Local chef, reality TV celeb Rachel Brown found dead

by Arnold Wayne Jones of Dallas Voice

Arnold Wayne Jones

Rachel Brown last year, after her appearance on the summer reality series Hell's Kitchen.

DALLAS — Rachel Brown, the Oak Cliff-based personal chef who became a national celebrity last summer following her appearance on the Fox reality show Hell's Kitchen, was found dead in her family home in Bedford on May 9, according to her sister, Dr. Mary Brown.

The death is currently under investigation, Dr. Brown said.

Rachel, who turned 41 on May 5, was the youngest of five children and an excellent athlete as a student. She worked for more than 10 years as caterer, personal chef and cooking instructor. She won praise for her work at Sur la Table teaching children how to cook, and hoped to open a cooking school for underprivileged youth, Dr. Brown said.

"She was a delight," Dr. Brown said of her sister, who left behind a girlfriend and two cats. "She was funny and sweet and worked really hard."

Brown became an iconic participant on the competition show Hell's Kitchen which pits professional chefs against each other and volatile judge Gordon Ramsay for the prize of a part-ownership in a Las Vegas resort. Brown lost, but her quasi-romance with another female contestant became a reality TV first.

After the show aired, Brown told Dallas Voice that she had no regrets about the game.

Brown's body was cremated earlier this week. A memorial service for her will be at Lucas Funeral Home, 1321 Precinct Line Road in Hurst on May 26, at 2 p.m. Dr. Brown invited her friends to attend and share their remembrances of her sister.

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