Anne Burrell — Chef, TV Star and Former ICE Instructor — Dies at 55
Chef, TV personality, and former ICE Chef-Instructor Anne Burrell, has died. She was 55 years old.
Best-known and beloved for her spiky platinum blonde hair and many appearances on the Food Network, Burrell made her TV debut twenty years ago on “Iron Chef America,” a cutthroat cooking competition series wherein she was sous chef to Iron Chef Mario Batali.
Soon — thanks to her quick wit, striking appearance and sharp culinary insights — she was an audience favorite. She would later host "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" and "Worst Cooks in America." The former ran five seasons (from 2008 to 2012) and yielded two Daytime Emmy nominations, one of them an outstanding lifestyle/culinary host nod for Burrell.
A born and bred New Yorker, Burrell’s culinary journey began like many before her — spending her childhood in the kitchen with her mother and watching Julia Child’s TV shows in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
After graduating with an English and Communications degree from Canisius College, Burrell attended culinary school in New York, acquiring the foundational skills that informed her incisive cooking show contestant feedback and developing an affection for Italian cuisine. In 1998, Burrell made a splash in the Manhattan food scene working at popular eateries Felidia Ristorante and Savoy in SoHo.
In a statement released yesterday, Food Network said Burrell 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."
ICE alumni who trained in the school’s Culinary Arts program in the early 2000's can attest to this. Burrell was a Chef-Instructor at the institute’s New York campus from 2004 to 2007. Following yesterday’s announcement of her death, tributes to Burrell poured in across social media, many of them from her former pupils.
Weelicious founder and ICE alum Catherine McCord wrote, “Anne was my teacher in culinary school and an amazing chef and person.”
Rick Smilow, ICE CEO and Founder, had this to say of Burrell: “She was respected and well-loved for her talent, enthusiasm, energy and passion, which she applied to everything we were doing at the school. Culinary Arts training, recreational classes, cooking parties — she was all in."
He added that the most fun he ever had in a karaoke room was with Burrell and several former ICE colleagues.
"She left us too soon," Smilow said, "and our condolences go out to her family."
According to a statement shared with NBC News, the NYPD confirmed they were called to Burrell’s Brooklyn address at approximately 8 a.m. yesterday following a report of “an unconscious and unresponsive 55-year-old female." Though several outlets are reporting that Burrell suffered cardiac arrest, her official cause of death remains unconfirmed pending an autopsy with the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Our thoughts and sympathies are with Burrell’s family and friends at this tragic time.
Thank you for your time and talent, Chef. You are and will continue to be missed. Rest in peace.
