Ina Garten Explains Why New Podcast 'Happy Hour' Isn't Just Another Interview Show
The cooking icon says the format is meant to feel like a dinner party, not a sit-down interview.
Ina Garten sat down with TODAY to talk about her new podcast, Happy Hour, which she describes as a dinner party with cocktails rather than a traditional sit-down interview. "It's not an interview, it's a conversation," Garten said, describing how she welcomes celebrity guests into a more relaxed, conversational setting built around drinks and food.
Garten also used the appearance to reveal her dream guest for the show and to discuss her upcoming 14th cookbook, titled Simply Ina. Her recent TODAY appearances have leaned into that same casual, hospitality-driven persona, including a segment where she played a lighthearted round of "Who's Most Likely to" with Jennifer Garner, needling each other over cooking shortcuts and party etiquette.
The podcast itself, titled Happy Hour with Ina Garten, was first teased in a trailer moment in which Garten surprised her husband Jeffrey with news of the project, catching him off guard on camera. That show finds Garten mixing cocktails and chatting with guests at her New York apartment, extending the same hospitality-focused approach she brought to her cooking career into a new format.
During the TODAY conversation, Garten framed Happy Hour as an extension of how she already likes to entertain, prioritizing ease and genuine exchange over a formal question-and-answer structure. Between the podcast and her forthcoming cookbook, Garten's appearance signaled a continued expansion of her brand beyond television and books into more informal, conversational territory.
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