Since 2010, the reality cooking competition Worst Cooks in America has enchanted — and sometimes repelled — Food Network viewers. Celebrity chef Anne Burrell leads a team against a rotating cast of famous chefs and fellow Food Network personalities. But as the title implies, these hapless contestants aren’t exactly ready for Top Chef.
The show is packed with cringe-worthy moments, as some truly disastrous cooks attempt to learn their way around the kitchen. Both Burrell and her competing judges over the years have had some major meltdowns at their teams. But outside of those moments of friction being played up for television, which judge is a pleasure to work under on this over-the-top reality show?
‘Worst Cooks in America’ is a frustrating and fun Food Network attraction
Worst Cooks in America isn’t like other popular cooking competitions. These are not the best chefs in the world locked in a competition where everyone puts out great food, like Top Chef. Nor is it a collection of competent home cooks, like The Great British Baking Show. These are truly awful home cooks, often entered into the competition by friends and family trying to send a message.
Burrell squares off with a team of these recruits against another celebrity judge. She took on big names like Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, and a notoriously cantankerous single-season appearance by Alton Brown. The early episodes are especially ridiculous, as the worst of the worst fill up much of the running time.
The final few episodes of each season, however, tend to be more heartfelt and captivating television. The stakes aren’t notably high: $25,000 and a high-end cooking set for the winner of the grueling competition, according to Food Network. But each contestant in this final phase comes off like they’re ready to actually churn out restaurant-quality food even after the cameras stop rolling.
1 contestant revealed that a particular judge is the nicest
The celebrity judges regularly lash out at the most frustrating contestants on the show. Sometimes, these reactions seem out of line. Burrell, with all her years of experience across 25 seasons of the show, still flies into a rage when a particularly low bar of competence proves too much for one of her team members.
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Contestant Daniel Mar thinks Burrell is far nicer than her on-screen lashings imply. In a wide-ranging interview with Food Network, the Season 10 winner illustrates why she might be the most pleasant judge to work under.
“I love the way Chef Anne teaches. It’s clear and concise, and it gives you the information that you need. Nothing else. She doesn’t go off on a tangent or anything. She’s great,” Mar explained.
‘Worst Cooks’ already has 25 seasons with more to come
Experiences like Mar’s are common among Worst Cooks finalists. But the show remains controversial among cooking competition fans, Mashed reports. Simply put, the cooks are so absurdly bad at times that it seems staged. But Burrell and previous contestants insist that even the worst mistakes are very real, and sometimes dangerous.
Worst Cooks isn’t alone in producing moments that ring hollow due to the incompetence on display. Hell’s Kitchen is ostensibly a competition for professionals, but selects for personality over competence. Hence, a show where basic recipes are regularly botched.
That show is saved by the aggressive, yet lovably charismatic Gordon Ramsay. Best Cooks has Burrell regularly providing heartwarming moments as its antidote to simply being a show about funny failures. And fan-favorite judges like Michael Symon rotate in, adding much-needed warmth and depth to the show. Those kinds of production tweaks keep the series fresh — so it will run well past the 25 seasons filmed so far.
