Ina Garten Shares Bold Opinion of Jennifer Garner After Her Assistant 'Dismissed' Actress' Collab Request

Ina Garten and Jennifer Garner have been pals for years, but their friendship almost didn’t happen thanks to an “offhand” dismissal by the cookbook author’s assistant.

In her new memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens , Garten details how Garner initially reached out to the Barefoot Contessa star in the hopes of collaborating, but that a mishap occurred that could have hampered their connection.

“People who didn’t understand that the guests on my show were my friends in real life often wrote to see if they could cook with me,” wrote Garten, explaining that her assistant “handled my correspondence and always sent polite letters explaining how the show worked. One day, she’d offhandedly dismissed a letter from Jennifer Garner because she apparently didn’t realize who she was.”

People reports that because Garten “had an instinct” about the 13 Going on 30 star, she reached out to the actress about filming an episode of her cooking show together, and it was kismet. “As we both suspected, [we] felt an instant connection. We’ve been friends ever since,” said the Food Network host.

Related: 25 Classic Ina Garten Recipes to Make All the Time

The duo have since gone on to appear together in Garten’s cooking shows, including Be My Guest , as well as Garner’s social media series Pretend Cooking Show , and have attended milestone celebrations, like when Garten rang in Garner’s 40th birthday with her and a group of “wonderful, wonderful women.”

Garner told Today that when it came time for Garten to pen her memoir, she came to her friend’s aid. “I talked to her through writing it. It sounds like it was a very intense process for her,” she said.

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