Renowned chefs Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence return to whip a fresh crop of bumbling cooks into culinary shape in a new season of "Worst Cooks in America," premiering Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 (9 p.m. all times ET/PT) on Food Network.
In the 10-episode series that transforms kitchen disasters into skilled cooks, Burrell and Florence 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.
"Kicking off the year with a new roster of 'Worst Cooks' has become a Food Network tradition," said Courtney White, senior vice president, programming, Scripps Networks Interactive. "Watching Anne and Tyler turn these kitchen misfits into confident cooks is a fun ride from start to finish."
The competitors are: Brandon Arroyo (Cleveland); Steven Crowley (New York City); Kayrene Curtis (Rocky River, Ohio); Jonathan Farhat (Livermore, California); Lily Frey (Anaheim Hills, California): Asaf Goren (Los Angeles); Robyn Hayden (Charleston, South Carolina); Sylvia Jefferies (Charleston, South Carolina); Hazell Mckenzie (Brooklyn); Priscilla Nguyen (Hattiesburg, Mississippi); Skyler and Spencer Nick (Wauconda, Illinois); Kevin Pettice (Charlotte, North Carolina); Shatima Ruffin (Yorktown, Virginia); Sharon Shvarzman (Staten Island) and Lacey Stout (Owasso, Oklahoma).
In the season premiere, 16 of the country's worst cooks enter boot camp with dreams of putting their kitchen nightmares behind them. Burrell and Florence need to see what they're dealing with, so they have the recruits make their signature dishes - and the results are worse than they could have imagined. For the first main dish challenge, the chefs teach the recruits how to make breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Then, Burrell and Florence pick teams, and the two recruits with the least successful breakfast dishes are sent home.
Upcoming episodes feature a fun fish market challenge, a round of food trivia game "Family Food," a sweet Valentine's Day challenge and the return of "Remote Control Chef." The season culminates on Sunday, March 11, with the two most-improved recruits preparing a three-course, restaurant quality meal for judges Jordan Andino, Michael Chernow and Paulette Goto - and the creator of the best dish wins $25,000 and victory for their mentor.
Viewers can learn more at
FoodNetwork.com/WorstCooks, including tips from favorite chefs and quizzes to improve cooking. Tell of your mishaps in the kitchen with #WorstCooks.
