Close-knit celebrity chef community mourns loss of Anne Burrell: ‘We’ve lost someone truly special’

Food Network star Anne Burrell’s fellow chefs, with whom she frequently appeared alongside on television during her illustrious career, are sharing beloved memories about one of their own, and seen here Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray in New York City in 2019. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Food Network star Anne Burrell’s fellow chefs, with whom she frequently appeared alongside on television during her illustrious career, are sharing beloved memories about one of their own.

Burrell, 55, died Tuesday morning at her home in New York, the Food Network told CNN in a statement. A cause of death has not been confirmed.

The New York Office of the Medical Examiner told CNN that an examination was taking place Wednesday.

Rachael Ray, a famed celebrity chef whose show Burrell appeared on over 20 times between 2014 and 2019, wrote about how their friendship bloomed over the years, beginning when they appeared on “Worst Cooks in America” together.

“She became so much more than a colleague,” Ray wrote in a post on Instagram, adding that she was “honoured” when Burrell asked her to be a bridesmaid, “something I’d only done once before for my sister.”

“I’ll miss her friendship deeply. Everyone whose life she touched will miss her,” Ray wrote. “We’ve lost someone truly special.”

The world of celebrity chefs is a rather small circle, as often exhibited in the cross-pollination that occurs on their various television programs. The bonds, it seems, are often as real as the expert dishes they make.

Carla Hall, who appeared on several episodes of “Worst Cooks in America” with Burrell, called her a “fierce chef and instructor,” adding that she’ll remember her “rocking her custom skirts, mismatched socks, and that unforgettable big smile.”

“Anne, you brought so much heart and heat to every kitchen. You. Will. Be. Missed,” Hall wrote on her Instagram page.

Jeff Mauro, a Food Network chef, host and one of Burrell’s frequent collaborators, wrote on his Instagram page Wednesday that Burrell “was a special soul and a force of nature.”

“We made a lot of wild television together, and our long friendship was filled with even wilder stories. Too many to count and almost too special to share here,” he wrote. “We will all miss you terribly.”

Burrell’s joy of cooking was one of her trademark qualities that was apparent in all of her TV appearances. It’s something she touched on while appearing on Ray’s podcast in December.

“I, always from when I was a little, little girl, loved the idea of hospitality and providing and spreading joy,” Burrell said. “As a chef, I’m a professional pleasure provider.”

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN