On last night’s season premiere of Worst Cooks in America, we were introduced to 16 new “recruits,” each nominated by family and friends for their atrocious cooking skills. They were split into two teams: Team Anne and Team Bobby.
For their first challenge, the teams were tasked to make breakfast: pancakes, bacon and eggs. Their mentors showed them how to make their favorite version of a pancake, plus four basic ways to make eggs: poached, sunny-side up, over-easy and scrambled.
As Bobby is getting his feet wet as a first-timer on this show, he quickly realized that he couldn’t take teaching his team for granted when Vinnie Caligiuri asked him whether cinnamon sticks would melt in maple syrup when heated on the stove.
After tasting all their dishes, it was evident that making pancakes isn’t as easy as it looks. Too heavy, not cooked all the way through and forgetting flour were just some of the mistakes that both Bobby and Anne dealt with.
Have you run into these same problems at home? If you want to make super-fluffy pancakes, Anne says to fold in egg whites.
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Back in August 2011, FN Dish announced that Bobby Flay would be joining season three of Worst Cooks in America, battling it out against seasoned undefeated champ Anne Burrell. Now you can officially mark your calendars — starting Sunday, Feb. 12 at 9pm/8c, Worst Cooks returns with Anne leading one team and Bobby another. The country’s most hopeless cooks will compete for a $25,000 prize, which will be awarded to the winning contestant who achieves the most progress and best performance, in addition to bragging rights and victory for his or her culinary mentor.
In the season premiere, the 16 “recruits,” each nominated by family and friends for their atrocious cooking skills, arrive at Base Camp and attempt to impress Anne and Bobby with their signature dishes. Each week, the contestant with the least successful dish on each team will be sent home, while the remaining competitors will cook on.
Tune in: Sunday, February 12 at 9 pm Eastern/8 pm Central
Which team will you be rooting for? »
Bobby Flay’s time as a judge on season seven of Food Network Star may be winding down, but season three of Worst Cooks in America is just beginning to heat up — with Flay battling it out against seasoned champ Anne Burrell.
With Anne leading one team and Bobby another, the country’s most hopeless cooks will compete for a $25,000 prize. The contestant with the best performance and progress could be you. Open casting calls are designated for later this month in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Minneapolis.
The new season is slated to premiere in February 2012.
Chefs (and Boot Camp Sergeants) Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine let us in on their candid conversation about the two Worst Cooks finalists, Joshie and Georg.
Anne on Joshie: If you had asked me at the beginning if Joshie was going to win, I would have said no way. But at the same time, I had a little glimmer that this was going to be my Rachel Coleman [last season’s winner]. You know, I really did. I said it on the first day, Robert, when you put him on my team.
He got it together after a while of me being like “Dude, take this seriously.” He came in to do his flambé or something and he’s like “I’m not going to that…” and I’m like “You’re what?” And he’s like “I mean, I AM going to do that.” His girlfriend was like “Wow, how did you get him to do that?” I whipped him into shape. I put the fear of Chef Anne into him. He grew not to irritate me.
I wouldn’t say that Joshie and I are going out to drinks anytime soon, but at the beginning I thought I was going to kill him. He kind of grew on me like a wart. He was not the crowd favorite, the team favorite, or my favorite. That he could transform himself and buckle down and take it seriously, I have to applaud him for that. I think he really wanted it; his eyes were opened up to so many different things. On the first day, when he was making his mess of a dish and brought it up to us, he said “I feel bad because my station was so messy and someone had to come behind me and clean it up.” I thought, that right there is the door opening. That right there, that is my Rachel Coleman. I can probably do something with this kid if he can get out of his own way.
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- Georg Coleman stuck it out all the way to the finale and became a confident cook with stellar knife skills — and she came into Boot Camp afraid of knives!
Why did you need or want to be on Worst Cooks in America?
