Bobby Flay has honoured late chef Anne Burrell by sharing the “greatest gift” she ever gave him.

On Tuesday, police officials reported that the TV personality was found “unconscious and unresponsive” at her home in Brooklyn, New York. Burrell was 55.

A cause of death is pending as an autopsy is set to take place. However, a rep for the New York City Fire Department told TMZ that the incident was reported to them as a cardiac arrest.

Following the sad news, Flay took to his Instagram Stories on Wednesday night to post a photo of his Worst Cooks in America co-star smiling and holding two Maine Coon cats.

“Worst Cooks in America was the funnest show on TV (sic). All of your co-hosts (me included) were just alongside for the Anne Burrell ride. The greatest gift I got from AB was turning me on to a world of Maine Coon Cats (including Nacho)…,” he wrote in the caption, referring to his own beloved pet.

To conclude, Flay added: “A gift that I’ll have forever.”

A number of Burrell’s other Food Network colleagues have also paid their respects.

Noting she was “heartbroken”, Rachael Ray described the celebrity chef as a “rockstar”.

“I can’t quite believe it – such a strong, vibrant, fearless woman, so full of life and love, could be gone so soon,” she wrote on Instagram. “I came to know her well through multiple seasons of Worst Cooks on Food Network, and she became so much more than a colleague.”

Elsewhere, Alex Guarnaschelli insisted Burrell wouldn’t want fans to be sad but to “go out, raise a glass”.

“She loved her friends and cats fiercely and didn’t let a second of life go by without savoring every last bit,” she commented.

Burrell is survived by her husband Stuart Claxton and stepson Javier.