Anorexia, The Barefoot Contessa, & Me
For the LA Times: How Ina Garten changed my life
All hail the queen of the Food Network. On the day of her memoir release, I pay homage to the Barefoot Contessa in the LA Times. In this essay, I retrace how binge-watching Ina while in the throes of an eating disorder helped pull me from the darkness and being to find joy in food again.
The summer after high school, I spent hours cocooned on the couch, bingeing on the Food Network lineup instead of food itself. It felt like cheating the system. In lieu of eating, I watched Ina scoop handfuls of muffin batter while explaining foreign concepts like joy in food and pleasure in consumption. She escorted me into a light-filled kitchen, placing finished products alongside freshly cut sunflowers. “How easy is that?” she’d ask. I wanted to tell someone how hard it was.
Then! I was thrilled when Tamika Cody of the Better Said Than Written podcast selected my essay for her new series, Stories of Survival. While I read my drafts out loud dozens of times before filing the final version, nothing compares to hearing someone else bring your words to life. The care in her voice and the phrases she chose to emphasize gave new depth to the story, transforming it through her interpretation.
And who knows? Maybe Ina will stumble upon it, bring me into her kitchen, and solve all my problems with freshly baked scones. After all, her book tour rep reposted…
Until next time, store-bought is fine.