Government analyst to Food Network chef

At one point, Ina Garten had the longest-running Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa, which aired from 2002 to 2021. She is also known for her many best-selling cookbooks. Yet, surprisingly, she accomplished all this as a self-taught chef. First, she graduated college with an economics degree and worked as a government budget analyst. Then, while working, she learned to cook on the side.

Then, in 1978 at 30, she quit her job to buy and run a food store, the Barefoot Contessa, which she eventually sold after a successful run in 1996. Next, in 1999 at the age of 51, she published her first book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which was a hit. This success eventually led to her Food Network show debuting in 2002.