Jennifer Garner made Ina Garten's beef bourguignon for Alias co-star Victor Garber

The actor, a devoted fan of Ina Garten, once made the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for her co-star Victor Garber and his partner Rainer Andreesen

(Getty Images for Fast Company)

For some people, food is a language of love – and that includes Jennifer Garner, who once relied on the comforting power of a beef bourguignon to bond with her Alias co-star.

The actor, a devoted fan of Ina Garten, recounted in an essay for Bon Appétit how she cooked the French classic for Victor Garber, who played her father on the ABC show, and his partner Rainer Andreesen, back in the early 2000s.

Another one of her co-stars, Michael Vartan (who starred as CIA handler Michael Vaughn in the series), had tracked down a signed copy of Garten's 2004 recipe book Barefoot in Paris for Garner. In the book, the Alias star found her favourite recipe by the American chef, which she cooked at the end of a week of work for Garber, Andreesen and herself.

"We were mid-season and had just finished a long week, and I somehow made this gorgeous meal on a Saturday night," Garner recounted. "I remember being in my little house listening to music and drinking a glass of gorgeous red wine. (Always cook with a wine you’d like to have at the table, right, Ina?) The house smelled like winter when Victor and Rainer arrived, and the meal was done."

Garner said she loved the simplicity of the recipe, which had her cook all the ingredients in the oven and enabled her to enjoy her time with her guests rather than fuss in the kitchen.

"I didn't have to get up to check anything or stir or sauté – everything had cooked in the oven, and we just sat and ate and talked and laughed," she added.

The actor loved Garten's beef bourguignon so much she added the dish to her permanent répertoire. She has since made it "countless times", including for Christmas and dinner parties.

Garner, a food lover who has hosted her own "Pretend Cooking Show" on social media, has long held Garten as her culinary idol.

In April this year, the cook wished Garner a happy birthday on Instagram, sharing a photo of the two of them together. Back in February, Garner extended the same gesture for Garten to mark the food icon's 70th birthday. On that occasion, the actor recounted how Garten cooked her a meal for her birthday three years ago, adding: "I was able to cook for her, it would only be because she taught me (and the rest of America) how."