Why Anne Burrell Almost Never Became A Chef
Chef Anne Burrell may be known for her signature platinum blonde hair, which is usually styled in a way that seemingly defies gravity, as much as she is for her culinary prowess and popular Food Network shows. Burrell is the host of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef," "Worst Cooks in America," and "Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell." Despite a successful career in the restaurant business and a growing empire that boasts an estimated net worth of approximately $5 million, Burrell almost never became the celebrity chef she's known as today, according to Showbiz CheatSheet.
Per Syracuse.com, Burrell grew up in the small upstate New York town of Cazenovia, where she quickly became passionate about gardening and assisting her mother in the kitchen. At the age of three, she told her mother she had a deep admiration for Julia Child and wanted to become a chef after watching her culinary hero cook on TV (via Showbiz CheatSheet). But, when it was time to head off to college, Burrell didn't choose to go to a culinary school — not in the beginning, at least.
Before the wild hair and TV shows, Anne Burrell was a physician headhunter
According to Showbiz CheatSheet, Anne Burrell enrolled at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where she graduated with bachelor's degrees in English and communications. Following graduation, Burrell's mother encouraged her to put those degrees to good use. So, she started working for a physician headhunter, which she once described to Cleveland.com as a "terrible, terrible job." Per The Buffalo News, after a waitressing stint in the late '80s at Jimmy Mac's restaurant, Burrell's passion for food resurfaced.
It wasn't long before the draw of the culinary industry overcame Burrell, so she quit her job working for the physician headhunter at the age of 23 and secured another opportunity as a prep cook chopping vegetables (via Showbiz CheatSheet). Burrell eventually went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America, where the seeds for the amazing chef she is today were sown. And, thank goodness they were! Otherwise, we'd be left without her charismatic personality entertaining us on TV, and, of course, her spiked hair and life-changing recipes.