Plot Synopsis

A group of the most hopeless cooks in the country compete in a high-stakes elimination series as they vie to be one of the last two standing so they can cook for a panel of esteemed culinary critics and win the grand prize of $25,000. Under the tutelage of two Food Network celebrity chefs, the recruits are split into two teams. They learn valuable culinary skills from their team leaders, which are then tested in a series of high-pressure challenges. Based on their performances, the recruits are narrowed down each week until two are left standing to face the final challenge: prepare a three-course, restaurant-quality meal for a panel of food critics that thinks the dishes have been prepared by the team leaders. Anne started her journey for her fourth consecutive victory when Season 4 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA debuted on Food Network on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 9pm ET/PT, but Bobby won his first season.

WORST COOKS OF AMERICA returned for its fifth season on Monday, February 17, 2014 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, as 14 recruits, each nominated by family and friends for their exceptionally awful cooking skills, were greeted at boot camp by team leaders Anne and Bobby. Amber Brauner, one of Bobby's recruits won Season 5, giving Flay two consecutive wins.

Season 6 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, following an all-day marathon (1-8pm ET/PT) of an encore of Season 5. In the new season, Chef Anne Burrell goes up against first-time opponent Chef Tyler Florence in a seven-episode season, as Anne and Tyler each lead a team of kitchen-challenged recruits in a grueling culinary boot camp designed to turn them into skilled cooks.

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA returned for its seventh season on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. This season, Rachael Ray joins four-time winner Anne Burrell in the kitchen to transform seven celebrity cooking disasters into culinary VIPs. Anne and Rachael each lead a team of personalities who have many talents on-screen, but little savvy in the kitchen -- and these food masters are determined to whip the celebs into culinary shape. The all-star recruits are: Dean Cain, Ellen Cleghorne, Jenni "Jwoww" Farley, Chris Soules, Jaleel White, Kendra Wilkinson and Barry Williams. The contestant who makes the most impressive food transformation wins a $50,000 grand prize for charity, as well as bragging rights for their team leader. Season 7 opens with Rachael joining Anne for the first time in boot camp, where they are introduced to their recruits -- celebrities who can't cook. They have a limited amount of time to turn these seven pampered personalities into kitchen stars, so they assess everyone's skill level at the first-ever Worst Cooks potluck and find themselves tasting some very interesting dishes. After Anne and Rachael pick teams, one celebrity does not make the cut and is sent back to Tinseltown.

Season 8 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, January 3, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, with five-time winner Chef Anne Burrell returning for a rematch against Chef Tyler Florence. In the seven-episode season, Anne and Tyler each lead a team of disastrous cooks in an intense kitchen boot camp designed to vastly improve the food skills of their recruits. The contestant who makes the most impressive culinary transformation is awarded a $25,000 grand prize, in addition to delivering victory and bragging rights for their team leader. In the season premiere, Anne and Tyler are confronted with some of the worst cooks they've ever seen during an open casting call. They then chose 14 recruits including a lunch lady, truck driver, Army veteran and special education teacher to send to boot camp, and each contestant whips up the "offending dish" that landed them in hot water. After a stomach-wrenching tasting, Anne and Tyler pick their teams and attempt to teach them to make a well-balanced meal. Two recruits are not up to the task, and are sent home. Upcoming episodes feature a game show-style battle called "Family Food," internationally-flavored empanada and Asian street food challenges and a visit from the competitors' loved ones.

The ninth season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Thursday, September 14, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. In this second celebrity edition, Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray each lead a team of celebrity cooking disasters through an intense culinary boot camp where the most improved cook wins $50,000 for their charity, as well as bragging rights for their team leader. The celebrity recruits are: Mindy Cohn, Matt Dallas, Tommy Davidson, Barbara Eden, John Henson, Loni Love, Kenya Moore, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino and Nicole Sullivan. In the first episode, Anne and Rachael assess the skill of the recruits by having each celebrity cook a dish using some unique ingredients from Hollywood gift swag bags. Then, the recruits are taught to prepare a post-party simple steak and eggs dish, which proves to be much harder than expected for these clueless cooks. After Anne and Rachael pick teams, one celebrity is sent back to Tinsel Town and the recruits learn that boot camp is no walk down the red carpet. Upcoming episodes feature Oktoberfest-themed beer and sausage challenges, a Halloween Bloody Mary battle and the return of trivia game Family Food. Guests include last season's Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition winner Jenni 'Jwoww' Farley and runner-up Kendra Wilkinson, television personality Sara Gore and Cooking Channel's Laura Vitale.

