Anne Burrell will be remembered by the Food Network with two special programming events in the coming weeks following her shock death.
Burrell, who hosted Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and co-hosted Worst Cooks in America, was found dead inside her Brooklyn apartment on June 17 at the age of 55.
Following her death, it has been confirmed that the Food Network will first air a selection of encore episodes featuring Burrell that highlight her extraordinary talent as a chef, competitor and teacher on Wednesday, June 25 at 10pm.
Monday, July 28 will mark the premiere of a new season of Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible featuring and will feature Burrell in her final appearance as mentor.
The new season ‘showcases recruits who are professional performers and used to stealing the spotlight, but in the kitchen, they are dishing out disasters.’
For the show, which will premiere on Food Network at 9pm ET/PT July 28 before streaming on Max the following day, Burrell teamed up with Chef Gabe Bertaccini.
‘Anne Burrell was a one-of-a-kind talent whose loss is being deeply felt by family, friends and fans,’ said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery.
‘With these special programming events, we hope to honor Anne and celebrate her impact on Food Network and beyond, and to offer fans a way to remember her passion and culinary prowess that ran through everything she did.’
Anne Burrell will be remembered by the Food Network with two special programming events
The Worst Cooks in America co-host was found dead inside her Brooklyn apartment on June 17 at the age of 55
Burrell’s death is being investigated as a possible drug overdose after she was discovered on the floor of her bathroom surrounded by 100 pills.
The Food Network star was found ‘in the shower unconscious and unresponsive surrounded by approximately (100) assorted pills’, according to NYPD documents seen by The New York Times.
Emergency medical teams responded to the home that she shared with her husband Stuart Claxton, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A spokeswoman for the city’s medical examiner’s office confirmed that Burrell’s autopsy had been completed but findings on the exact cause of her death are still pending.
Claxton reportedly last saw his wife alive at about 1am the night prior before discovering her unconscious between six to seven hours later in their bathroom.
It was reported earlier this week that EMS crews had attempted CPR on Burrell but could not resuscitate her.
Her family said in a statement: ‘Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered.
‘Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world. Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal.’
Burrell pictured during a culinary presentation at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food on October 15, 2022
‘With these special programming events, we hope to honor Anne and celebrate her impact on Food Network and beyond, and to offer fans a way to remember her passion and culinary prowess that ran through everything she did’
Just hours before her passing Burrell had performed an improv show at a comedy club in Brooklyn, after having taken classes at the venue’s training center.
In a podcast earlier this year she spoke with Tori Spelling on taking the classes and how she planned to expand her horizons.
She said: ‘I just started taking acting classes. I started yesterday, actually… It’s like an improv for actors’ class.
‘I got there and it’s like eight people in the class. I’m the oldest one. Every other person has like, “Oh, I have a master’s in fine arts in theater.”‘
Burrell showed off her self-awareness and sense of humor that her fans were familiar with as she joked about the age gap between she and her fellow students.
She said: ‘I’m like, “okay, I’ve never taken an acting class. I don’t know, this is new to me.”
‘I wonder if these delightful and super talented kids look at me and they’re like, “What’s this old lady doing here?”‘
The television personality had taken a break from her show Worst Cooks In America for season 28 which baffled many fans and Spelling, 52, asked at the time what led her to that decision.
Burrell answered: ‘I can cook, yes, I can do TV, but also, what else? I’ve got more to do in my life, I feel like.’
Emergency medical teams responded to the home that Burrell shared with her husband Stuart Claxton (pictured together on April 22, 2025)
She also admitted that she was just ‘dipping my toe’ when it came to the pivot to acting.
Burrell explained: ‘I feel very excited about it. I’ve got a few other things that I’m working on as well, which I’m not quite ready to share yet. Hopefully, exciting [are] things coming.’
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail in April, she talked animatedly about how much she was enjoying married life, claiming it was so easy that she felt they were still in the honeymoon phase, and also joked about plans to star on Meghan Markle’s Netflix show.
‘October will be four years,’ she said at the City Harvest gala. ‘It seems like it’s been four minutes. I don’t know if it’s a honeymoon [phase], but I feel like it’s settled into married life days which I really enjoy.’
She also revealed how she would make scones for her husband as she discussed Markle’s show.
‘Sure, of course. I’d go to the opening of an envelope. Why not cook with Meghan?’ she laughed after being asked if she would want to be a guest.
Burrell is survived by her husband, her mother Marlene, her sister Jane, her brother Ben and her children Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas.
