News Why Ina Garten Named Her Show 'Barefoot Contessa' She sums it up in two words. By Alison Spiegel Alison Spiegel Website Alison Spiegel has been a writer and editor in the food media world for 10 years. In her work, she enjoys building communities and covering everything from cooking tips to dining trends. Also, ice cream.Experience: Alison Spiegel holds a Professional Culinary Arts degree from the International Culinary Center (ICC) and has worked at numerous publications, including the Huffington Post, Tasting Table, Food & Wine, and most recently, Milk Street, where she launched a global network of chefs and culinary leaders, hosted a monthly cookbook club, and oversaw content on a website and Instagram account that were named finalists for the 2021 IACP awards.Alison currently runs digital content at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and writes about cooking on the side. She began writing for Simply Recipes in the summer of 2021. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 3, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images "So many people ask, 'What does Barefoot Contessa mean?'" begins Ina Garten's latest blog post. If you're one of the many Ina fans who have asked that very question, you might already know the direct origin: Ina named her show and cookbook franchise after East Hampton kitchen store, and it's also the name of a 1954 movie starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart. It was actually the previous owners who chose the name of the store, which she purchased in 1978. In the past, Garten has explained, "The former owner is Italian and her family called her the Barefoot Contessa when she was young." Gearing up for the biggest night in Hollywood—the Academy Awards this Sunday—Ina took the opportunity in her latest post to revisit the origin story and shed light on what it really means to her: "It was the original name of my specialty food store after a movie with Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart. But for me, it means being both elegant and earthy." Two words could not define Ina any better. And the recipe that she thinks embodies it all? Deviled eggs with smoked salmon and caviar. Though there are many Oscars-themed dishes you could make come Sunday night, as Ina says about her smoked salmon deviled eggs, "How bad could that be??" Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit