The fascinating historical past behind Ina Garten's engagement hen, which could have prompted Prince Harry's proposal to Meghan Markle

Celeb chef Ina Garten has achieved many issues in her life, from publishing greater than a dozen cookbooks to successful a number of Emmys.

However, for some followers, her best affect has been along with her roast-chicken recipe — a dish that is so good, it is reportedly sparked marriage proposals.

The historical past behind ‘engagement hen’ goes again to earlier than Ina Garten printed her personal recipe

In response to Glamour, the idea of “engagement hen” first took place in 1982 when a trend editor on the journal shared a roast-chicken recipe with an assistant. After the assistant cooked the hen for her boyfriend, he proposed a month later. She then shared the recipe with a number of colleagues, who all received engaged shortly after making it.

Thus, the legend of engagement hen was born.

The recipe was formally printed in a 2004 subject of Glamour. Nonetheless, different recipes for engagement hen have since been popularized, together with one by Rachael Ray and, maybe most well-known of all, Ina Garten’s recipe, which was printed in her first cookbook, “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook,” in 1999.

The recipe might have contributed to one of the vital well-known proposals of all time

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a blanket with their dog after they got engaged in 2017.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pictured following their engagement at Kensington Palace.

Netflix



Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle in November 2017 in Kensington Palace’s north backyard. Earlier than the proposal, Meghan was roasting a hen and Harry popped a bottle of champagne, though he would not drink it.

“That barely gave the sport away,” Harry stated of their Netflix collection, “Harry & Meghan.”

As Meghan informed the BBC after their engagement in 2017, “[We were] making an attempt to roast a hen and it simply — simply an incredible shock, it was so candy and pure and really romantic. He received on one knee.”

Whereas Meghan by no means explicitly stated which recipe she used that evening, she had beforehand stated she was a fan of Garten.

“There may be nothing as scrumptious (or as spectacular) as a superbly roasted hen,” Meghan informed Good Housekeeping in 2016. “In case you have an Ina Garten-level roasted-chicken recipe, it is a recreation changer. I deliver that to events and make loads of pals.”

Emily Blunt additionally joked on the River Cafe’s “Ruthie’s Desk 4” podcast in 2021 that Garten’s recipe was “all it took” to win the guts of her husband, John Krasinski.

The recipe itself is de facto easy to make

The recipe for Ina Garten’s engagement hen requires a 4-to-5-pound roasting hen, garlic, lemons, Spanish onions, and olive oil, plus seasoning and some elements to make a gravy.

“That is my model of the Glamour journal women’ engagement hen,” Garten stated as she shared the recipe on her cooking present “Barefoot Contessa” in 2009.

Whether or not the recipe results in a proposal or not, our personal trial of the recipe was successful at a cocktail party.

Descriptions of the roast hen included “juicy,” “tender,” and “flavorful.” One visitor even admitted they’re fairly vital of hen, however beloved this recipe.

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