Anne Burrell

Anne W. Burrell (September 21, 1969 – June 17, 2025) was an American chef, television personality, and instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. She was the host of the Food Network show '' Secrets of a Restaurant Chef'' and co-host of '' Worst Cooks in America''. She was also one of Mario Batali's sous chefs in the ''Iron Chef America'' series and appeared on other programs on the network such as ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate''. Burrell died on June 17, 2025, having been found unresponsive at her home in Brooklyn, New York City.

Early life, family and education

Burrell was born in Cazenovia, New York, on September 21, 1969. She attended Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English and Communications in 1991.

A year later, Burrell enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, eventually graduating in 1996 with an Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.). She also studied at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Asti in the Piedmont region, Italy.

Career

Restaurants

After her ICIF experience, Burrell remained in Italy, working in various restaurants for nine months. She worked at La Bottega del '30, a small restaurant in Tuscany, Italy, with one seating each night. Burrell returned to the US as a sous chef at Felidia, owned by celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich. She became the chef at Savoy, a small prix fixe dining room. After Savoy, Burrell began teaching at the Institute of Culinary Education. Lidia Bastianich's son and restaurateur, Joe Bastianich, and Chef Mario Batali named Burrell the chef for Italian Wine Merchants, their New York wine store.

She later became the executive chef of Centro Vinoteca, an Italian restaurant in New York City's West Village area which opened in 2007. She left the restaurant in September 2008 due to her busy schedule and many commitments. The departure also meant that she would not start at Gusto Ristorante, as both of the restaurants are part of Mangia Hospitality Group. Burrell planned to open her first restaurant in 2010 in New York City. Burrell opened her restaurant, Phil & Anne's Good Time Lounge, in Brooklyn in spring 2017, though as of April 2018, the restaurant had closed.

Television

In 2005, Iron Chef Mario Batali asked Burrell to serve as one of his sous chefs, along with chef and restaurateur Mark Ladner, for a pilot taping of Food Network's ''Iron Chef America'' series. She continued to serve as his sous chef during his tenure with the show. Burrell's Food Network series '' Secrets of a Restaurant Chef'' debuted June 29, 2008. In 2009, she appeared on another Food Network show, ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'', in which chefs recount their favorite dishes.

In 2010, Burrell and Chef Beau MacMillan hosted '' Worst Cooks in America'', a Food Network reality TV series. Burrell and her co-host lead contestants through a "culinary boot camp" on their journey to become better cooks. The first season premiered on January 3, 2010. Chef Burrell won the challenge when her recruit, Rachel Coleman, edged out MacMillan's recruit, Jenny Cross. The second season premiered on January 2, 2011, with Chef MacMillan being replaced by Chef Robert Irvine. To raise the stakes, Irvine and Burrell made a side bet, in which Burrell risked losing her signature hair and Irvine risked going platinum. Chef Burrell won both the competition and the side-bet, when her recruit, Joshie Berger, edged out Irvine's recruit, Georg Coleman.

Also in 2011, Burrell became the fourth runner up in the culinary competition '' The Next Iron Chef'' on the Food Network, being eliminated in week six of the competition. The third season of ''Worst Cooks in America'' premiered on February 12, 2012. Chef Bobby Flay was the new co-host/chef for season three. Chef Burrell again won the competition, when her recruit Kelli Powers edged out Flay's recruit, Vinnie Caligiuri. Season four started on February 17, 2013. Season four concluded with Flay's team finally defeating Burrell's team, when his recruit, Alina Bolshakova, edged out Burrell's recruit, Rasheeda Brown. She was also a contestant on the first season of ''Chopped All-Stars'' tournament, winning the "Food Network Personalities" preliminary round to advance to the final round, where she placed second runner up to Nate Appleman (winner) and Aarón Sanchez. In 2015, Burrell won the fourth installment of the ''Chopped All-Stars'' tournament, winning $75,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Other projects

In 2009, Burrell appeared with fellow Food Network personality Guy Fieri on the ''Guy Fieri Roadshow''. Burrell, along with fellow Food Network personalities Sunny Anderson and Claire Robinson, appeared in the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the Food Network float. Burrell hosted an 11-day Food Network cruise throughout the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic aboard the brand new '' Celebrity Silhouette'' in late 2011. From June 2012 through October 2013, Burrell hosted ''Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell'' on the Food Network. The show ran for three seasons and 36 episodes.

Burrell's two cookbooks with Suzanne Lenzer, ''Cook Like a Rock Star'' (2011; ISBN 9780307886750) and ''Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire and Empower'' (2013; ISBN 9780385345576), made them ''New York Times'' bestselling authors.

Personal life and death

Burrell released a statement in 2012 confirming that she had been in a relationship with her girlfriend, chef Koren Grieveson, for two years after cookbook author Ted Allen seemingly outed her on a radio show. Burrell disputed the notion she had been outed, saying she had not kept her sexuality a secret. On December 31, 2012, Burrell tweeted that she was engaged to Grieveson, but the two would later break up.

In 2018, she met Stuart Claxton through the dating app Bumble. On April 21, 2020, Burrell announced that she and Claxton were engaged. The two married on October 16, 2021.

Burrell died at her home in Brooklyn, New York City, on June 17, 2025, at age 55. She was found unconscious and unresponsive at approximately 7:50 a.m., and emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene. Authorities say the New York City Fire Department received a 911 call that suggested she had gone into cardiac arrest, but an official cause of death is still pending an autopsy with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

References

External links

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Burrell's Biography at the Institute for Culinary Education

Burrell's former New York restaurant, Centro Vinoteca

Burrell's Brooklyn restaurant, Phil & Anne's Good Time Lounge

The Institute of Culinary Education – Anne W. Burrell

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Anne
1969 births
2025 deaths
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American women
American television chefs
American women chefs
Canisius University alumni
Chefs from New York (state)
Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni
Food Network chefs
LGBTQ chefs
LGBTQ people from New York (state)
People from Cazenovia, New York
Television chefs
21st-century American people