When I initially found out that I had been nominated by my beloved wife, I did not believe that I needed to be on Worst Cooks in America. After giving a grand attempt at cooking for the audition process, my perception quickly changed. The chefs were eager to point out that processed foods are not of the greatest quality for my family, especially my toddler. They also helped me see that cooking with only myself in mind (my likes/dislikes) might actually be contributing to the tension in my marriage around domestic responsibilities and that my wife might actually have a valid point. I now realize that I still prepare foods and eat like a bachelorette – that I really need some guidance in how to be a better partner and mom when it comes to cooking. I have always liked food prepared on the caramelized (burnt) side – and have set off many a fire alarm to prove it. If I did not get on WCIA, there is a good chance that my marriage would have been doomed.
What was the most valuable tip or piece of advice that you received from Chef Robert?
I learned so many valuable tips and tools from Chef Robert. Three things are most prominent in my mind from my experience on WCIA. One of the most important pieces of advice he gave was how to keep my fingers out of the way when cutting, chopping and preparing foods to cook. I am still not the greatest at this… but have a lot more awareness. A second tidbit of information that was emphasized and reemphasized during the show was ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ regarding keeping our stations clean. However, the most valuable tip I personally received from Chef Robert was to cook with confidence… no matter how it all turns out!
What did you take away from the experience?
I took away so much more from this experience than I ever bargained for. I went into the show thinking that I would learn some great cooking skills from the top chefs on the Food Network, that I would have at least a few days in NYC, and that I would possibly meet some cool people. What I came away with was a new perspective on cooking, my family and life overall. I walked away from WCIA a transformed person in many ways. Being in such intimate circumstances with virtual strangers forced me to bring forth compassion, understanding, tolerance and acceptance in ways I have never known before. I have been married for 5 years… and this was a more intimately challenging situation that lasted a lot less than 5 years. That being said, I developed friendships that will last for a very long time as a result of mutually sharing such a bizarre and awesome experience. I would not be able to adequately articulate what I experienced to anyone who was not there to share it with me. It was the experience of a lifetime and one I am so grateful to have had.
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- 36-year-old Joshie Berger of Brooklyn is the Season 2 Worst Cooks in America winner. "It sounds cliche, but this experience was really life-altering," he says.
Why did you need or want to be on Worst Cooks in America?
I really needed to be on Worst Cooks because of my background and personality. I grew up a Hasidic Jew, so I was limited to eating only strictly kosher foods. While the community I grew up in did a reasonable job (considering the limited ingredients available) in presenting edible food, in no way did it prepare me for the range of food options I was presented with when I entered the normal secular world. Additionally, I have a childish palette that prefers chicken fingers and french fries. Combine all this with a healthy dose of A.D.D. and sprinkle in some A.D.H.D. for good measure and you can understand the horror that is me in the kitchen. I would love nothing more than to overcome my idiotic food issues and confront my fears of strange foods. My relationship and social interactions literally depend on it.
What was the most valuable tip or piece of advice that you received from Chef Anne?
The turning point for me in boot camp was when it Chef Anne finally got it through my thick skull that I can have fun in the kitchen without needing to resort to my usual shenanigans. Preparing food and adjusting recipes can incorporate all of a person’s creative energies without the need to be a comedian or clown. Focusing my positive energies on producing restaurant quality meals is a great challenge and the results are a lot more rewarding than the laughs I know I can get elsewhere. Bottom line: if you’re having fun in the kitchen, the food will reflect that.
What did you take away from the experience?
It sounds quite cliche, but this experience was really life-altering. Cooking, and food in general, is such an important part of our lives and having confidence in preparing delicious meals changes you in so many ways. I am an extremely extroverted and social person, and making meals and preparing dinners is something that I love doing routinely. I have very little patience at restaurants and always preferred to eat at home, but ordering in was usually the method employed in the past. Being able to now sit around and entertain and chat while preparing food is a wonderful aspect of hosting. When my girlfriend comes home after a long day’s work, she can rest while watching me cook for her. This is something I cherish and find cathartic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still fun and loud, but it’s a lot more tolerable when I’m producing great results.
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- Carlos was a little timid with the flame...and with the seasoning on his final dish.
After each elimination on Worst Cooks in America this season, chefs Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine share their candid impressions of the booted recruits with the FN Dish. In the last challenge before the finale, they bid farewell to Kelsey from Robert’s Team and Carlos from Anne’s Team.
