The world was shocked in early June 2025 when news broke about the passing of beloved Food Network star and celebrity chef Anne Burrell. In the time since her death, fans have reminisced about her accomplishments and advice (both in the kitchen and out) with a new sense of appreciation. While she was a powerhouse in a white apron, Burrell was generous with her praise of others in the culinary industry, including pizzamakers. She also revealed that, when it came to Chicago pizza, her preference wasn’t for the iconic deep dish at all.
Burrell’s episode of “All-Star Best Thing I Ever Ate” from 2021 featured the late chef gushing about how much she loved Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria’s thin-crust pizza, proclaiming it was her “absolute favorite.” She revealed that while at Lou’s, she liked to order a pie loaded with “pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, and black olives.” She told viewers, “I’m a huge appreciator of the Lou’s thin crust,” adding that she’s proudly “a thin cruster,” referring to Chicago’s unique thin-crust pizza. She also revealed that she preferred her pies well-done and appreciated how the pizzas at Lou’s are cut into square, checkerboard shapes, so she could “work [her] way in.”
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Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria Made Anne Burell’s Ideal Thin-Crust Pizza
Lou Malnati’s pizza with wings – Lou Malnati’s
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria has been a staple of the pizza industry since 1971 and is widely considered “the oldest family name in Chicago pizza,” according to the pizzeria’s website. The founder, Lou Malnati, had decades of deep-dish pizza-making experience before he ventured off to Lincolnwood to open his own shop, and his patience paid off when the restaurant skyrocketed in popularity. Soon, the Lou Malnati name was known all over, and the business expanded to multiple locations throughout Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The brand even became so successful that it earned a spot in grocery stores with the Lou Malnati’s x Portillo’s Italian Beef Deep Dish Pizza.
Lou’s well-known thin-crust pizza is made with a butter-crust dough, which is pressed thin into a classic pizza pan. Then comes a hearty layer of tomato sauce, a blend created specifically for Lou’s with fresh Californian tomatoes (though we’ve heard that San Marzano Tomatoes make the best sauce) and loaded with whatever toppings a patron desires. The pizza is pre-baked in an oven for about 15-20 minutes before it’s unloaded and doused in shredded mozzarella cheese, eventually returning to the oven for another few minutes until everything is golden and melted. Once the masterpiece is complete, chefs take a mezzaluna knife and dice the pizza into squares, just the way Burrell liked it.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Dining and Cooking