Ina Garten, queen of the kitchen and fashion icon in her own right, has had quite the career. But the 78-year-old Food Network star is showing no signs of slowing down. Rather, she's about to launch a video podcast titled Happy Hour with Ina Garten AND release her 14th cookbook, Simply Ina. During a recent New York Times interview, the mogul revealed how she stays active and creative. In short, it's fear.
Ina Garten Reveals the Unexpected Secret to Her Success (and It's Not What You'd Think)
"It keeps me up at night"
Published Sep 4, 2026
•2:26pm
Derek French/Shutterstock
Journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro started the conversation by rattling off highlights from Garten's storied career, before asking, "What have you learned about taking on challenges in later life?"
The Barefoot Contessa was quick to respond: "I love working scared. It keeps me up at night. I love this expression: 'Getting out over your skis.' You have no choice. You've invested your money; you've made a stake in what you've decided to do."
Aside from wanting a little fear injected into her projects, Garten also proved she's quite the innovator. At the time she published her first cookbook in 1999, the TV personality noted that most books had around 250 recipes.
"Very often I've said no to things for years until I figured out, 'How can I do this differently?' I don't like doing it the way everybody else does," she said. "Who needs 250 recipes? I need 75 really good recipes that I can make over and over again."
As for how she's keeping so active, Garten had the best answer: "I think I have a very low threshold of boredom," she told Garcia-Navarro. "I ask myself one question. Is it going to be fun? If it's fun, then I really want to do it. I just have to figure out how to make sure it's fun."
Happy Hour with Ina Garten launches on September 16 with new episodes every Wednesday. Simply Ina is in bookstores October 20.
