Food Network's Duff Goldman details last conversation with Anne Burrell

Originally appeared on E! Online

Duff Goldman is remembering his friend Anne Burrell.

The "Ace of Cakes" star reflected on his "complex" relationship with his fellow Food Network star following her sudden death on June 17 at the age of 55.

"I’ve written and re-written this post so many times in the past 24 hours and I just don’t know what to say," Goldman began his heartfelt tribute posted to Instagram June 19 alongside a photo of himself with Burrell. "Anne and I became friends in probably 2006. She was going through some stuff and I had heard that she was feeling it so on a trip to NYC from Baltimore I had made her a cake that said 'Don’t let the bastards win.' She never did."

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"We had a complex relationship and I remember the last conversation we had before our paths drifted was a pretty feisty debate about the merits of catfish," he continued. "I believe the words 'trash fish,' 'tastes like mud,' and 'cake boy' were used, haha."

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The 50-year-old—who shares daughter Josephine Goldman, 4, with wife Johnna Colbry—went on to talk about their friendship dynamic and detailed a recent chance run-in with the "Worst Cooks in America" host.

"Anne and I always had a spirited and somewhat acerbic back and forth," Goldman said. "I really never knew why our paths drifted but I always hoped that wherever she was, Anne was doing well and was finding some happiness."

"Then a year or two ago I was at a gala in NYC with my wife and daughter and I took Josephine out to the lobby to give her a break from sitting at a table listening to speeches," the "Kids Baking Championship" host continued. "We were playing with the marble columns and as we rounded one we saw Anne. Now, at this point we hadn’t spoken in years, and I won’t go into what we talked about but I will say that that conversation left my heart lifted and full of light, for it truly seemed to me that Anne really had found a measure of happiness and love."

Goldman also expressed his delight at the place in life that Burrell, who married Stuart Claxton in 2021, had reached.

"Life is tough, and we have to be tough to get through it," he wrote. "Anne was as tough as they come, but when you got past the armor there was a depth of compassion and kindness that was absolutely beautiful. My heart sings when I think of the love and tranquility that it seems Anne had found recently, and her genuine smile for my daughter and me in that lobby are what makes this tragedy just a little more bearable."

He finished by pondering what they might be able to do together if they're ever to be reunited some day.

Goldman said, "Anne, wherever you are I hope they have slow moving rivers because when I get there, we’ll get a couple of rods, a pint of chicken livers, and a sixer and I’ll teach you how to catch and cook the best catfish you ever had. Rest up, chef."