TV • PAGE 21
THE BULLETIN • APRIL 22 - 28, 2021
tastytv
BY GEORGE DICKIE
It’s a better class of ‘Worst Cooks in
America’ as Food Network series returns
Newbie co-hosts on Food Network’s “Worst
Cooks in America” are often shocked by the
ineptitude of its contestants. After all, it takes a
special kind of incompetence to not know how
to boil water or operate a can opener.
Returning host Anne Burrell finds the
reactions entertaining. This season, Michael
Symon was the unsuspecting party.
“It’s one of my favorite things ever on the
first day,” Burrell explains, “when I have a new
co-host and they see just how bad these people
really are, and they look at me and they’re like,
‘Oh my God! Is this a joke?’ And I’m like, ‘No,
this is the real deal.’ And it just cracks me up
every time because ... they are just absolutely
shocked and they’re like, ‘What did I get in for?’
Like they think that they’re mentally prepared
for it and we try to tell them and it really is
quite amazing.”
Premiering Sunday, April 25 (and also
streaming on discovery+), the new six-episode
“Worst Cooks” season titled “Best of the Worst”
brings back fan favorites from seasons past to try
again at transforming from kitchen disasters to
something resembling a culinary master. Burrell
and Symon (“Burgers, Brew and ‘Que”) lead red
and blue teams through a boot camp designed
to improve contestants’ skills, then put them
through a series of challenges that showcase
what they’ve learned. The winner gets a $25,000
grand prize.
Because this is not their first time, the would-
be chefs are tasked with challenges that are on
a slightly higher level than they would be for
the rookies. Here, they include a Vegas-themed
game show, a camp cookout where stoves and
ovens are off limits and a “tour de petit four”
dessert relay race.
And there is plenty of pressure as Burrell and
Symon will show their recruits a technique such
as how to slice an onion, once, and then require
them to repeat it on camera during competition
– with all the distractions that would imply.
While some fail, others catch on and still others
wind up embracing skills that serve them
elsewhere in life.
“Especially during the pandemic when
everyone was on lockdown,” Burrell notes, “I
heard from a lot of past recruits saying, ‘Oh my
gosh! Thank God for ”Worst Cooks,“ because
now during the pandemic I can actually cook at
home. I don’t know what I would have done if I
hadn’t had that.’ ”
Michael S
and Anne