Food Network to air Anne Burrell’s final season of TV show, pay tribute

Anne Burrell’s final season of her TV show, “Worst Cooks in America,” is coming next month.

The Food Network announced it will premiere the new season of the reality TV show on July 28. Burrell co-hosts the season, officially titled “Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible,” with fellow celebrity chef Gabe Bertaccini.

According to Variety, the Food Network will also pay tribute to Burrell tonight (Wednesday, June 25) at 10 p.m. with “a curated selection of encore episodes featuring Anne will highlight her extraordinary talent as a chef, competitor and teacher.” The programming block will begin with Burrell’s appearance on an all-star episode of “Guy’s Grocery Games” with Guy Fieri, followed by two classic episodes of “Worst Cooks in America” at 11 and 11:30 p.m.

Burrell, a Central New York native, died June 17 at 55. Police are still investigating a possible cause of death.

“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 food content at Food Network’s parent company, 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.”

Burrell, a Cazenovia native, appeared on television for more than 15 years with her trademark spiky platinum hair. She began her culinary career at the former Daniel Webster’s Restaurant in Syracuse before landing a job with Mario Batali, leading to “Worst Cooks” and other shows like “Iron Chef America,” “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef” and “Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell.”

Burrell remained close to her hometown, where her mother Marlene Burrell ran Flowers on Main, a flower shop in the village of Cazenovia. She also performed cooking demonstrations at the New York State Fair and married Claxton in a 2021 wedding in Cazenovia.

“My mother was an amazing cook, … a very creative cook,” she told syracuse.com in a 2013 interview. “Growing up we always had a big garden and it just gave me the passion and appreciation for really good food. And whenever I think of summer time tomatoes and good Upstate New York corn and cantaloupes and salt potatoes — those are things that take me right back to being home.”

“Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible” premieres Monday, July 28, at 9 p.m. ET. Episodes can be viewed on Max and Discovery+.