Anne Burrell, TV chef who coached the 'Worst Cooks in America,' dies at 55
NEW YORK, June 18, (AP): TV chef Anne Burrell, who coached culinary fumblers through hundreds of episodes of "Worst Cooks in America,' died Tuesday at her New York home. She was 55.
The Food Network, where Burrell began her two-decade television career on "Iron Chef America' and went on to other shows, confirmed her death. The cause was not immediately clear, and medical examiners were set to conduct an autopsy.
Police were called to her address before 8 a.m. Tuesday, and found an unresponsive woman who was soon pronounced dead. The police department did not release the woman's name, but records show it was Burell's address.
Burrell was on TV screens as recently as April, making chicken Milanese cutlets topped with escarole salad in one of her many appearances on NBC's "Today' show. She faced off against other top chefs on the Food Network's "House of Knives' earlier in the spring.
"Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent - teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring,' the network said in a statement.
Known for her bold and flavorful but not overly fancy dishes, and for her spiky platinum-blonde hairdo, Burrell and various co-hosts on "Worst Cooks in America' led teams of kitchen-challenged people through a crash course in savory self-improvement.
On the first show in 2010, contestants presented such unlikely personal specialties as cayenne pepper and peanut butter on cod, and penne pasta with sauce, cheese, olives, and pineapple. The accomplished chefs had to taste the dishes to evaluate them, and it was torturous, Burrell confessed in an interview with The Tampa Tribune at the time.
Still, Burrell persisted through 27 seasons, making her last appearance in 2024.
"If people want to learn, I absolutely love to teach them,' she said on ABC's "Good Morning America' in 2020. "It's just them breaking bad habits and getting out of their own way.' Burrell was born Sept. 21, 1969, in the central New York town of Cazenovia, where her parents ran a flower store. She earned an English and communications degree from Canisius University and went on to a job as a headhunter but hated it, she said in a 2008 interview with The Post-Standard of Syracuse.
Having always loved cooking, she soon enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, for which she later taught. She graduated in 1996, spent a year at an Italian culinary school and then worked in upscale New York City restaurants for a time.
"Anytime Anne Burrell gets near hot oil, I want to be around,' Frank Bruni, then-food critic at the New York Times, enthused in a 2007 review.
By the next year, Burrell was hosting her own Food Network show, "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef,' and her TV work became a focus. Over the years she also wrote two cookbooks, "Cook Like a Rock Star' and "Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire and Empower,' and was involved with food pantries, juvenile diabetes awareness campaigns, and other charities.
Burrell's own tastes, she said, ran simple. She told The Post-Standard her favorite food was bacon and her favorite meal was her mother's tuna fish sandwich.
"Cooking is fun,' she said. "It doesn't have to be scary. It's creating something nurturing.' Survivors include her husband, Stuart Claxton, whom she married in 2021, and his son, her mother, and her two siblings.
"Anne's light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world,' the family said in a statement released by the Food Network.
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Arab Times
7 hours ago
- Arab Times
Anne Burrell, TV chef who coached the 'Worst Cooks in America,' dies at 55
NEW YORK, June 18, (AP): TV chef Anne Burrell, who coached culinary fumblers through hundreds of episodes of "Worst Cooks in America,' died Tuesday at her New York home. She was 55. The Food Network, where Burrell began her two-decade television career on "Iron Chef America' and went on to other shows, confirmed her death. The cause was not immediately clear, and medical examiners were set to conduct an autopsy. Police were called to her address before 8 a.m. Tuesday, and found an unresponsive woman who was soon pronounced dead. The police department did not release the woman's name, but records show it was Burell's address. Burrell was on TV screens as recently as April, making chicken Milanese cutlets topped with escarole salad in one of her many appearances on NBC's "Today' show. She faced off against other top chefs on the Food Network's "House of Knives' earlier in the spring. "Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent - teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring,' the network said in a statement. Known for her bold and flavorful but not overly fancy dishes, and for her spiky platinum-blonde hairdo, Burrell and various co-hosts on "Worst Cooks in America' led teams of kitchen-challenged people through a crash course in savory self-improvement. On the first show in 2010, contestants presented such unlikely personal specialties as cayenne pepper and peanut butter on cod, and penne pasta with sauce, cheese, olives, and pineapple. The accomplished chefs had to taste the dishes to evaluate them, and it was torturous, Burrell confessed in an interview with The Tampa Tribune at the time. Still, Burrell persisted through 27 seasons, making her last appearance in 2024. "If people want to learn, I absolutely love to teach them,' she said on ABC's "Good Morning America' in 2020. "It's just them breaking bad habits and getting out of their own way.' Burrell was born Sept. 21, 1969, in the central New York town of Cazenovia, where her parents ran a flower store. She earned an English and communications degree from Canisius University and went on to a job as a headhunter but hated it, she said in a 2008 interview with The Post-Standard of Syracuse. Having always loved cooking, she soon enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, for which she later taught. She graduated in 1996, spent a year at an Italian culinary school and then worked in upscale New York City restaurants for a time. "Anytime Anne Burrell gets near hot oil, I want to be around,' Frank Bruni, then-food critic at the New York Times, enthused in a 2007 review. By the next year, Burrell was hosting her own Food Network show, "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef,' and her TV work became a focus. Over the years she also wrote two cookbooks, "Cook Like a Rock Star' and "Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire and Empower,' and was involved with food pantries, juvenile diabetes awareness campaigns, and other charities. Burrell's own tastes, she said, ran simple. She told The Post-Standard her favorite food was bacon and her favorite meal was her mother's tuna fish sandwich. "Cooking is fun,' she said. "It doesn't have to be scary. It's creating something nurturing.' Survivors include her husband, Stuart Claxton, whom she married in 2021, and his son, her mother, and her two siblings. "Anne's light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world,' the family said in a statement released by the Food Network.
