Willie Geist Reveals Ina Garten's Best Dinner Party Etiquette Tip (Exclusive)

Ina Garten knows a point aliases 2 astir a bully meal party.

The Food Network icon, 77, joined Sunday Today's Willie Geist for his second-ever Sunday Sitdown Live astatine City Winery successful New York City connected May 19. And while nan question and reply itself will aerial June 1 connected NBC, PEOPLE said exclusively to Geist, 50, up of nan event.

"I've had a awesome narration pinch Ina complete nan years. We person interviewed each different successful 1 shape aliases different I deliberation 5 aliases six times. She's been connected this show twice. I've been connected her show once, and truthful I deliberation we've built a narration and a rapport and a spot and we conscionable get on well," says Geist erstwhile asked why Garten made for a cleanable 2nd guest.

Sunday Today kicked disconnected its first-of-a-kind unrecorded arena successful January, erstwhile Geist interviewed comedian Nate Bargatze. The tickets sold retired successful nether 10 minutes.

For nan 2nd installment, nan tickets sold moreover faster, and Geist remains earnestly amazed that group traveled from each complete to be nan taping (though he admits he did get an other perk this clip around).

"We sewage branded cups and napkins, which I'm beautiful judge we didn't person past time," he says pinch a laughter arsenic he puts his ain Sunday Today pinch Willie Geist cup down. "This is simply a caller commitment, caller level."

Laura Jarrett introduced Geist and Garten up of nan sit-down. Jarrett, who anchors Saturday Today and is NBC News’ elder ineligible correspondent, was uniquely qualified for nan emcee job: She's nan biggest Garten instrumentality nan Today show has to offer.

"I deliberation 'big' successful [big fan] doesn't rather seizure nan emotion and adoration that I person for this woman," Jarret says. "I don't want to beryllium stalker-ish, but she's my person! You meet truthful galore astonishing group astatine nan Today show each azygous day. She is nan only 1 that I americium gobsmacked."

Garten, for her part, was perfectly astatine location onstage pinch Geist, and nan second information of nan show moreover included Garten school Geist really to trade nan cleanable dessert sheet for his adjacent meal party.

Pro tip: It's each astir utilizing foods that travel successful different shapes and sizes, Garten says.

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The champion portion of proposal Geist has ever received from Garten, however, really has to do pinch what to bring (or rather, what not to bring) arsenic a impermanent to a meal party.

"Don't bring thing that disrupts nan scheme that nan big had. So successful different words, I show up pinch chips and guacamole and [the host] is like, 'Okay, I [already] had a scheme for what we're going to do earlier nan dinner,' " Geist says. "Bring coasters aliases bring thing that's conscionable a gift that they tin usage later."

Garten previously told PEOPLE that this norm besides intends she ne'er brings flowers without a vase nor does she bring chilled vino that nan big will consciousness compelled to service "even though it doesn't spell pinch nan meal astatine all."

So, while Geist learns astatine nan hands of nan maestro (or shall we say, the Barefoot Contessa), Garten is really rather contented pinch her ain meal statement history. As she told Geist during their interview, she's already hosted her dream guest: Taylor Swift.

The pair's relationship dates backmost years, and Garten recalled really honored she was erstwhile Swift, 35, first chose her arsenic her favourite Food Network chef. Garten and Swift past spent clip cooking together astatine Garten's home, wherever they made pavlova.

“I thought, ‘That benignant of looks for illustration Taylor’ — it’s meringue and whipped pick and berries — and we conscionable had a ball,” Garten told Geist. “We had specified a bully time.”

Sunday Today airs Sundays astatine 8 a.m. ET connected NBC. Geist's question and reply pinch Garten will aerial connected June 1.