Though she's well known today, Anne Burrell had to figure out her way to the top of the culinary
world by herself. Through hard work she’s created a unique identity in the food world,
and her transformation is still turning heads.
Growing up, Burrell wasn't especially interested in academics or extracurriculars
and, when she turned 16, she took up a job at McDonald's, as she told Bella Magazine.
"My first job ever, I was a fruiterie which is the french word for a fry
cook. I got to make french fries at McDonalds."
Little did she know that she would one day become a world-famous chef
working in the kitchens of important restaurants across the world.
As a kid, Burrell had dreamed of becoming like Julia Child when she grew up.
But the dream fizzled out as she got older, and disappeared when she decided to major
in English and communications at New York's Canisius College.
After her college graduation, she landed a job in a non-culinary field – a job she
called "rotten" in an interview with Canisius College Magazine. Thankfully,
she realized that she was, quote, "way too young to be miserable" and decided to start fresh
by joining the Culinary Institute of America. But it wasn't an easy decision. She explained,
"Being a chef wasn't the cool thing. [...] Chefs weren't rock stars then."
Aside from that, her dad was pretty apprehensive of her career choice. Burrell told NBC News,
"He was like, 'You wanna do what? A girl like you wants to go to work in a kitchen?' And there was
not even a Food Network to aspire to be on — it was just like I just knew that I wanted to do it."
Joining the Culinary Institute of America was one of the best decisions Burrell made.
She told Starchefs,
"Culinary school was the first time in my life that I was at the right place at the right time."
Soon after graduating, Burrell left for Italy. She explained to Canisius College Magazine,
"I wanted to expand my horizons. When I went to Italy it was like
'Wow, this isn't anything like what I know of Italian food and I love it so much more.'"
She spent three months at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners, soaking in the culture
and cuisine of the country. Following that, she worked at restaurants in Umbria and Tuscany . Both
brought in new experiences that only deepened her love for the Italian way of cooking.
Speaking about her time working for one restaurant in particular, she recalled,
"The day [a new olive oil] was released, everyone gathered at the restaurant and we
grilled bread with bruschetta and ran across the street and poured the new
olive oil over it. [...] To this day it was the purest flavor I've ever experienced."
Burrell came back from Italy eager to apply the skills she had gathered in Italy to
the kitchens of New York restaurants. With top restaurants in her portfolio,
Burrell eventually transformed into an especially sought-after chef in New York.
But as work continued at a heated pace, Burrell began to burn out — and she wasn't alone.
A 2017 study by Unilever Food Solutions revealed that over 70 percent of chefs are sleep-deprived,
while over 60 percent report feeling depressed.
Over half were so stressed that they felt they were at a "breaking point." So,
at this point in her career, Burrell wisely took a sabbatical from the restaurant business and began
teaching at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, according to Restaurant Girl.
Teaching proved to be a profound experience for Burrell. She told Canisius College Magazine,
"I needed a change of scenery,
but something still involved with cooking and it definitely made me a better cook.
It really made me question cooking techniques and ask myself [...] "Why do I do this?'"
Though Burrell enjoyed her time as a teacher,
she felt that teaching was something that chefs took up at the end of their careers,
not at the beginning — where she considered herself to be. More importantly, she realized
that she missed the buzz of restaurant kitchens and itched to get back into full time cooking.
"I love my job and I'm good at it."
After her stint teaching, Burrell got back to wearing her chef's hat and became the executive
chef at the Italian restaurant Lumi . Later, she was hired by the big guns of the restaurant
industry — chef Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich — to join the team at Italian Wine Merchants.
This opportunity, little did she realize at the time, would change
her life even more dramatically than previous opportunities.
Batali picked Burrell to act as his sous chef in the reality show competition
"Iron Chef America". She told Canisius College Magazine,
"Why he asked me, out of the hundreds of people who worked for him,
I never questioned it and I never looked back. I was just very, very lucky."
"Iron Chef America" was both a stressful and delightful experience for Burrell
as she assisted Batali with prep work and making dishes. She told Restaurant Girl,
"My philosophy is: I want to help as much as I can and I am not going to be the reason Mario loses."
"Iron Chef" proved to be a stepping stone for Burrell,
who went on to expand her culinary empire by appearing on other Food Network shows.
Riding on the fame that "Iron Chef America" brought her way,
Burrell landed a job as executive chef at Centro Vinoteca in New York in 2007. She crafted a
menu there after a heavy amount of research and investment of time. She told her college magazine,
"It's building something from scratch.
It winds up being your baby and you are very invested in something like that."
Though the restaurant closed in 2008, it served as the stone that she stepped on to
launch her own Food Network show, "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef."
Soon, Burrell would be called in to co-host "Worst Cooks in America",
a show that shot her to fame and defined her as someone who demystifies cooking for
even the most seemingly hopeless home cooks. She explained,
"I try to take the fear factor out and let people know that it doesn't
have to be this awesome, daunting experience."