Season 10 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, January 1, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the ten-episode new season, Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray return to each lead a team of bumbling cooks in an intense kitchen boot camp designed to whip them into culinary shape. The contestant who makes the most impressive transformation is awarded a $25,000 grand prize, along with victory and bragging rights for their team leader. In the season premiere, Anne and Rachael welcome the recruits to boot camp with photos of their most disastrous dishes, which they must recreate so the mentors can assess their skills. After teams are chosen, they dive into their first main dish challenge: cooking shrimp and live lobster! The recruits with the least successful dishes on each team are sent home, while the rest move ahead in their battle for culinary success. Upcoming episodes feature a messy egg-filled breakfast battle; game-show style contests "Lick It To Win It," where recruits test their newly refined taste buds, and "Family Food," where they put their food trivia knowledge to use; and Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras-themed challenges. The season culminates on Sunday, March 5 at 9pm with the two most-improved recruits preparing a three-course, restaurant quality meal for a panel of culinary experts, and only one wins $25,000 and victory for their mentor.The competitors for Season 10 are: Adam Cooke (Rancho Cucamonga, California), Laura Docker (Fort Worth, Texas), Stephen Hawkins (Temecula, California), Matt Josephs (Richmond, Virginia), Kayla Kurtz (Kent, Ohio), Daniel Mar (Burbank, California), Maria Marcello (Torrance, California), Jake Michaels (Manteno, Illinois), Cedrick Miller (El Paso, Texas), Brittany Lenore (Chicago, Illinois), Buffy Mykkanen (Portland, Oregon), Ann Odogwu (Houston, Texas), Jetta Linda Ostrofsky (Sacramento, California), Mandy Thornton (Hanover, Massachusetts), Lester Turchin (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) and Jeff West (Douglassville, Pennsylvania).

On Wednesday, August 23, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered the eleventh season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA, another helping of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA; CELEBRITY EDITION, which features Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray returning to lead a star-studded culinary boot camp for cooking-challenged celebrities. Anne and Rachael each lead a team of recruits through the intense kitchen challenges, but only the most improved star wins a $25,000 grand prize for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their team master. The new celebrity recruits are: Nora Dunn, Carmen Electra, Erik Estrada, Vivica A. Fox, Perez Hilton, Carson Kressley, Sean Lowe and Melissa Peterman. In the first episode, "Social Media Food Failures," Anne and Rachael kick things off with a social media-inspired challenge. The celebrities must make a dish inspired by their tastiest food snaps on social media and judging from their pages online, these stars love a good meal but clearly do not know how to cook one. The mentors follow with a lobster lesson, which proves to be a disaster for some of these clueless cooks. Anne and Rachael then choose their teams, and the culinary training begins. Upcoming episodes feature international flavors, dessert-themed milkshake and cupcake challenges and the return of trivia game Family Food, this time with a "freaky food" twist. Just before the season opener, Food Network premiered "Kitchen Disaster to Master" at 8pm. This one-hour WORST COOKS IN AMERICA special relives the outrageous transformation from kitchen disaster to master. Starting with the grossest dishes ever seen on day one of boot camp, watch how the mentors train season after season of hopeless cooks, from basic kitchen skills to advanced culinary techniques to complicated desserts. The unsavory transformation from kitchen disaster to master is shocking, frightening, and sometimes nauseating, but never fails to be hilarious.

