Ina Garten gave Hoda Kotb a sweet shoutout during her last week on TODAY.
While sitting down with Hoda and a few of the TODAY co-hosts, including Willie Geist, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker, on Jan. 9, Garten showed them a special drink that she made in honor of her friend, whoโll be leaving the show on Jan. 10.
The drink is called the French 75, which consists of cognac, simple syrup, lemon juice and zest, and Champagne.
โLetโs try this,โ Willie Geist said, eagerly.
Once each of the TODAY hosts picked up their drink, Garten then gave a special speech to Hoda.
โTo Hoda,โ she said. โTo the best, most fabulous next chapter.โ
โLove you,โ Hoda replied.
However, Garten wasnโt done with her praise. She then told Hoda that everything sheโs accomplished in her career has been โamazingโ and she also called the โMaking Spaceโ host an โextraordinaryโ person.
In response, Hoda told Garten how much she adores her.
โYou were inspiring before I read your book, but after we read your book, and just got to hear you talk about your life and what you did and what you accomplished. And here you are! Youโre like the queen of repotting, reinvention, all the things, right?โ Hoda said.
โAnd I got to tell you, of all the celebs who come through here, the one person who people universally say they canโt wait to talk to, including everybody, is you,โ she added. โBut thatโs the way it rolls and we know why so Iโm honored you came in. Cheers to you.โ
In September, Hoda announced she would be leaving TODAYย after spendingย nearly three decadesย at NBC. Hoda explained that she felt it was time for her to spend more time with her kids,ย Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.
โObviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have,โ she said. โI feel like we only have a finite amount of time.โ
Craig Melvinย will replace Hodaย as the co-anchor of TODAY alongside Savannah Guthrie starting Jan. 13.