The social distancing mantra, “Check in on your elderly friends and neighbors” also applies to your elderly celebrity chefs. And if celebrity chef Ina Garten’s social media posts are any indication of how she is coping with coronavirus quarantine, someone in the Hamptons needs to check on her ASAP.
Ina Garten is our rock in the culinary world, so to witness signs of her starting to crack is unnerving, to say the least. When the rest of the celebrity chef world was falling down holes of exploding cupcake competition shows in the late 2000s, or busy “throwing down” with Bobby Flay, Ina remained calm as ever, showing us how to make an apple tart for a small dinner party. While food bloggers are running wild affixing iPhones over stoves to film aerial cooking videos, and Guy Fieri is yelling about grocery shopping game shows, Ina has been steady, reliably releasing another perfect, tastefully done cookbook each fall.
But that was before she was put on lockdown like all the other baby boomers at risk. Now she’s stuck in her party barn, surrounded by her English garden, barred from having her gay friends over to play piano, and left to cook with whatever is in her pantry. It’s been a gradual decline for sure, but growing more unsettling each day.
On Sunday, she posted a picture of chicken noodle soup made with Maruchan ramen noodles. Not too alarming for an unknowing bystander, but shocking for a fan who has been passive aggressively shamed for years by Ina for using store-bought ingredients instead of homemade. At this point, we know her supplies are low.
On Monday, she just came out and said it. “I’m not proud of myself,” captioned a picture of a waffle smeared in peanut butter and jelly. Chilling, but relatable.
Things began looking up when she made chicken stock, and then on Tuesday, she cleaned out the fridge to make a frittata. But on Wednesday, at approximately 6 a.m., donning air-dried hair and a bottle of Grey Goose, Ina posted an IG TV video, sharing the recipe for a pitcher of cosmopolitans.
“You need a big pitcher, because I like to make a lot of cosmos. You never know who’s going to stop by. Wait a minute, nobody’s stopping by.”
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It’s always cocktail hour in a crisis! Recipe link in profile. #staysafe
“Just what everyone needs.” She pours at least half the pitcher into an oversized cocktail shaker and says you have to shake it for at least 30 seconds. “You have lots of time, it’s not a problem. … During a crisis, cocktail hour can be almost any hour.”
Take care of yourself, Ina. After burning through all our recipes over the foreseeable future of social distancing, we’re going to need you on the other side.
