How Ina Garten Color Coordinates Her Food With Her Plates

Ina Garten, also referred to as The Barefoot Contessa, is a highly accomplished chef who has helped out scores of fans over the years with her invaluable tips on cooking. She is refreshingly simple in her approach and is accessible to home cooks at all levels. 

The chef is also incredibly humble, and like us, there are many things she's still trying to master. She once said that despite cooking for many years, there's one particular recipe that eludes her, according to Eat This, Not That!. Hint: It's a dessert. "I've been working on Boston cream pie for about three books, and I haven't gotten the balance and flavors and textures quite right." Also, Garten definitely believes that her show is relatable to her fans and is easy to take inspiration from.

True to her image, Garten often doles out easy tips and fields questions from her fans on cooking and entertaining dilemmas. Even when it comes to her followers' queries about food presentation and dinner parties, she has advice.

Garten has a useful tip for picking plate colors

One fan told Ina Garten on her website that they often struggle with pairing different colors of dishes when they have guests over and asked Garten if she experiments with bright and playful plates. The star explained that she often uses white serving platters because they really help the dishes look appealing in comparison to other hues.

However, Garten did add that a couple of dishes get a special presentation. "There are a few exceptions: salads and green vegetables can look beautiful on gray platters and I love to serve dessert on colorful old-fashioned plates that I collect at flea markets and antique china stores." What a handy tip, eh?

Another helpful piece of advice from Garten to follow while entertaining guests at home? As per Eating Well, she likes to ensure that she prepares a lot of food beforehand to avoid last-minute stress. And yes, this means that you should plan the menu in such a way that you can prep in advance. With Garten's advice, you'll be entertaining like the Barefoot Contessa in no time.