- Worst Cooks in America host and Food Network star Anne Burrell died Tuesday.
- Burrell taught millions how to safely hold a chef’s knife—pinch the blade, never rest a finger on top.
- The chef’s legacy lives on through her practical beginner cooking tips and delicious recipes.
On Tuesday, family members announced that Worst Cooks in America host, former Iron Chef sous chef and all-around Food Network personality Anne Burrell had died. Fans of the program and the chef remember her iconic advice and quips, from “slices, sticks, dices” to “brown food tastes good.”
Most notably, Burrell was passionate about keeping home cooks safe on her show. She always had a red sharpie on hand to mark someone’s finger if it was positioned wrong on a knife. This helped both contestants and viewers at home understand how to hold a knife properly.
In fact, if you were never properly trained to know the safest way to hold a chef’s knife, you may be handling it incorrectly. Here’s the noteworthy advice the chef shared countless times that you will remember every time you’re ready to chop up some veggies.
“When you hold the knife, it’s like this,” Burrell shared in a social media clip for Food Network last year, holding a knife horizontally and directing her hand at the top of the handle. “You pinch it between your thumb and forefinger, and you drop your other three fingers down [around the handle].”
There are two reasons why you shouldn’t have a finger resting on the top of the blade of a chef’s knife or all five fingers around the handle: safety and accuracy.
“This is how you are the most stable and most secure with your knife,” she explained. “You think of this as an extension of your arm.” While the chef noted that there are other types of knives that you can hold differently, a chef’s knife in particular should have a steady hand off the blade.
Fans continue to cherish Burrell’s advice and say that they will forever remember it every time they handle a chef’s knife. Multiple commenters under the ABC News announcement of her death share that they were taught how to properly hold a knife through Burrell, as well as more essential beginner cooking advice like how to brown meat, salt pasta water and “keep onions uniform.”
Burrell’s legacy will live on through her practical cooking tips and gorgeous dishes.
