Viewers of The Food Network have become familiar with chef Anne Burrell through her appearances on a wide array of the channel’s most popular shows including Iron Chef America, Best Thing I Ever Ate and Chopped.

The spiky, platinum blond-haired host of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and Worst Cooks in America confirmed publicly on Friday (25 May) that she is a lesbian. This comes after a fellow Food Network personality, Ted Allen, mentioned Burrell having a girlfriend during a radio interview.

Allen had said on Romaine Patterson’s Sirius XM show: I am not going to put a label on Anne, but she is dating a woman right now.’

A spokesperson for Burrell tells Page Six: ‘Anne doesn’t feel she was outed. She has made no secret of her relationship. Her significant other is a very private woman. They have been together for a couple of years and spend a lot of time together. It is no secret in the culinary world.’

Page Six reports that Burrell, who is also an instructor at New York’s Institute of Culinary Education, initially appeared alarmed when she learned of Allen’s comments while shooting her a television show. She reportedly said she had ‘a situation to deal with’ and left the set then returned the next day and completed the shoot.

Allen, who is also gay, is host of Chopped and was also part of the ‘Fab Five’ that made up the cast of one of Bravo’s earliest hit shows Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.