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Bruce Springsteen takes seven 'Lost Albums' off the shelf for a new box set
NEW YORK, June 17, (AP): Bruce Springsteen's new project, "Tracks II: The Lost Albums,' is entirely about that age-old question: What if? The box set, out June 27, comprises seven albums encompassing the period between 1983 and 2018, all but one he prepared to release in its time but ultimately shelved. Now that he's decided to drop them simultaneously, they offer a fascinating alternative story of his musical life. Building on its predecessor "Tracks,' 1998's four-disc, 66-song collection of unreleased material, there are 83 songs here. While some slipped out on other projects - "My Hometown' and "Secret Garden' among them - the vast majority hadn't been heard publicly. This is all fully completed material, not half-baked or half-finished outtakes. It's not unusual for artists to leave songs - or even full-lengths - on the cutting-room floor, but multiple entire albums? Springsteen explains that he's taken care releasing albums, looking to build a narrative arc for his career, and believes this approach has served him well. Perhaps as a result, the most interesting work on "Tracks II' comes when he stretches out and explores pathways not in his wheelhouse: countrypolitan Bruce, border-town Bruce, Burt Bacharach-inspired Bruce, and a set of synthesizer-based songs modeled after his Oscar-winning "Streets of Philadelphia.' Oddly, the one disc of strays cobbled together that feels most like an E Street Band record is the least compelling. Since these are seven distinct albums, it's worth evaluating them that way. "LA Garage Sessions '83' captures Springsteen working virtually alone at a home in the Hollywood Hills. It was squarely in between his "Nebraska' and "Born in the USA' albums, and he seems torn between those two approaches. There are character studies here, and more lighthearted fare like "Little Girl Like You,' with a single man yearning to settle down. The most striking cut is "The Klansman,' about a boy and his racist father, yet it cries out for more development. Ultimately, Springsteen chose the right albums to release at the time. The song "Streets of Philadelphia' was a genuine departure musically, and Springsteen decided to make an album in the same vein, with synthesizers and drum loops the dominant elements. If released in the early 1990s, this would have been the most contemporary-sounding disc of his career, with atmospherics that occasionally recall U2. Springsteen pulled it at the last minute, reasoning that the stories of doomed relationships - sample lyric: "We loved each other like a disease' - was too much like "Tunnel of Love.' At the same time he recorded "The Ghost of Tom Joad' in 1995, Springsteen also convened a country band steered by pedal steel player Marty Rifkin. Their work was terrific, led by the one-two punch of "Repo Man' and the Johnny Rivers cover, "Poor Side of Town.' The title cut to a disc he calls "Somewhere North of Nashville' escaped into the public some two decades later. Since the somber "Joad' won a Grammy, who are we to second-guess his choice of what to put out? "Nashville,' though, is a rollicking good time. "Inyo' is similar to "Joad' and "Devils & Dust,' mostly acoustic-based narratives, here many of them stories of the Southwest. Springsteen even appropriately brings in mariachi bands for "Adelita' and "The Lost Charro.' Soozie Tyrell's violin is notable, particularly on the majestic "When I Build My Beautiful House.' We're guessing that Springsteen may have considered "Inyo' one album too many in the same style, but it's still strong work. At one point Springsteen considered making "Western Stars,' his salute to early 1970s California songwriting, a double album. When he didn't, the songs on "Twilight Hours' were left behind. Here Bacharach is the primary influence, and this almost feels like Elvis Costello's collaboration with Burt, only without him (and is the lyric "God give me strength' a hat-tip to that project?). The crooning Bruce of "Sunday Love' is spellbinding, maybe the box's best song. "Lonely Town' sits at the intersection of Bacharach and Roy Orbison, while "Dinner at Eight' is a lovely sum-up. "Twilight Hours' may startle Springsteen fans - and impress them, too. The workmanlike songs on "Faithless' were written on commission in two weeks, the soundtrack to a movie that was never made. It's a good bet it would have been a moody Western. When Springsteen duels with Tom Morello on the song "Another Thin Line,' you realize how little you've heard his electric guitar on "Tracks II.' The album "Perfect World' is the one here made up of leftovers from different periods, with the greatest E Street Band participation. Here's the deal, though: Most good E Street Band material has already been released. The best left behind for this disc is "You Lifted Me Up,' with minimalist lyrics and a vocal collaboration with Patti Scialfa and Steve Van Zandt. The box gives Springsteen completists plenty to mull over, and you can question whether these "lost discs' would get more attention released separately instead of together. If it's too much, he's releasing a 20-song set of its highlights.
