Food Network Host Returns to Alma Mater to Address CIA Graduates

Anne Burrell '96 is Star of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef

Anne Burrell, host of the Food Network's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, delivered the commencement address at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY on Friday, May 1, 2009.

"The more I learned, the more I realized I didn't know. Get as much experience as you can," Chef Burrell advised 87 recipients of associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. "The CIA gives you the perfect foundation."

Burrell's interest in cooking started at age three, when she saw Julia Child on television. After graduating from the CIA in 1996, she traveled through Italy and worked at a small Michelin-starred restaurant in Tuscany. That experience helped her land a job as Lidia Bastianich's sous chef at Felidia in New York City upon her return. Her career took off from there, and in 2008, the native of Cazenovia, NY was named host of her own show on the Food Network.