For Burrell, doing Food Network shows of this type was not much different from
teaching her previous students how to cook. She told Own Your Kitchen,
"TV is just the medium to [get] the message out there – at the end of the day, I'm just a cook."
Burrell's stellar menu at Centro Vinoteca gained many positive reviews.
But in March 2009, what came as a shocker for fans of the high-energy chef
was the news of a lawsuit filed against Burrell for workplace discrimination.
The lawsuit, as reported by Eater, alleged that Burrell used derogatory words to
address the female staff at the restaurant. According to Gothamist, the suit alleged,
"The male employees were not treated in the same or similar manner
and the plaintiffs were treated in this manner because of their sex."
Allegations aside, the restaurant itself seemed to be sinking,
announcing bankruptcy just a few months after the lawsuit against Burrell surfaced.
And Burrell, as a reader writing to Syracuse.com reported, might not have been the most pleasant
chef you might want to hang out with, given that she was, quote, "condescending."
That may come as a bit of shock to her fans,
given the sweet and patient mentor she appears to be to the most disappointing chefs in America.
The letter writer mentioned that the chef was rude and made little effort to connect with her fans.
Burrell's private life was under tight wraps until "Chopped" host Ted Allen made a
public comment about her relationship status in Romaine Patterson's show on Sirius XM. He said,
"I am not going to put a label on Anne, but she is dating a woman right now."
Allen's news spread like wildfire, with everyone talking about Burrell's sexuality
without her full consent. Yet, responding to the hullabaloo, a representative for Burrell said,
"Anne doesn't feel she was outed. She has made no secret of her relationship.
Her significant other is a very private woman. They have been together for a couple of years
and spend a lot of time together. It is no secret in the culinary world."
The woman was none other than award-winning chef Koren Grieveson. Burrell and Grieveson
were engaged in 2012, according to a tweet that Burrell posted on New Year's Eve of that year.
Things had progressed so much that Burrell told Entertainment Tonight,
"I think we're thinking of a destination wedding, maybe in [Puerto Rico].
That's where we got engaged, and the first time we ever traveled together was to [Puerto Rico],
so it's kind of a special spot for us."
But their relationship didn't last, and their wedding was cancelled.
Burrell's calendar was full with her Food Network show schedules,
with little time to spend in a kitchen where she was most comfortable.
In a 2017 keynote speech for the SmartWomen Luncheon & Expo, she said,
"I wanted to get back to my roots. [...] I wanted to get my hands in food again.
That is my absolute passion."
"The more I was going along being a celebrity chef, the more people did not want me to cook."
Acknowledging this urge, she partnered with a long-time friend Phil Casaceli,
who owns the popular bar Daddy-O in New York City.
Together, the two started a restaurant in Brooklyn called Phil and Anne's Good Time Lounge in 2017.
In stark contrast to what the joint was named, the co-owners had far from a good time managing it.
The arrangement was that Casaceli would take care of the admin work and the bar,
while Burrell would head the kitchen. The duo put in their own money,
and efforts to turn the place into a popular New York hub. Burrell told People magazine,
"This is my baby, I want to be involved."
And involved she was, showing up at the restaurant every evening after her hours shooting for a Food
Network episode. According to Eater, as months went by, Casaceli found Burrell to be a tough
partner to work with. She wouldn't take his suggestions and would often flaunt her celebrity
status, he claimed. He also alleged that Burrell ultimately shut the place down without prior
warning — a claim that Burrell's representative refuted, according to the Daily News.
Ever since Burrell first appeared on television, viewers have known her as the chef with spiky
blonde hair. But according to an interview with The Daily Meal, her childhood hair was a stark
contrast to the piece of art that she sports today. Describing herself as a kid, she said,
"[I had] horrible hair. [...] It looked like my mom put a bowl over my hair to cut it.
I had the braces, and the pin-straight hair. I
just started to get creative with my hair and it never stopped."
And so, she made over her hair early in her life, to dramatic effect. She said,
"In high school and everything, I've always liked the spiky hair.
What can I say? I'm a child of the '80s."
Burrell bumped into her second love through the dating app Bumble. She and Stuart Claxton, a sales
marketer at Univision, hit it off from their first online conversation. Claxton found Burrell to be,
in his words, "a wonderful surprise" on their first in-person date. He told Today,
"When she sat down in front of me, I was like, 'Wow, she's so hot.'"
The duo dated for two years before Claxton decided to pop the big question
in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Can I see the ring? … yes of course… girl!"
Having a fiancé and a teenage stepson at 50 was never part of Burrell's plan,
but she seems to be happy with the unexpected change nonetheless. She told People magazine,
"Once you get to be a woman of 50 years old, you don't really think that marriage is going to be
on the plate for you. [...] I was always really focused on my career and marriage was never a huge
thing in my life that I was looking for. Then when I met Stuart, my opinion about all that changed."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Mashed videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.