It has come to light that Martha Stewart, a fellow kitchen doyenne, has a significant disagreement with Ina Garten, who resides in the Hamptons, New York. The 83-year-old is not hesitant to make her feelings known to the world.
This is so severe that her representative took tremendous measures to minimize the seriousness of her charges!
"Martha never minces words, and as she's gotten older, she feels there's no reason to sugarcoat the truth," an insider told Star Magazine. "She didn't get to where she is today by being nice."
The domestic diva was initially a big fan. Martha gave Ina a chance to launch her career when she featured the shop in the glossy pages of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. At the time, Ina began her business as the proprietor of a modest boutique that sold baked products and prepared foods.
After becoming friends, Martha, who was more established at the time, significantly contributed to Ina's success in obtaining her first cookbook deal and producing her first (unsuccessful) foray into television cooking for the Food Network.
Ina was discouraged from pursuing a career in television when a director advised her not to speak with her mouth full. This led her to conclude that television was not a suitable medium for her.
Regarding the degree to which Martha is responsible for Ina's achievement, both have the potential to be argumentative. After recalling a New Year's Eve celebration at Martha's house, where the hostess performed a theatrical rendition of spun sugar, which was challenging to manufacture, Ina showed her enthusiasm.
"She had made spun sugar!" she gushed. "She's stunning!" However, the New Yorker writer later noted that in her memoir, she opines, "No one needs to know how to make spun sugar." Martha has had her shadiness, saying Ina has "broad appeal," while she's never actually cooked one of her recipes.
"Martha still likes to take the credit for getting Ina started in the cooking-show business, which annoys Ina to no end," the insider said. "Ina feels she would have had the same success regardless."
Although it is not surprising that Martha, who hosted her own version of the competition show “The Apprentice,” can be cruel, Ina is not seen in the same light by her supporter base.
Despite stumbling around in her kitchen using "good olive oil" and pondering how much her husband, Jeffrey, will enjoy a certain meal, it appears that all she wants to do is serve her favorite French Apple Tart to everyone. However, the insider claimed that the truth is different: "Ina and Martha are both extremely successful and have carved their own niche. But there has been friction."
If no one had made the difference, their competition would have remained a rivalry. In 2003, Martha Stewart, who was at the time the first woman in the United States to become a self-made millionaire and the head of Martha Stewart Omnimedia, was indicted for engaging in insider trading.
Due to her decision to act on an illegal tip, she was able to avert a loss of $45,673 in the stock market sector. In 2004, she was found guilty of the charges against her and was sentenced to five months at the Federal jail Camp in Alderson, West Virginia.
In addition, she was prohibited from holding any position of authority within any company for five years. It was at that point that the problems began. The “Barefoot Contessa” star was evasive when asked to describe how she and Martha became estranged.
She made a passing reference to Martha's relocation to her house in Bedford, New York. In contrast, Martha stated, "When I was sent off to Alderson Prison, she stopped talking to me."
"I found that extremely distressing and extremely unfriendly. Tina later denied the accusation and Martha's publicist insisted she was ‘not bitter at all and there's no feud,’" the insider revealed.
"Obviously the slight still bothers her to this day," the insider added. "The cut went deep and Martha wanted everyone to know the 'real reason' Ina stopped speaking to her."
“You shouldn't anticipate that they will make amends any time soon. They both possess the biggest egos around," the insider said. "They treat each other as rivals in the food business."
Business Times has reached out to Martha Stewart for comments.