Food Network premiered the twelfth season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA on Sunday, January 7, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT. In the ten-episode season, Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence are back to each lead a team of cooking-challenged recruits in an intense culinary boot camp designed to improve their food skills. In the end, only the one contestant who makes the most impressive transformation wins a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their team mentor. The competitors are: Brandon Arroyo (Cleveland, OH); Steven Crowley (New York, NY); Kayrene Curtis (Rocky River, OH); Jonathan Farhat (Livermore, CA); Lily Frey (Anaheim Hills, CA): Asaf Goren (Los Angeles, CA); Robyn Hayden (Charleston, SC); Sylvia Jefferies (Charleston, SC); Hazell Mckenzie (Brooklyn, NY); Priscilla Nguyen (Hattiesburg, MS); Skyler and Spencer Nick (Wauconda, IL); Kevin Pettice (Charlotte, NC); Shatima Ruffin (Yorktown, VA); Sharon Shvarzman (Staten Island, NY) and Lacey Stout (Owasso, OK).

Season 13 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday April 15, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, with food masters Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence each leading a team of recruits through an intense culinary boot camp where only the most improved cook is left standing. The champion wins $25,000 for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their team leader. This season's celebrity recruits are: Catherine Bach, Maria Bamford, Nolan Gould, La Toya Jackson, Oscar Nunez, Bronson Pinchot and Ian Ziering. In the first episode, Anne and Tyler immediately throw the celebrity recruits into their first challenge after they arrive. They must cook their signature dishes so the chefs can assess their skills, or lack thereof, in the kitchen. Then the chefs teach the celebrities how to make a Hollywood-worthy breakfast dish, which proves to be disastrous for these clueless cooks. After Anne and Tyler choose their teams, the celebrities are anxious to officially start their culinary training. Upcoming episodes feature a fish and chips challenge, pizza-from-scratch battle, guest appearance from last season's runner-up Melissa Peterman and an "Aluminum Foil Chef" competition. In the finale on Sunday, May 20 at 9pm, the two most improved recruits must cook a restaurant quality meal for guest judges Rocco DiSpirito, Cady Huffman and Aarthi Sampath, who will decide which one takes home $25,000 for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their team leader.

Season 14 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, as Chef Robert Irvine returns to battle Chef Anne Burrell Anne and Robert, who last went head-to-head in the show's second season in 2011, each lead a team of kitchen-challenged competitors though a grueling seven-episode culinary boot camp competition designed to improve their food skills. In the finale on Sunday, September 23rd at 9pm, the one contestant who demonstrates the most impressive culinary transformation is awarded $25,000 and bragging rights for their mentor. This season's recruits are: Copan Combs (Stillwater, Oklahoma); Robbie Deraffele (Hackensack, New Jersey); Marcus Ellis (Queens, New York); Bradley Garcia (Miami, Florida); Sarah Harris (Porum, Oklahoma); Janese Henry (Spring Lake, North Carolina); Linda Martin (Manchester, New Hampshire); Jessica Paulson (Oakley, California); Mary Ann Rapisarda (Valdosta, Georgia); Rudy Rehberg (Chicago, Illinois); Frank Scuderi (Maple Shade, New Jersey); Timmy Thok (New York, New York); Carla Waddell (Alexandria, Virginia) and Kimberly D. Worthy (Atlanta, Georgia).

The fifteenth season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, with Chefs Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence returning to whip disastrous cooks into tip-top culinary shape. In the nine-episode season, Anne and Tyler each lead a team of kitchen nightmares through a rigorous culinary boot camp designed to improve their food skills. In the end, only the one recruit who makes the most impressive culinary transformation wins a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their mentor. This season's recruits are: Brett Azar (Rahway, NJ); Carmelle Bull (Atlanta, GA); Brittany Carel (Fort Lauderdale, FL); Travele Judon (Chicago, IL); Cody Medler (Los Angeles, CA); Chaz Oakley (Ninilchik, AK); Sponjetta Parrish (Athens, GA); Cameron Pennington (Grayson, KY); Alten Poblete (San Diego, CA); Kat Schuessler (Kent, OH); Caitlin Stolzenthaler (Brick, NJ); Mickey Wentz (Denver, CO); Antoinette Wills (Washington, DC); Allison Wolfe (Richmond, TX), and Terry Yu (Stockton, CA).

