I have news. BIG!!!! NEWS!!!!!
Do you know who Ina Garten is? Ina Garten is a beloved cookbook author and television host, commonly referred to as the Barefoot Contessa (which was the name of the specialty food store she owned).
Ina taught me everything I know about cooking. I watched every episode of her show, read her books cover to cover, and have modeled my kitchen and culinary approach after her. Her imprint on my life is profound.
You may have remembered this post a couple of months ago about my favorite trusted recipe sources and the accompanying photograph of Ina's cookbooks. Then you may have remembered this Table Talk post where I mentioned how the photograph inspired the idea of one day cooking all of her recipes. Well, it looks like "one day" has become "today."
The Ina In A Year project is happening!
Beginning on September 24, 2018, I am going to cook all 953 of Ina's recipes in one year. No substitutions. No shortcuts. No staffing it out. I am going to share the process in great detail, both here on the blog and on social media, and I am going to provide opportunities for you to follow along and get involved.
So many fun details to share!
First, I will be cooking some of the meals at home for my family, and some of the meals at Hurley House. One of the Hurley House meals will become a weekly staff lunch. The second meal prepared at Hurley House will be served at a weekly ticketed lunch event called the Ina Lunch. Which means, YOU can purchase a ticket and come eat the food! I will also put one item each week into the Hurley House bakery case to sell.
Second, we are going to be sharing lots of behind the scenes videos. Make sure you are plugged in on Instagram (@hurleyhouse) and for sure make certain you subscribe to The Lovely. The Lovely will be the place where you will get early access to tickets to the Ina Lunch, and where you will make sure not to miss a single detail or development.
Third, I need you! Please share this project with everyone you know. I want to build a community of people who are engaged and want to watch this adventure unfold. I think the entire journey is going to be quite fun, and I want you to bring your friends and family along for the ride.
Lastly, if you would like to get involved financially, there is room at the table for you! Sponsorships begin at $100, and the swag is pretty amazing. For example, if you sponsor one day ($100), you will get a shirt, one ticket to an Ina Lunch, and one ticket to each of our four quarterly VIP appreciation parties. If you sponsor one month ($2000), you get lots of perks, including an in-home dinner party for 8 people! To quote Ina, "How easy is that?"
I am so excited to get this project rolling, and I am counting down the days until September 24. I know you must have questions...please ask!