Ina Garten Honored with an East Hampton Street on 'The Drew Barrymore Show'
Who wouldn’t want to live on Ina Garten Way? Beloved East Hampton resident and Barefoot Contessa foodie icon Ina Garten now has a local street named in her honor.
Garten, who appeared throughout an entire episode of The Drew Barrymore Show aka Drew on Wednesday, November 16, was surprised when East Hampton Mayor Jerry Larsen showed up on air to announce her new street!
As Larsen explained, Ina Garten Way is now the honorary name of the corner where Barnes Lane and Newtown Lane meet, right alongside the spot where her Barefoot Contessa Fine Foods shop once operated — currently home to rag & bone — at 46 Newtown Lane.
Honoring Ina Garten
“You’ve changed the world in so many ways,” Drew Barrymore, a fellow Hamptonite, said leading up to the moment. “And for all the love that you’ve given to people, to people in their kitchens, to people in their homes, to people in their hearts,” she continued, adding, “In East Hampton alone…” before introducing Mayor Larsen.
“When we found out this was happening, we kind of came up with a plan, and what we decided to do was to name the road which is right next to where the old Barefoot Contessa was Ina Garten Way,” Larsen said before showing footage of the street sign’s reveal and presenting Garten with a framed proclamation. “Ina’s an icon in the world and we have her right here in East Hampton,” he continued. “It’s just wonderful for all of us.”
“When I first came to East Hampton, I remember looking around and thinking, it is so elegant and it’s so beautiful, I don’t know that I’ll ever fit in here,” Garten said after taking in the moment. “And now I have my own street.”
View this post on Instagram
After the show, Larsen posted a shot of him, Garten and Barrymore on Instagram, thanking everyone and writing:
“In living rooms across our country every single day, Ina Garten has been capturing our attention with her delicious recipes as she once did here for twenty years in the heart of our downtown. The Barefoot Contessa was a one-of-a-kind retail food establishment that many, including myself, still vividly remember the bouquet of freshly baked goods upon walking into her shop. It is inspiring to see how a shopkeeper in our little village has become such a global ambassador for East Hampton Village. With her best-selling cookbooks, and her nationally televised program — Ina Garten welcomes all into her home while spotlighting the local businesses she adores. She loves our village, and we love her back.”
Garten was on the Drew show to promote her latest Barefoot Contessa cookbook Go-To Dinners, which hit shelves on October 25. She also answered questions from celebrity guests, played games, made Cacio e Pepe Eggs from her new book and, of course, chatted with Barrymore.
Garten’s show, Be My Guest with Ina Garten — all filmed in East Hampton — is in its second season on Food Network.