On Sunday, April 21, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered the sixteenth season of this series, another celebrity edition of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA. In the seven-episode season, mentors Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence each lead a team of stars through a series of high-pressure cooking drills where only the most-improved recruit left standing is awarded $25,000 for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their chef mentor. This season's celebrity recruits are: Jim J. Bullock, Morgan Fairchild, Tonya Harding, Jonathan Lipnicki, Taryn Manning, Alec Mapa, Kym Whitley and Jimmie Walker.

Season 17 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. This summer, Bobby Flay rejoins Anne Burrell to whip a new roster of cooking disasters into culinary shape. This season pits two teams of the country's most atrocious cooks, one led by Bobby and the other by Anne, against each other in a kitchen boot camp designed to transform their food skills. In the end, only the one recruit who makes the most impressive culinary transformation wins a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their team leader. Recruits for Season 17 include: Idriss Alison (Bronx, New York); Jonathan Beyer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Sharon Grant (Dallas, Texas); Terry Grawey (Peoria, Illinois); Nina Kharoufeh (New York, New York); Gina Lam (San Diego, California); Kayla Longstreth (Firestone, Colorado); Mercedes "Sadie" Manda (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); Karma Ann Moody (Hayesville, North Carolina); Adrian Read (Bronx, New York); Juliann Sheldon (Charlotte, North Carolina); Peter Smerlas (Waltham, Massachusetts); Father Adam Young (Cranston, Rhode Island) and Laith Wallschleger (Tampa, Florida).

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA returned for its 18th season on Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. For the first time, Alton Brown is joining Anne Burrell to transform a roster of terrible cooks into culinary shape with challenges bigger and crazier than ever in a brand-new season of Worst Cooks in America. The fan-favorite series pits two teams of atrocious cooks, one led by Alton and the other by Anne, against each other in a rigorous kitchen boot camp designed to transform their food skills. In the end, only the one recruit who makes the most impressive culinary improvement wins a $25,000 cash prize and bragging rights for their team leader. This season's recruits are: Shannon Akins (Tempe, Arizona); Lulu Boykin (Pittsboro, North Carolina); Monica Colwell (Hazard, Kentucky); Joe Deese (Fulton, Alabama); Jefferson Goldie (Chicago, Illinois); Ryan Grovey (Seattle, Washington); Michael Jones-Better (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Dakota Klaes (New York, New York); Leo Lech (Washington, West Virginia); Curtis Long (Seneca, South Carolina); Kelly Ngoc Mac (Pasadena, California); Bridget Praytor (Colorado Springs, Colorado); Leslie Rivera-Silva (Washington D.C.); Jolynn Singh (Allen, Texas); Kevin So (Brooklyn, New York) and Alexandra Tiso (Eastchester, New York).

Season 19 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA, another celebrity edition of the series, premiered on Sunday, May 10, 2020 from 9-11pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the six-episode season, chefs Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence are back to whip a fresh cast of all-star cooking nightmares into culinary shape. Anne and Tyler each lead a team of celebrity recruits through a series of intense cooking challenges to transform their kitchen skills. Only the most-improved star left standing at the finale wins $25,000 for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their team mentor. From a seafood challenge with live fish tanks to a rowdy dessert scramble game, anything can and does happen in Worst Cooks boot camp. This season's recruits are: Wells Adams, Johnny Bananas, Dave Coulier, Bridget Everett, Robin Givens, Sonja Morgan and Brian Posehn. In the two-hour season opener, "Celebrity Cooks and the Best of the Worst," Anne and Tyler welcome seven of the worst celebrity cooks in the country to boot camp. Before the chefs pick their teams, they want to see what skills or lack thereof they are working with. For the baseline challenge, the recruits are tasked with making their go-to dinner party dish. Once the recruits are split into teams, Anne and Tyler show them how to cure those dinner party dish-asters, with a delicious boozy brunch, which they must replicate in order to stay in boot camp.