Anne on Carlos: This is when their families came! It was a little fire; it boosted them. They were really lonely; it had been a long time. I can’t imagine doing what they did, quite honestly. They completely had a breakdown when they saw their family members. Carlos was really cute; his sister came and he cried. We asked them what do they like to eat, and Carlos’s sister said a Thai dish. I gave him a lob; that’s how easy this dish was. I was begging him the entire time: Show us your personality. Let it come out. This is the time to let it rip. I remember saying that to him so many times. He’s like, “I love spicy food,” and then he made the drippiest, personality-less Thai dish. There was no spice, no big flavors. He was great; his mise en place was always so good; his shrimp was cooked perfectly. I really thought for a while that Carlos was going to be my guy.
- Kelsey spent the first half of Boot Camp on Chef Anne's team, but really made progress once she moved over to Chef Robert's team — at least that's what he says!
Robert on Kelsey: I was shocked that Anne sent Carlos home. I thought this was going to be her soldier. Kelsey’s husband came. He was deer hunter guy. He loves to hunt, so she wanted to make him venison. She went from burning everything to serving it raw, still bleeding. And it was such a shame because she knew how to cook it. She did well when she moved over to my team; she turned a corner. The pan wasn’t hot when she seared it; all the things that she had been taught, she didn’t do. That was heartbreaking. She was so afraid of burning everything, so she overcompensated.
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Worst Cooks recruit in our Fan Vote, up to 10 times per day.
- The Blue Team race between Kelsey and Georg was neck-and-neck. Last week Kelsey's fish took the win, but this week, too-rare venison was her downfall.
Why did you need or want to be on Worst Cooks in America?
I needed to be on Worst Cooks in America because I just got married and I kept screwing everything up! I tried to cook all the time and the outcome was never good. I have: Given my husband food poisoning twice, once from not cooking the turkey burgers all the way, once from old food; blown up a gas grill and burned off my eyebrows, eyelashes and bangs; tried to make seven different kinds of Christmas cookies and ruined every single one; made chicken for two of my close friends and somehow it came out purple; set a whole pan of bread on fire — I mean actual flames! Despite what my husband says, he can’t cook either. We want kids soon and one of us needs to be able to cook or they will starve!
What was the most valuable tip or piece of advice that you received from Chef Anne or Chef Robert?
The most valuable thing I learned from the chefs is how to dice an onion. Normally when I dice onions I am crying and just trying not to cut off any fingers. It always ends up different sizes and with pieces of the skin in with it too.
What did you take away from the experience?
I have learned so much from this experience. I actually love to cook now! I literally cook three to five nights a week. When I first started this journey, I said my dream is that 10 years from now my husband will have gotten nice and fat and he will say, “I wouldn’t be so fat if Kelsey wasn’t such a good cook!” Just the other day he came out of the bathroom and said he gained 8 pounds which he blames on my cooking. My dream has come true! I feel like we will now be able to start our perfect little family complete with a mom/wife who is a whiz in the kitchen.
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- Carlos says Boot Camp with Chef Anne taught him, first and foremost, to "let loose and really have fun while cooking!"
Why did you need or want to be on Worst Cooks in America?
I definitely belonged on Worst Cooks for several reasons. I am the youngest of 6, live alone, and do not have the comfort of my “mommy” to cook me dinner. Most of my family is in Michigan, where I was born and raised. I moved to Atlanta in hopes to find a better career and prove not only to myself, but to my family that I am a self-sufficient adult who is not afraid to follow his heart. I miss my entire family; all of my loving brothers and sisters, my hilarious cousins, and my adorable nieces and nephews. The main thing that kept my family together was the dinner table! My mother loved cooking. She made three meals a day, enticing my entire family to come over and eat. Since she was always in the kitchen, there was no reason for me to be. Now that I have moved away, it’s time for me to pick up a knife and learn to cook!
What was the most valuable tip or piece of advice that you received from Chef Anne?
Learning to let loose and really have fun while cooking!
What did you take away from the experience?
I realized that I wasn’t alone; lots of people struggle with the same things I do. And most importantly there is always someone worse! I had such a great time, it really helped me learn to relax and loosen up in the kitchen.
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