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- Chef Alex Guarnaschelli shared a tribute to fellow Food Network star Anne Burrell one day after she died at age 55
- “She called herself a girl chef and inspired many others to follow suit,” Guarnaschelli wrote in an emotional social media post
- Guarnaschelli recalled the preparation that Burrell poured into her wedding dance, along with some of the chef’s kitchen habits
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli is remembering the legacy of fellow Food Network star and dear friend Anne Burrell, one day after her death at age 55.
Guarnaschelli shared a series of photos of Burrell alongside an emotional Instagram caption on Wednesday, June 18.
“On her wedding day, I tapped Anne Burrell on the shoulder and snapped the second impromptu photo here. She was so excited to get married and celebrate life and no one does it with the level of genuine, unbridled gusto she does. In fact, no one comes close,” Guarnaschelli wrote. “She was excited to add doting wife and stepmother to her extensive resume of achievements.”
The two chefs both made appearances on Food Network’s Iron Chef America and had a years-long friendship off-camera as well. In June 2015, Burrell posted a Facebook photo of the two of them out for a birthday celebration dinner.
“She called herself a girl chef and inspired many others to follow suit,” Guarnaschelli continued in the tribute. “I watched her expertly roll cannoli shells on ‘Iron Chef America‘ and soon learned that if she ever made a raviolo or seafood, any fellow competition could save time and take a seat on the bench because she’d wipe the floor with everyone.”
The post was set to Sia’s “Chandelier,” a nod to one of Burrell’s favorite warmup songs on her Worst Cooks in America series.
“We taught cooking classes for years at the same school and knew each other through countless shows. Over 2 decades. She loved her friends and cats fiercely and didn’t let a second of life go by without savoring every last bit,” Guarnaschelli wrote.
She recalled the preparation that Burrell poured into her wedding dance, along with some of the chef’s kitchen quirks.
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“She drew with Sharpies on hands that didn’t cut the food right and sent us on a quest for ‘brown food that tastes good.’ Those high standards, pirate cooking lore and recipe repertoire will live on in kitchens everywhere,” Guarnaschelli said.
She encouraged fans to “make this moment about [Burrell]” by raising a glass in her honor and singing karaoke.
Burrell is survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, whom she married in 2021, and his son, Javier, along with her mother, Marlene, and sister, Jane, her children Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas, and her brother Ben, PEOPLE previously reported.
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