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA returned for its seven-episode 20th season on Sunday, June 21, 2020 from 9-10:30pm ET/PT on Food Network. Alex Guarnaschelli enters boot camp as a mentor for the first time, joining Anne Burrell to whip a cast of cooking-challenged recruits into culinary shape during a new season of the fan-favorite series. The two teams of atrocious cooks, one mentored by Alex and the other by Anne, need all the help they can get as they stumble their way through outrageous challenges designed to improve their kitchen skills. In the end, the one recruit who makes the biggest culinary transformation wins a $25,000 cash prize and bragging rights for their team leader. This season's recruits are: Dolores Aguilar-Fernandez (Cypress, TX); Evan Baker (Bismarck, ND); Darian Barnes (Rahway, NJ); Holly Brooks (Lancaster, PA); Zack Ignoffo (Chicago, IL); Domaine Javier (San Gabriel, CA); Jewels McIlroy (Syracuse, NY); Johannes "Yo" Phelps (Davenport, IA); Ari Robinson (Simpsonville, SC); Denise Schroder (Oklahoma City, OK); Louisa Sharamatyan (Glendale, CA); Eric Smart (Los Angeles, CA); Erin Sullivan (Mayfield, KY) and Brianna Weidenbach (Martin, TN).

Season 21 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, January 3, 2021 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. This season, Chef Carla Hall faces off against Chef Anne Burrell to see who can transform their team of kitchen disasters into culinary masters. They have their work cut out for them as two teams of terrible cooks, one lead by Carla and the other by Anne, battle their way through a rigorous kitchen boot camp. From a farm-themed showdown to a "Meal or No Meal" game show and lumberjack pancake stack race, the challenges are tougher and more outrageous than ever. In the end, only the recruit who makes the most impressive culinary transformation wins the $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their team mentor. This season's recruits are: Watik Aleem (Aurora, CO); Cameron Bartlett (Norma, OK); Tiffany Billingsly (Greenwood, ID); Joy Blessing (Jacksonville, FL); McKayla Carter (Blackshear, GA); Ayesha Dwyer (Wadsworth, IL); Chandali Gullick (Wichita, KS); Jonathan Hanna (New York, NY); JJ Hurt (Atlanta, GA); Stephanie James (Chicago, IL); Joey Kinsley (Rocky River, OH); Amber Leverette (Banner Elk, NC); Laura Moore (Los Angeles, CA) and Mo Nooreldin (Kirkland, WA).

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA returned for its 22nd season on Sunday, April 25, 2021 from 9-11pm ET/PT on Food Network. Iron Chef Michael Symon joins Anne Burrell for the first time in boot camp to mentor all-star kitchen catastrophes on WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: BEST OF THE WORST, where fan-favorite recruits from past seasons return for another chance to transform from culinary disaster to kitchen master. With the red team led by Anne and blue by Michael, the competitors are in for a rigorous culinary boot camp where the team leaders will stop at nothing to improve their recruits' skills. The challenges are tougher and more outrageous than ever, including a Vegas-themed game show, camping cookout where stoves and ovens are off-limits and a "tour de petit four" dessert relay. In the end, only one recruit is awarded a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their mentor. The returning recruits are: Jonathan Beyer (New York, NY), Lulu Boykin (Pittsboro, NC), Jefferson Goldie (Chicago, IL), Domaine Javier (San Gabriel, CA), Stephanie James (Chicago, IL), Joey Kinsley (Cleveland, OH), Sadie Manda (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and Eric Smart (Los Angeles, CA).

On Sunday, September 26, 2021 from 10-11pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered "Halloween Redemption 2," a one-hour WORST COOKS IN AMERICA special. Anne Burrell and Michael Symon are back with more thrills, chills and grills as four ghoulishly disastrous Worst Cooks recruits return to boot camp for Halloween redemption. The recruits once again face their fears in the kitchen and tackle terrifying ingredients. With coaching from Anne and Michael, they create a spooktacular feast for a panel of culinary experts. Will their meals be a deadly delight or a graveyard fright? The winning team will walk away with a $5,000 kitchen upgrade and culinary redemption.

