The late celebrity chef Anne Burrell had a gift for both culinary competition and compassion. Whether she was opening a Cheetos pop-up restaurant in New York City or appearing as a judge on Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl,” Chef Burrell never shied away from her quirkiness or from her big personality. Along with her easily recognizable, lofty swoop of platinum blonde hair, Burrell was known for her energetic charisma and philanthropic work both in and out of the kitchen. She was a member of City Harvest’s Food Council as well as an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, inspired by her young nephew who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
The late chef shared her secrets for winning a cooking competition with Tasting Table in an exclusive interview in April 2025, and her advice was both endearing and inspiring. Burrell noted not to take yourself too seriously in the kitchen, and she even went so far as to take improv classes in New York City to help her be a better television host. “I truly in my heart feel that your food knows how you’re feeling when you cook it and it reacts accordingly,” expressed Burrell, showing us that her empathy was part of what differentiated her from other professional chefs and television hosts. In terms of practical advice for the kitchen, Burrell noted that she always made sure to taste her food, as that’s often a step that is overlooked in competition cooking.
Anne Burrell sought to inspire and encourage
Another tip Burrell had for those who were just starting out or were interested in cooking a new dish was to follow a recipe exactly (and Ina Garten agrees). “Don’t just try to wing it,” Burrell advised. “Find a recipe, read several recipes, and pick out the one that you feel most comfortable with or the one that you like the best, and then read it from beginning to end before you start cooking.” Along with following a recipe, Burrell stressed the importance of mise en place, saying “do all your prep work before you start cooking and then clean as you go. It removes the freak-out factor from cooking when everything is ready, and you can just be calm.”
Burrell firmly believed that you can grow and learn from any situation: “You actually learn more from your mistakes than you do by just sailing through something perfectly. You learn A, what went wrong, B, how to prevent it, and/or C, how to fix it,” said Burrell, which illustrates why she was such an incredible contestant, host, and judge of a multitude of cooking shows for not only professionals, but complete and total beginners. Burrell’s advice to those lacking culinary skills on her show “Worst Cooks In America” was to “take the fear factor out of it and put the fun factor in,” which could be great advice to apply to almost any facet of life. It’s exactly that kind of attitude that made Burrell a fun, supportive chef and television host. Her wisdom and optimism will be missed.
