends. Her second summer at Barefoot Contessa is a success, and at the end of the third summer, the business moves into a new, larger space.

Despite the size of the new store, Garten aims to keep Barefoot Contessa’s spirit of fun and discovery in her second location. She realizes that her customers are willing to pay a premium for quality products. When a specialty food store closes in nearby Easthampton, she takes over the lease. Meanwhile, Jeffrey accepts a job in Tokyo, insisting that the company pay for Garten to visit him monthly. The success of the East Hampton store and the stress of travelling between East Hampton, Westhampton, and Tokyo proves too much for Garten. She reluctantly decides to close the seasonal Westhampton store and focus on the full-time East Hampton business. Over the next ten years, the business grows so rapidly that Garten becomes burnt out and decides to sell the East Hampton store to two of her employees.

After selling the store, Garten begins work on The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, a collection of the store’s most popular recipes. The process is transformative, reminding her why she entered the food business and empowering her to stand up for her own creative vision. Despite the dismissals of her publishing team, the book is a wild success, and Garten publishes a second book, Barefoot Contessa Parties! The success of these books leads the producers of Martha Stewart’s television show to reach out with the suggestion that she film a show of her own. Garten agrees, but the taping is such a disaster that she refuses to film or consider another show. Instead, she buys and renovates a Paris apartment. Her time in the city inspires the recipes in her third book, Barefoot in Paris.

In August 2002, Garten begins filming Barefoot Contessa with the British production company responsible for bringing Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson to American television. The informal, intimate crew makes filming a delightful challenge. Meanwhile, Garten completes renovations on the Paris apartment, and she and Jeffrey spend New Year’s in Paris. She also constructs a new building next to their East Hampton house as a film studio. As the show grows, Garten’s guests include a mixture of old friends and Garten’s celebrity fans.

Garten and Jeffrey spend more time in Paris, establishing a life and building friendships there while also hosting friends from abroad. Garten attempts to expand the Barefoot brand through partnerships, but ends these when they can’t maintain her standards. Garten identifies self-assurance, a devotion to quality, prudence, and a trust in the universe as the keys to her business success. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Garten’s use of social media helped her to navigate her anxiety and reach a new generation of fans. The changes in her schedule also allowed her to write two books, including the present memoir, and start a new interview show. While writing the memoir, Garten realizes that Jeffrey’s unconditional support allowed her to thrive after her difficult childhood. Garten concludes that despite years of attributing her success to luck, the real root of her success is the hard work she puts into being prepared for lucky opportunities when they arrive.