Food Network Star Ina Garten Worked in the White House Before Becoming a Chef - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

But what you may not know is that this chef who now makes mouth-watering recipes on her hit Food Network show once had an entirely different career.

No, before she became known as the Barefoot Contessa, Garten spent her days working in government administration — in the White House, to be exact. .

According to her Food Network bio, in 1978 Garten and her husband saw an ad for a food store on sale in the Hamptons.

The store was called the Barefoot Contessa and was only 400 square feet.

After the success of her store, Garten penned a cookbook called The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

She also hosts her own Food Network show called Barefoot Contessa.