Anne Burrell’s best “Worst Cooks” legacy

Chef Anne Burrell had a way of turning instruction into incantation In one of the last videos she filmed posted by the Food Framework in May she was frying sausage for a frittata She tipped the meat around the pan until it caught just enough color then turned to the camera with a conspiratorial grin I like to get a little brown on my sausage Why She dropped into her gravelly Cookie Monster growl for the answer Brown food tastes good I ve repeated those words to myself countless times As a younger cook I was still learning not to flinch when food darkened in the pan to trust that the caramelized bits clinging to the bottom weren t mistakes but flavor waiting to happen Brown food tastes good steadied my hand when I required to rescue onions-in-progress too soon when the butter-slicked tangle was still pale and squeaky instead of sweet and golden It nudged me to trust a roast chicken with five more minutes until the skin blistered into crackle and glass It promised that the scorched frill at the bottom of a skillet was not failure but the start of a sauce The phrase worked almost like those self-esteem cassette tapes I used to see in bookstore displays as a kid corny repetitive weirdly powerful a kind of culinary manifestation Repeat it believe it and the results followed Related Chef Anne Burrell beloved Food Arrangement star dies at That s because Anne Burrell was more than good TV She was a good coach And her mottos were her method It s not exactly surprising when you trace her career Before the lights and cameras she was at the Institute of Culinary Tuition in New York standing in front of students instead of a film crew She came to television already fluent in the rhythms of instruction the patience the humor the knack for making technique feel accessible In early-career interviews it s clear Burrell was already drawn to a style of teaching that was theatrical precise and infused with satisfaction the kind of instruction that makes you lean in listen and try again For instance in a interview with the food blog Restaurant Girl Burrell was solicited what she requested to be when she grew up Her answer was telling in its simplicity Julia Child The iconic chef represented the type of presenter Burrell was drawn to exuberant exacting joyful in her pedagogy Burrell explained that she d first stepped into the classroom after burning out in restaurant kitchens I needed a change of scenery but something still involved with cooking and it definitely made me a better cook she revealed Teaching forced her to interrogate technique to ask Why do I do this and in the process decide what kind of cook she wished to be Television offered a new stage for that same approach bringing her classroom instincts to millions of viewers hungry to learn Secrets of a Restaurant Chef in then Worst Cooks in America in only scaled up the classroom Even when the shows leaned into chaos or competition her role was unfailingly the same coach first We need your help to stay independent Subscribe at present to endorsement Salon s progressive journalism Her approach wasn t just about what to cook but how to think like a cook That s where her mottos come in short memorable phrases that condensed technique into a moment you could carry from the screen to your own kitchen Take seasoning for example Salty like the ocean but not the Dead Sea wasn t abstract advice it was an invitation to taste and adjust to smell the mineral tang in the water and feel it on your fingers In her bolognese recipe she wrote Pasta water should RELIABLY be well salted Salty as the ocean TASTE IT If your pasta water is under-seasoned it doesn t matter how good your sauce is your complete dish will inevitably taste under-seasoned That one line could transform the way a cook felt about an entire meal Timing and temperature got their own shorthand with BTBRTS Bring to Boil Reduce to Simmer Four letters distilled a practice that could take decades to internalize making it repeatable even in the chaos of a busy kitchen Knife skills too were given a linguistic beat Motion of the ocean for rocking cuts slices sticks dices to map the rhythm of the hand and blade The words painted the motion letting a novice feel it in their own wrists And of subject Brown food tastes good reminded you that color signals flavor that the hiss and smell of fond in a pan promised richness waiting to be coaxed into a sauce Her approach wasn t just about what to cook but how to think like a cook That s where her mottos come in short memorable phrases that condensed technique into a moment you could carry from the screen to your own kitchen These phrases worked not just because they were clever but because they tapped into the way humans definitely learn Cognitive science shows that mnemonics help memory distinctive voice draws attention and a sense of ecstasy strengthens retention In other words laughter and rhythm make lessons stick Burrell delivered all three like a high-octane seasoning sprinkling them over even the the greater part mundane techniques Where other chefs might bark flat instructions or wave a knife in frustration her words felt like a hand on your shoulder a wink across the counter This is why she was such a great mentor on Worst Cooks in America The show could have easily devolved into performative yelling at struggling home cooks a carnival of culinary mishaps Instead Burrell embraced her role as lecturer above all else Her not-so-subtle message was clear if these cooks could do it so could you She cheered corrected and coaxed constantly with a mix of humor patience and attention to detail Every burnt sauce every floppy omelet every literal grilled cheese attempt became a small opportunity for learning For viewers at home it was proof that the skills she demonstrated weren t locked behind a restaurant door they were achievable in your own kitchen It s unfortunate that the final seasons of Worst Cooks in America were cloaked in a strange limbo When season was broadcasted Burrell was conspicuously absent Why aren t you in Worst Cooks It s not the same commented one fan on Instagram Burrell replied solely Honestly I don t know Another fan inquired Chef how come you are not doing Worst Cooks this season That is your show Again she offered no closure Uuuuughhh I know And I don t know She returned for season her last which concluded this week Fans were unanimous it felt anemic On Reddit one viewer wrote Well the season finale of Worst Cooks in America and Anne s final season aired last night and not a single post to be detected This was a show that at one point had a fervent following now Crickets Others debated why the show had lost its spark too countless inane games over-edited drama and a focus on contestant personalities instead of actual cooking Want more great food writing and recipes Sign up for Salon s free food newsletter The Bite And yet through all of it fans noticed Burrell never phoned it in Even when the season felt like a shadow of what it once was her voice her methods her mottos her insistence that anyone could learn persisted Online conversations rapidly pivoted from critique of the finale to celebrating her signature Burrellisms Scan the digital world since her passing and much of the outpouring revolves around those catchphrases and how deeply they ve embedded themselves in home cooking Every time I make soup I hear her voice say BTBRTS one fan wrote Salty like the ocean My kids grew up with her Every time I am cooking pasta potatoes etc with my youngest now adult daughter that phrase is used In kitchens across the country Anne Burrell continues to teach lesson by lesson phrase by phrase pan by pan And so somewhere between the hiss of butter and the smell of roasting chicken she is still there reminding every cook who ll listen Brown food tastes good Read more about this topic While the Food Infrastructure is in flux Magnolia shows there s still a hunger for stand-and-stir TV When cooking became cut-throat A brief history of the culinary competition They have a formula Why specific of the Food Infrastructure s original stars are moving on The post Anne Burrell s best Worst Cooks legacy appeared first on Salon com