6 Things You Didn’t INA Know About

1 Her husband, Jeffrey, is her No. 1 fan. “He’s the reason I cook—he appreciates it so much. It’s a wonderful feeling when someone appreciates it.”

2 Jeffrey is not her guinea pig. “If I’m making dinner, I want it to be delicious, so I’ll test it over and over. If a recipe makes it into the book, then I’ll make it for dinner. Jeffrey’s not there to be my taste tester.”

3 Jeffrey doesn’t cook. “He makes really good coffee. And he gets me my newspaper in the morning. That’s all I need!”

4 She always follows a recipe. As a newlywed 50 years ago, Garten taught herself to cook from cookbooks and appreciates the power of a well-written recipe. To this day, she always follows recipes—even her own. “I’m very scientiwc,” says Garten, who previously worked as a White House nuclear energy policy analyst. “I measure everything. I spent so much time perfecting the recipe, why would I want to take a chance?”

5 She’s inspired to help home cooks. Garten receives (and answers!) up to 200 emails every week. She sometimes trails friends through the grocery store to wnd out what they don’t know. That information often winds up in a recipe one way or another, such as the best way to cut up a head of cauliyower. (Turn it upside down, cut out the core and pull apart the yorets.)

6 Her go-to comfort food is super simple. “A bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup and butter.”