What Was The Deal With Anne Burrell's Red Sharpie?
Beloved chef and host of "Worst Cooks in America" Anne Burrell passed away on June 17, 2025. As we've been watching her videos and remembering her larger-than-life, energetic, encouraging personality, we found ourselves curious about one item that appeared over and over again — her red Sharpie. What, exactly, is the deal?
We found the answer in a clip Food Network posted to TikTok, where Burrell explained why she finds a red Sharpie so helpful in the kitchen. During episodes of "Worst Cooks," she regularly walked around and made red marks on the fingers of participants while they were using chef's knives. Burrell explained that the red Sharpie was used to serve as a visual reminder to participants who were making a common mistake when holding a chef's knife. She had a lighthearted touch, of course — in the video, Burrell is seen laughing with a participant as she marked his finger as a reminder to correct the positioning of his hand on the knife.
How exactly did Anne Burrell want chefs to hold their knives?
The trick to holding a chef's knife correctly? It's all about control, according to Anne Burrell. In the video, Burrell explained the correct way to hold a chef's knife while demonstrating. "You pinch it between your thumb and forefinger," she explained as she pinched the knife at the non-sharp edge, just in front of the handle. "You drop your other three fingers down," she said as she grasped the handle. To Burrell, this was the safest way to use a chef's knife.
She went on to explain that many people think putting a finger on the back of the knife blade provides more stability and accuracy, but that misconception isn't actually correct. She explained that for other types of kitchen knives, the finger-out grip can be appropriate, but it's never the right choice for slicing and dicing with a chef's knife.