Season 23 of WORST COOKS debuted on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. This season, Anne is joined for the first time by Chef Cliff Crooks to lead the newest batch of twelve culinary nightmares though a rigorous boot camp in their quest to become kitchen masters. While some recruits are total strangers, this time there are married couples, long-lost cousins and a pair of drag artist best friends among those battling to improve their horrific cooking skills. With the red team led by Anne and blue by Cliff, this season begins in a twilight zone dimension of overcooked food, bad knife cuts and atrocious flavors - but the journey to kitchen success kicks off as soon as the recruits walk through the doors. The challenges are bigger and bolder than ever, from an outrageous culinary warriors game to a beach-themed cooking relay to a dessert wonderland scavenger hunt. In the end, only the most improved recruit is awarded a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their mentor. Recruits for Season 23 include: married couple Eddie and Kara Anderson (Leitchfield, Kentucky); married couple Bianca Bencosme and Hector Peralta (York, Pennsylvania); drag artists and best friends Marti Cummings and Peachez Iman-Cummings (New York, New York); best friends Hilda Ike (Kissimmee, Florida) and Deneise White (Poinciana, Florida); Al Kingswriter (Tony, Wisconsin); Melody Moore (Atlanta, Georgia); and long-lost cousins Angie Padilla (San Jose, California) and Cheyenne Loomis (London, Kentucky).

The 24th season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. Titles WORST COOKS IN AMERICA CELEBRITY EDITION: THAT'S SO '90S, this season features Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro, who transform a roster of retro celebrity recruits from clueless in the kitchen to totally rad cooks. While these recruits were Hollywood darlings on television in the 90's, they never won anyone over with their cooking - so Anne and Jeff guide them through a series of rigorous challenges to improve their culinary game. From a short-order diner relay to superhero-themed obstacle course, the challenges are wilder and more outrageous than ever. Only the most-improved star left standing at the finale wins $25,000 for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their team mentor. The recruits are: Lori Beth Denberg (ALL THAT), Elisa Donovan (CLUELESS), Tracey Gold (GROWING PAINS), Jennie Kwan (CALIFORNIA DREAMS), Matthew Lawrence (BOY MEETS WORLD), Mark Long (ROAD RULES), Jodie Sweetin (FULL HOUSE), Nicholle Tom (THE NANNY) and Curtis Williams (THE PARENT 'HOOD).

Season 25 of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network. Anne Burrell is joined for the first time by Darnell Ferguson to lead culinary boot camp, where they take on the kitchen chaos, food fumbles and culinary confusion of these trending competitors IRL. Titled WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: VIRAL SENSATIONS, the new season features a cast filled with larger-than-life personalities who are determined to win "likes" for their improving cooking skills. With the red team led by Anne and blue by Darnell, this season's competition is more buzz-worthy than ever, including challenges inspired by viral trends like Poke-Bowl-Go, Cake or Fake and Ice-Bucket trivia. In the end, only the most improved recruit left standing is awarded a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their mentor. The competitors are: comedian Rich Aronovitch @richisfunny (New York, New York); "QuarantTeaTime" actor Michael Judson Berry @mjudsonberry (Jersey City, New Jersey); Tessica Brown, known for her Gorilla Glue hair mishap, @im_d_ollady (Violet, Louisiana); flight attendant-by-day David Chen @davidchenofficial (Fort Lauderdale, Florida); singing sensation Naje Elmore @who_she_naje (Texarkana, Texas); K-drama and K-pop enthusiast Tina Kim @kdramalogic (Los Angeles, California); puppeteer Adam Kreutinger @adamkreutinger (Williamsville, New York); "Top 5 Hottest" trendsetter Paris Nicholson @parisnicholson (Miami, Florida); paleontologist TikToker Eliza Petersen @lizemopetey (West Jordan, Utah); "Mr. Spooky" Mitchell Ralston @mrspooky13 (Huntingdon Beach, California); YouTuber Sabrina Rios @abelinasabrina (Los Angeles, California) and Nick Trawick, known for his TikTok character "Kleptora," @nicktrawick13 (Los Angeles, California). Immediately after the season opener, Food Network premiered "The Hottest Mess Awards," a new one-hour special on Sunday, January 1 at 9:30pm. It's an award show unlike any other as Worst Cooks in America celebrates the funniest culinary mishaps from all 24 seasons. From the biggest flames and worst dishes to host crushes and butchery breakdowns, we applaud the very best moments and their comical results.

