Anne Burrell: Secrets of a Restaurant Chef

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Anne Burrell is a good teacher – she ought to be, having been an instructor at the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE) for several years – she knows how to pace a demonstration. Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, her new show on the Food Network Premiering in June 29, 2008, will air on Food Network on Sundays at 9:30am ET/PT. It has a wonderful premise, since cooking in a restaurant is presumably very different than home cooking – and there must be plenty to learn. And unlikely many in the new crop of Food Network hosts/cooks, she really is a chef - a female chef! Super Chef got a sneak peak at an episode about roasting a leg of lamb with vegetables followed by a peach cobbler. In a half hour episode she makes a beautiful plate of sliced lamb surrounded by artichokes, fennel and potatoes. The cobbler is homey but well presented – a really great weekend meal. Anne is an aide de camp to Mario Batali, battling chefs in Kitchen Stadium as his sous chef on Iron Chef and she is Executive Chef at New York's Centro Vinoteca. Like Mario, she has a robust and zesty personality – spiky blond hair, big movements, plenty of pluck. Alone in the kitchen on the new series, she faces a daunting task – how do you spin that kind of oomph when all you have is a piece of meat to spank and a bottle of white wine to pour over veggies? So, she gives her leg of lamb several whacks – both with a knife and the flat of her hand. It's funny, but a little silly, too. Sometimes Anne seems to be trying too hard to be funky and sexy. Is it the "Bam" factor? The need TV chefs see to add something akin to a "bam" each time they explain something? It takes away from Anne as teacher, and Anne as translator of what professional chefs do. It is sometimes hard to take her seriously, when in fact she has important things to say. She ties the lamb up, making helpful suggestions about how to make knots, and the outcome – a well-tied roast – seems quite attainable. Anne explains that you should have the butcher give you the lamb bones after de-boning the meat, since you can use them as a rack to lay the roast on and they will flavor the sauce and vegetables. At times she skips over the tougher moments only to spend time repeating herself on easier things. She stealthily runs her knife into the meat several times to open it out and provide a larger space in which to rub garlic, rosemary, olive oil and tons of salt and pepper. The rubbing is easy – with or without the sexual innuendo - the knife skills are hard. Slow down and show those important tips. This is a show that has huge potential once Anne hits her stride. She has an impressive resume, and clearly knows how to teach. She just has to figure out how to reach the audience (whoever they are) and make them take her seriously. Then – watch out Mario , Bobby, Masaharu, Cat and Michael. Previous articles: Mario Dumps Iron Chef for Gwyneth Paltrow [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Anne Burrell --> back to Super Chef