Remembering Anne Burrell: New 'Worst Cooks' cohost Gabe Bertaccini says 'she really cared'
'And then I forgot about it for, like, six months,' Bertaccini, co-host of the network's Tuscany-set 'Ciao House' tells USA TODAY. 'And then my agent calls me.'
Bertaccini, 39, leaped at the chance to be a part of the 'iconic show with the iconic Anne Burrell.'
Burrell, known for having no appetite for nonsense, a megawatt smile and coiffed platinum locks, has served as mentor for all but one of the show's 29 seasons. The series returns July 28 (9 ET/PT, streaming the next day on HBO Max). Burrell died June 17, and 'Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible' will be Burrell's last season, and Bertaccini's first.
Anne Burrell cause of death revealed after Food Network star dies at 55
'She was really so involved in the process of 'Worst Cooks,'' says Bertaccini, which proved to him that 'she was a chef that cared, a person that cared and very, very authentic.'
Watching the upcoming season, Bertaccini felt 'very celebratory about it,' he says. 'I was like, 'I am so happy that this is Anne and it shows (her) so well because that's who she was. I'm sad that she's not here anymore, but I know that she would love to see herself in this season and she would really enjoy actually reliving all these crazy moments that we had together.'
In the show, two chefs divide a group of struggling culinary hopefuls into opposing teams and sharpen their cooking skills through tips and tutorials so that a cook from their team can survive elimination and walk away with a sweet-as-pie cash prize of $25,000. This season's kitchen catastrophes comprises an array of performers, including a belly dancer, opera singer, professional roller skater and puppeteer.
'It was basically like having a kindergarten class in front of me and teaching,' Bertaccini says before quickly backtracking. 'They would have done better if they were kids. … These recruits really have no idea how to cook.'
Bertaccini says Burrell warned him – ahead of the first cook when the participants freestyle and prepare a signature dish without coaching – that he would be shocked.
He says she'd say: ''I just want to tell you, no matter how much you prepare yourself, this is going to be really bad. You're going to look and be speechless.''
And speechless he was. 'I remember having the producer telling me in my ear, like, 'Gabriele, can you say something?' I'm like, 'I'm just sitting here watching this train crash, and I don't have any feedback because I don't know where to start.''
And even though Bertaccini and Burrell battled, they became friends after 'spending 12 hours a day together for three weeks' on the set, he says. When Bertaccini caught a bad cold just before filming the finale, Burrell surprised him with a card and small crocheted heart.
'She loved to crochet, so she would sit down everywhere − at the bar, the restaurant, in a production meeting – and she would crochet and talk to you,' Bertaccini says. 'It was a way to relax and to focus. But what really struck me is that the night before she went home, and after a 14-hour shoot day, she made me a little heart. And she brought me a card saying, like: 'I hope you feel better. It was great shooting with you. I know this is the last day, good luck with the finale.''
'And I think that it's really what I carry with me: the idea that she cared, not only about of course the show but about the people that work on the show, about the recruits. She really cared, and she always found time for everybody.'
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