‘Worst Cooks In America’ Sets Season 30 Cast After Anne Burrell’s Death
What To Know
- Season 30 of Worst Cooks in America premieres January 4 and features celebrity contestants coached by Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry.
- The new episodes mark the first season since former host Anne Burrell’s death earlier this year.
- This season’s cast includes stars from reality TV, sports, and entertainment, such as Lisa Barlow, Val Chmerkovskiy, and Ryan Lochte.
Worst Cooks in America is putting a reality TV twist on its first season without the late Anne Burrell.
The cooking competition show returns for Season 30, titled Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check, on Sunday, January 4. Food Network stars Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry will work to “transform an all-star cast from cooking disasters to kitchen masters with an intense culinary boot camp like no other,” per a Wednesday, December 3, press release.
“Each chef takes a team of celebrity recruits through their paces with entertainment-themed challenges including Blockbuster Bites, The Worst Lotus and Agents of Flavor, but only the last competitor standing wins $25,000 for the charity of their choice and bragging rights for their mentor,” the description continues.
This season’s star-studded cast of competitors includes The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‘s Lisa Barlow, MTV VJ Downtown Julie Brown, Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy, Shahs of Sunset‘s Reza Farahan, Love & Hip Hop: Miami star Amara La Negra, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Manila Luzon, rapper and actor Romeo Miller, 7th Heaven actress Beverley Mitchell, and The Challenges‘ CT Tamburello.
The season premiere will see the contestants show off their cooking abilities (or lack thereof) in a baseline challenge. For their main dish, Mauro and Derry will help the group make “a bold and spicy Piri Piri chicken,” per the release. Those who fail to rise to the occasion will face off in a blind elimination cook-off.
“Upcoming challenges include Blockbuster Bites, a movie genre-inspired game that tests palates, culinary knowledge and dramatic instincts; The Worst Lotus, a head-to-head relay race through a faux-luxury resort to create poolside platters; and Agents of Flavor, a scavenger hunt to uncover ingredients and piece together a mystery dish,” this season’s description reveals. “In the finale on Sunday, February 1st, the two most-improved recruits must create a three-course restaurant quality meal for guest judges and the winner is awarded $25,000 for charity and bragging rights for their team leader.”
In a press release statement, Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery, said, “The kitchen is not where this season’s celebrity recruits shine – but Jeff and Tiffany are determined to change that. Worst Cooks is where comedy and cooking chaos collide, but in the end there are some impressive culinary transformations that will blow our audience away.”
Season 30 will mark the show’s return after the death of former host Anne Burrell. The Food Network star died at the age of 55 on June 17. Her cause of death was later ruled a suicide. The show paid tribute to Burrell during the show’s Season 29 premiere in July with an ending card that read, “In Memoriam. Anne Burrell. 1969 – 2025.”
Worst Cooks in America, Season 30 Premiere, Sunday, January 4, 8/7c, Food Network, Streaming Next Day on HBO Max
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