Barefoot Contessa, I still love you

I am a shameless and openly fanatical Barefoot Contessa follower.

Because of this, several people have brought to my attention the recent negative development in the Food Network chef’s public image. Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) turned down a Make-A-Wish Foundation request by terminally ill leukemia patient, Enzo, to cook with the star.

Upon hearing this, I think my initial reaction was similar to most of ours: how could a woman so seemingly sweet fail to meet an opportunity to fulfill this angelic image we might associate with her?

Criticisms have been pouring into the press, as opinion headlines have been claiming her to be self-centered and heartless, putting our dearest Ina in quite a bad light. I was inclined to agree with the angry headlines.

How could you not, given the stakes of a 6-year-old cancer victim?

After mulling over my opinions, I was torn between staying loyal to my long-time cooking muse and appealing to the likes of this sad, rejected Enzo. I think ultimately what created this controversy in the first place was our tendency to cater to our pathos, that human inclination to console the weaker, more vulnerable party. Of course in the oh-so-fair judgment of the public media, there’s a predictable prevailer in the multi-billion dollar celebrity chef vs. the dying, pleading kindergartener.

Where there is no need to condemn the child for being overly insistent on a celebrity who is a dedicated friend of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, it seems silly to make Ina the baker of all evil in our eyes simply because TMZ was on this and Enzo’s mother has a popular blog.

There is no sense in concluding that Ina’s decline to see Enzo would be the first celebrity rejection Make-A-Wish has ever seen, and it would be equally ridiculous to single out this child as a victim to the “heartless” Contessa in a sea of terminally-ill patients Make-A-Wish cannot always provide for.

As far as the situation goes, I think that Ina is being unfairly vilified, subject to what appears to be media-driven, emotional blackmail. In the midst of crucifying our queen of cooking basics, would it be so out of line to be the voice of reason and suggest that denouncing a celebrity because he can’t meet a tragic fan’s needs is something that’s not that uncommon?

Could we refer, really quickly, to what Oprah’s mailbox must look like?

Public figures cannot adhere to the whims of every wish they receive, and as it turns out, Enzo is taking on his back-up wish of swimming with dolphins. Now, how easy is that?  

—ftirado@indiana.edu