Ina Garten said she didn't think anyone would watch her on TV unlike 'sexy' Nigella Lawson

• Ina Garten said Food Network executives had to convince her to have her own cooking show.
• Garten spoke about comparing herself to "sexy" cooking-show hosts like Nigella Lawson.

Ina Garten is one of the most famous cooking-show hosts in the industry, but even she dealt with imposter syndrome before becoming a Food Network star.

In a recent episode of "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" Garten revealed her hesitation to start her Food Network show, "Barefoot Contessa," after her cookbook of the same name became a national bestseller. She even told Food Network executives trying to recruit her to "lose her number."

"I didn't think that anybody would want to watch me on TV. I didn't know what they saw," Garten told CNN's Chris Wallace in the episode, which aired January 13. "I just couldn't. I'd never done TV and I just couldn't imagine that."

Garten said she didn't feel like she fit the mold of cooking stars of the early 2000s, including fellow Food Network star Nigella Lawson, whose first cooking show, "Nigella Bites," aired from 1999 until 2001.

"I mean, it was the era of Nigella — Nigella Lawson was on TV and she was so sexy… I just thought, that's not who I am," Garten told Wallace.

Despite her hesitations, Garten eventually agreed to do the show, and "Barefoot Contessa" was born ... with a little convincing.

"[Food Network was] very persistent. And they found a producer whose work I liked. And they called and said, 'We hired them. They're coming to your house in two weeks,'" Garten said. "So I was like, 'Whoa, I didn't say it was going to do it.' And they said, 'Just do a few shows and see how it goes.'"

"Barefoot Contessa" aired its premiere episode on November 30, 2002, and wrapped in December 2021 after 28 seasons and seven Daytime Emmy Awards.

Garten is also the host of "Be My Guest" on the Food Network, the author of 13 cookbooks, and recently appeared on a panel alongside Lawson to promote their latest books: Garten's "Go-to Dinners" and Lawson's "Cook, Eat, Repeat."