The 26th season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA premiered on Sunday, August 6, 2023 from 8-9:30pm ET/PT on Food Network with the title: WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: LOVE AT FIRST BITE. In the eight-episode season, food superstars Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro each lead a team of fun and flirty kitchen disasters through a life-changing culinary bootcamp to transform them from cooking duds into kitchen studs. The recruits not only learn how to make date-friendly dishes like sushi, spicy wontons and classic French pastries, they also go head-to-head in romantic dating-inspired challenges like the Cupid Games, the Bagel-orette and the Inferno Zone. In the end, only the most improved recruit left standing is awarded a $25,000 grand prize, bragging rights for their mentor and the ability to add "great cook" to their dating profile. The competitors are: Terri Arcelia (Atlanta, Georgia); James Bates (Hammond, Louisiana); Michael Kazakov (Staten Island, New York); Allegra Melton (Jonesboro, Arkansas); Matthew Militello (Los Angeles, California); Denz Mooney (Long Island, New York); Toneata Morgan (Los Angeles, California); Kermit Moss Jr. (Fullerton, California); Etherio Noon (Chicago, Illinois); Charles Osbourne (New York, New York); Sterling Quinn (New York, is New York); Zach Russell (New York, New York); Jessica Singer (Los Angeles, California); Amy Solomon (Las Vegas, Nevada); Lou Tocquie (Rochester, New York) and Sami White (Chicago, Illinois).

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: SPOILED ROTTEN, the series 27th season, debuted on Sunday, January 7, 2024 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network. or the first time, Chef Tiffany Derry joins Chef Anne Burrell to lead culinary boot camp and help pampered competitors trade in their silver spoons for spatulas. From grown men whose mothers still prepare their meals to indulged nepo babies and food delivery divas, these recruits have never had to fend for themselves -- until now. This season, Anne and Tiffany take boot camp literally -- with their teams running basic training drills like an army crawl, obstacle course and calisthenics. Other challenges involve a seafood-inspired game, farm-themed competition, and supermarket speedway challenge -- and along the way, the most successful recruits earn "chef bucks" to buy game-changing advantages. In the end, only the most improved recruit left standing is awarded a $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their mentor. This season's recruits are: Joel Alvarado (Indianapolis, Indiana); Avi Boodram (Christiana, Delaware); Elena Catlin (Wesley Chapel, Florida); Frankie Cena (Burbank, California); Leona Chapman (Cresaptown, Maryland); Erika Coleman (New Orleans, Louisiana); Steve Crawford (Los Angeles, California); Costa Georgopoulos (San Pablo, California); Carrington Gilbert (Houston, Texas); Cathy Jacobson (Vernon Hills, Illinois); Stacey Loper (Hoover, Alabama); Micaela Minner (Akron, Ohio); Jesse Money (Malibu, California); Chelsko Thompson (Seattle, Washington); Serious Williams (Chicago, Illinois) and Ebie Wright (Los Angeles, California).
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On Sunday, February 4, 2024 from 8-10pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered back-to-back new episodes to close out the season of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: SPOILED ROTTEN,

"Bake It Till You Make It" (8pm): It's a party at bootcamp, but the recruits won't be celebrating -- they'll be cooking! Anne Burrell and Tiffany Derry challenge the recruits to throw a fabulous soiree, and the teams must create three appetizers, a signature cocktail and decorate their space to impress the VIP chefs. For the main dish challenge, nothing screams celebration like cake, so the chefs have their recruits bake and decorate their own layer cakes. The best recruits will have their cake and eat it too, but the worst ones will be heading home with no dessert.

"Fight for the Finale" (9pm): Only two recruits can move on to the finale, so the final four play Meal of Fortune, where they spin the wheel and answer trivia questions or perform culinary tasks in order to collect more chef bucks! Then, the teams use their chef bucks to purchase a basket of ingredients for the last skill drill cook. It's a head-to-head battle between the final four recruits as they each cook a composed dish to earn a spot in the final cook. Anne Burrell and Tiffany Derry work closely with their final recruits practicing their three-course, restaurant quality meal, but a surprise special guest pops in and reveals a twist. In the end, judges Matt Abdoo, Andrienne Cheatham and Michael Jenkins taste the recruits' dishes in a blind taste test to determine the winner of the $25,000 prize.