Chef Anne Burrell Has Changed A Lot Through The Years

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Anne Burrell is one of several American celebrity chefs that have risen to prominence through television programs on the Food Network. Unlike some of her contemporaries, however, Burrell has a solid culinary background, thanks to a career spent working in professional kitchens in the United States and Italy. These skills developed over her cooking career, and, when combined with Burrell's flamboyant personality, have seen her become a household name in American food media. Today, she is one of the biggest Food Network stars.

Although her career has followed the well-worn path from kitchen to screen, Burrell's professional life has been anything but straightforward. Burnout, restaurant closures, and court cases heralded difficult times in her career, just as award-winning TV programs, best-selling cookbooks, and prominent kitchen positions have marked its peaks. While much has changed about the celebrity chef throughout her many years in the spotlight, Burrell's love for food has remained constant.

Although Anne Burrell grew up loving food, she did not immediately pursue a culinary career. Instead, Burrell sought out a corporate lifestyle; after achieving an English and Communications degree from Canisius College, she got a job. Burrell described the experience to Closer Weekly: "After I graduated from college, I got a miserable job working at a physician headhunter company. I lasted a year. I was thinking to myself, 'I am 23 years old, and I am too young to be this miserable.' That's when I decided that I was going to culinary school."

Burrell enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America and graduated from the Culinary Arts Degree Program in 1996. As it did for many others before her, this course taught Burrell traditional and contemporary culinary techniques which proved essential to the rest of her career both as a chef and food media star.

Anne Burrell was 27 years old when she moved back to New York City — soon after her time in Italy. She wasted no time integrating herself into the city's professional cooking scene, securing a job at Lidia Bastianich's Felidia, a prestigious restaurant located in Midtown.

In this role, Burrell was able to use the lessons she had learned in Italy. This was thanks to Felidia's focus on Istrian cuisine which draws heavily from the cuisine of mainland Italy, as well as those from Croatia and Slovenia. There was no better place for Burrell to develop her skills, as Bastianich had an intimate understanding of this cuisine thanks to her childhood on the peninsula.

Though prestigious and rewarding, the job was not easy, as Burrell highlighted in an interview with RestaurantGirl: "Working at Felidia was one of the toughest jobs I have ever had, mostly because I put so much pressure on myself. It was my first job in NYC and I was the only girl in the kitchen beside the pastry department. I was determined to work harder than the guys in the kitchen. I was really uptight about the whole thing because I wanted so much to do a good job. The funny thing is I probably would have done a better job and had a lot more fun if I had just relaxed about the whole thing."

Shortly after Anne Burrell re-entered the world of professional cooking, she secured another high-profile job; Executive Chef at Italian Wine Merchants. This restaurant was owned by B&B Hospitality Group, a joint venture between Lidia Bastianich, her son Joe Bastianich, and restaurateur Mario Batali (at the time). This was the beginning of Burrell's professional association with Batali whose career, at this time, was experiencing a peak.

Soon after, Burrell joined Batali on the hit show "Iron Chef America," acting as his sous chef in over 20 battles. She explained how it felt to feature on the show to RestaurantGirl: "Iron Chef is really a stressful experience. It IS every bit as stressful as it seems. My philosophy is: I want to help as much as I can and I am not going to be the reason Mario loses. That being said, I love doing it. It really is a blast."

In 2017, multiple women accused Batali of sexual harassment and assault. Some of these women were Batali's employees. In statements later released by Batali, the chef apologized for his past behavior and several of the lawsuits were settled out of court. Since the scandal, Burrell and Batali don't seem to be working together anymore.

In 2009, several staff members at Centro Vinoteca — a restaurant where Anne Burrell was employed as the executive chef, at least until around 2008 – accused Burrell of discrimination. In the lawsuit filed by them, female staff members detailed instances where Burrell made derogatory remarks about their bodies and harassed them for information about their sex lives. The lawsuit was settled out of court; details were not disclosed.

Despite filing for bankruptcy in 2009, Centro Vinoteca did not close until 2013. By this time, Burrell was an established Food Network star. She continued to star in several Food Network programs following her departure from Centro Vinoteca, the lawsuit filed against her, and the restaurant's eventual closure. Burrell is just one of many Food Network stars that have been taken to court by former employees. This list includes Mario Batali, Paula Deen, and Geoffrey Zakarian. 

Anne Burrell's debut cookbook, "Cook Like a Rock Star," was published in 2011. Co-authored by Suzanne Lenzer, the book made The New York Times bestseller list thanks to its range of approachable recipes. Customers still think highly of the book, as highlighted by a review left on Amazon: "I loved Anne's show on the Food Network so I was so excited to try her cookbook and I wasn't disappointed! Every single recipe I have made out of this book has been amazing – I even cooked my entire family Easter dinner using only recipes from this book ... Above all, Anne provides great guidance throughout and her funky personality is infused in every dish. Definitely a must have!"

Burrell and Lenzer followed this success with "Own Your Kitchen," a cookbook that was published in 2013. This book contained 100 recipes designed to empower novice home cooks, by giving them the basic skills and techniques necessary to feel comfortable in the kitchen.