Reading Time: 3 minutes
Extremely sad news today out of the entertainment industry:
Anne Burrell — the popular chef known for her spiky platinum hair, very outgoing personality and culinary expertise — passed way on the morning of Tuesday, June 17 at her home in Brooklyn, New York.
She was 55 years old.
“Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered. Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world. Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal,” Burrell’s loved ones in a statement to Deadline and other celebrity gossip outlets.
A fan-favorite on the Food Network, Burrell was best known as the longtime host of Worst Cooks in America, a program that featured amateur cooks trying to transform from rookies to kitchen experts.
Each season, contestants (referred to as “recruits”) were put through a culinary boot camp in order to earn a cash prize of $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set.
A spokesperson from this also said on Tuesday:
“Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent – teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring. Our thoughts are with Anne’s family, friends and fans during this time of tremendous loss.”
Burrell kicked off her small screen career as a sous chef on Iron Chef America.
She went on to host her own show, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, for nine seasons.
Other shows that also featured Burrell in prominent roles included Chef Wanted, Chopped and Food Network Star.
Her most recent stint at the network was on House of Knives, which premiered in March.
Burrell authored two cookbooks: 2011’s Cook Like a Rock Star, which made her a New York Times bestseller, and Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire and Empower.
As of this writing, no cause of death has been announced. We are awaiting the results of an autopsy by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death.
However, law enforcement sources told TMZ that EMS personnel received a call of a woman in need of assistance Tuesday morning after Burrell was found unresponsive inside her New York City residence.
She was declared dead at the scene.
Outside the kitchen and TV screen, Burrell was devoted to philanthropy and charitable work.
She served on the advisory board of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, was a celebrity ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and was a dedicated member of City Harvest’s Food Council.
“I truly, in my heart, feel that your food knows how you’re feeling when you cook it and it reacts accordingly,” she told Tasting Table in April.
“I like to put happy and joy into my food, and it’s not so serious. I teach the worst cooks in the world. I mean, you got to know how to do that. So, to me, I want to express to people, ‘Take the fear factor out of it and put the fun factor in.’”
Anne Burrell is survived by her husband Stuart Claxton; and his son, Javier; as well as her mother, Marlene, and sister, Jane, her children Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas; and her brother Ben.
May she rest in peace.
