Jennifer Garner Almost Sets Kitchen on Fire as She Attempts to Cook Festive Meal

Jennifer Garner’s latest kitchen adventure almost ended in disaster. Garner cooked up beef bourguignon in a new episode of her Pretend Cooking Show series on Instagram, and almost lit her kitchen on fire. Garner started her Pretend Cooking Show in December 2017 and has become so popular that Garner was once offered to host a real cooking show.

In the new episode, Garner made Ina Garten’s beef bourguignon recipe, which included adding Cognac to a pot. However, she doubled Garten’s recipe by adding 1/2 cup of the brandy. She lit the pot all at once, and the alcohol burst into fire. The flames reached the ceiling of the 13 Going on 30 star’s kitchen. “A thousand pardons,” the shocked Garner told her viewers. “Don’t double the Cognac.”

“The thing about traditions-all you do to give them meaning is keep them,” Garner captioned the video. “I don’t know when I started making [Garten’s] beef bourguignon (from Barefoot in Paris) for Christmas, it was long enough ago that the smell of this perfect stew makes me feel happy, cozy, and relaxed (until I almost lit the kitchen on fire-Ina would never!). Maybe this will make sense for your New Year’s Eve, but wherever this weekend takes you-we wish you a healthy, a joyful, and a peaceful New Year.”

It turns out that Garten does set her own kitchen on fire. The chef commented on Garner’s video, assuring her that she “almost set the kitchen on fire every time” she makes her own recipe. “Happy New Year!!! Love you,” Garten added. Garner listed Garten’s recipe in the caption for her video. It is also available at Barefoot Contessa.

Garner launched Pretend Cooking Show in December 2017 and it has become one of the most popular videos on Instagram, notes PEOPLE. Garner’s beef bourguignon video reached over 4.23 million views in just one day. Garner’s personal assistant Maureen Grossner films each episode and some have featured guest stars. Even Garten stopped by once.

The Love, Simon star has even been approached to bring Pretend Cooking Show to television. She received a “slew of industry requests” to host a real cooking show, she told The Hollywood Reporter in March. “Pretty much it’s just, ‘Hey, we have a couple hours, what do I want to make for lunch or bake for the kids?’ and we go ahead and just shoot it,” Garner told Good Morning America in November 2020. “We don’t think ahead and plan it, it’s more random — other than like, ‘Hey Ina, do you want to do this show with me?’”