Ina Garten, better known as the Food Network’s “Barefoot Contessa,” is not a busy person. If her show is any indication, she spends all week lounging around her maaahnsion in the Hamptons, hanging out with her fabulous friends and talking about Paris and foie gras. But she’s managed to hammer out a shred of free time for a young boy with cancer — after turning down his dying wish to meet her — TWICE.
The boy, Enzo, is suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia and reached out to Garten through the Make-a-Wish Foundation for the first time last year, asking for the celebrity chef to take time to cook with him.
His request fell upon deaf ears, however. Garten’s rep told TMZ, “As much as [Garten] would like to, it’s absolutely impossible for her to grant every request she receives.”
The little boy, who specifically requested to meet Garten because he had watched her show while sick in bed, made a second request through Make-a-Wish, which was met with a “definite no.” [TV Squad]
So now that she’s gotten enough bad press, Garten is finally inviting Enzo to her studio. Way to go, Ina. Way to respond to a child’s dying wish a mere year later. I hope you weren’t rushed into it or anything. Those kids with cancer can be so pushy with their timelines about doing something enjoyable before their brief, painful lives end. Pretty selfish of them if you ask me.
TOTALLY METAL UPDATE: Enzo — whose family still hasn’t heard from Garten — is now focused on a new, better dream: swimming with dolphins.
