Celebrity Spotlight – Anne Burrell
With our Cook Around The World event THIS WEEKEND we wanted to take another chance to highlight this year’s celebrity mentor Anne Burrell!
Anne Burrell (Chef/TV Personality/Author/Teacher) with her trademark spiky blonde hair and sparkling personality, is the hugely popular and fan-favorite host of Worst Cooks in America, Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition, as well as the new Food Network series Vegas Chef Prize Fight. Burrell is also the author of two cookbooks, the New York Times top ten bestsellers, Cook Like a Rock Star, and the follow-up Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire and Empower.
Anne graduated with a degree in English and Communication from Canisius College in Buffalo, then pursued her interest in the restaurant business by enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America. Following her graduation in 1996, she furthered her education by spending a year in Italy attending the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners. During that year, she did apprenticeships at La Taverna del Lupo in Umbria and the Michelin-starred La Bottega del ‘30.
Upon her return to the United States in 1998, Burrell was hired as a Sous Chef at Felidia Ristorante in Manhattan alongside Lidia Bastianich. Anne then went on to become a Chef at Savoy Restaurant in Soho where she created flavorful Mediterranean-inspired menus while cooking over an open wood fire.
She then moved on to be the Executive Chef of the Italian Wine Merchants where she curated and executed wine-pairing dinners. It was during this time that Anne began her TV career, appearing as a Sous Chef on Food Network’s Iron Chef America. From there Burrell went on to be the Executive Chef at the New York hotspot Centro Vinoteca. It was during her tenure there that Anne was offered her own show on the Food Network, the Emmy-nominated Secrets of a Restaurant Chef which ran for nine seasons. Since then, Anne has become a much-loved staple on Food Network appearing regularly on shows such as Chef Wanted, Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped, Food Network Star and others.
We are beyond excited to have Anne at this year’s event! Be sure to follow the fun on our CATW Facebook & Instagram.
