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Chef Anne Burrell poses during the Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival
Anne Burrell shared her cooking skills in shows like Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and Worst Cooks in America.
Anne Burrell, a queer celebrity chef who appeared on Food Network shows, died Tuesday in New York at 55.
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Starting out with Iron Chef America, the bleach blonde chef with spiky hair went on to be a common face on Food Network programs. The network confirmed her death to the Associated Press.
Authorities were called to Burrell's home early on Tuesday, finding a woman unresponsive. The woman was pronounced dead. Local police did not release the name of the deceased, but the AP notes that it's the same address as Burrell's.
No cause of death has been announced.
She had posted to social media last Thursday about meeting the internet star Elizabeth Sweetheart, aka the Green Lady of Carroll Gardens, while walking in Brooklyn, CNN reports.
“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,” Food Network said in a statement.
“Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world,” the family said in a statement.
Burrell was born on September 21, 1969, in Cazenovia, New York. She earned a degree in English and communications from Canisius University before eventually attending the Culinary Institute of America. Burrell then traveled to Italy to apprentice with chefs there.
She's survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, his son, her mother, and two siblings.
“I truly in my heart feel that your food knows how you’re feeling when you cook it and it reacts accordingly. I like to put happy and joy into my food, and it’s not so serious,” she told Tasting Table in April. “I teach the worst cooks in the world. I mean, you got to know how to do that.”
She added, “It’s just dinner.”
