The One Breakfast Food Ina Garten Has Eaten Every Day For A Decade

It's easy to assume that well-known chefs are constantly innovating and producing sophisticated dishes in the kitchen, even when they're at home. That's not always the case, however, especially for celebrity chef and cookbook author Ina Garten. In fact, fans may be surprised to learn that her cooking and eating habits — especially when she's starting the day — are about as regular as it gets. Her breakfast routine is all about humble, reliable oatmeal.

Garten revealed her love of oatmeal, specifically McCann's quick-cooking Irish oatmeal, in a 2017 chat with Bon Appétit. At the time, she mentioned she'd been eating it for breakfast every day for a decade, meaning her oatmeal streak will have reached about 18 years as of this writing (if she's kept up the habit). Irish oatmeal, also known as steel-cut oatmeal when sourced from elsewhere, distinguishes itself from more common varieties through a preparation process that chops the oats into small pieces rather than rolling them. This results in a nuttier flavor and chewier texture. McCann's also promotes Irish oats as "the gold standard" on its website, claiming the country's soil and weather are particularly well suited to growing plentiful and nutritious oats.

Garten's love of the McCann's brand is notable due to the fact that it was only middle-of-the-pack when Mashed ranked oatmeal brands from worst to best. However, one of the top drawbacks we noted was the time needed to prepare it, a far less significant issue for the quick-cooking variety Garten prefers.

In addition to pairing her daily bowl with a cup of coffee, Ina Garten also noted a somewhat uncommon preparation for her oatmeal when speaking with Bon Appétit: "lots of salt," she declared. "I don't want it to taste like wallpaper paste." Although oatmeal is often considered a sweet dish, adding salt (a convenient flavor enhancer) is actually one of the best ways to make oatmeal taste better, plus it improves the texture when you add it before cooking. You'll only find a sweet element in Garten's oatmeal once a year — she told Bon Appétit back in 2014 that she adds maple syrup for her birthday.

The rest of her process is also decidedly un-fancy for such an accomplished chef. Garten uses milk instead of water and has also revealed that she uses the microwave to cook it, just like many busy, rushed home cooks do every day.

It's things like this that set Garten apart from other well-known celebrity chefs, many of whom have a more formal cooking background. In comparison, she's been open that she dislikes making certain dishes like bouillabaisse, which makes her innovative and original style even more impressive. Still, when it comes to breakfast, you're unlikely to find any surprises in Garten's kitchen — just a humble bowl of oatmeal.