While you were probably expecting a grand announcement for
Ina Garten’s highly-anticipated new memoir (I know I was), the Barefoot Contessa just oh so casually dropped the release date in her Instagram bio.
Here’s the best part: Garten’s new book is hitting store shelves a lot sooner than you might think. “Memoir coming out October 1st 2024,” she recently wrote on Instagram.
While the news might feel like a big revelation, Garten has actually been working on the project since 2019. In the original press release, Garten said that she hopes sharing her personal journey will “inspire readers to find their own unique story.”
“By finding a way to do what I love for a living—cooking—I’ve been fortunate to build a career that has not only been incredibly rewarding but has brought people together through the power of home cooking. I hope my book will inspire readers to find their own unique story,” Garten said in a statement with Celadon Books, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers.
Senior Vice President and Co-Publisher Deb Futter, who acquired the book, called Garten “beloved by all” and a “national treasure who has become iconic beyond the food world. Her memoir will cement her legacy in the cultural landscape.”
Though this will be Garten’s first memoir, she’s hardly a new name in bookstores. In fact, she’s written 13 cookbooks, including Modern Comfort Food, Cooking for Jeffrey, Barefoot in Paris, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and so many more.
And while we don’t know too much about the contents of the book, we do know that her childhood will be a large part of it. She has opened up about the topic, as well as her longtime marriage to Jeffrey, in an emotional interview late last year.
“Did you know you couldn’t do what you wanted to do if you’d had [kids]?” BBC’s Katty Kay asked while discussing Garten’s long career in food.
“I think it’s much harder. [But] I don’t think that’s why I made the decision,” Garten admitted. “I’m actually writing a memoir right now, and it’s kind of looking back at my childhood. It was nothing I wanted to recreate. And I’m always looking forward to look back and realized a lot of my decisions were based on my childhood. And so I think that was the motivating factor.” According to Ina, she and Jeffrey were “just so happy together” as is.
Ina Garten’s memoir is not yet available for pre-order, but we do know that it’s hitting shelves on October 1, 2024.