Let’s face it–right about now you are missing your favorite shows and wondering why there are no new Glee episodes on. What, that’s just me? In any case, Food Network has two great shows headed our way that will help fill this void in new TV.
Worst Cooks In America: The premise of this show is to literally take the worst cooks in America and make them chefs. The contestants have been nominated by their friends and families who probably had to eat their cooking at some point, and each contestant has their own reason for wanting to learn to cook. The show is hosted by two professional chefs: Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan. For the first challenge, each contestant tries to impress the chefs with their dishes. What they don’t know is that Anne and Beau are looking for the worst dishes/contestants. They each get to choose the opposing team…in other words, Anne and Beau’s teams will be competing against each other, so each chef is trying to give the other one the worst contestants. Let me tell you, there are some pretty hideous dishes out there. Once they finally choose teams (red and blue), some people go home and the rest get to work in what Beau calls a cooking boot camp. Each chef teaches their team how to chop, cook vegetables and basically emulate a dish they cooked. Many contestants struggled, but many pulled through. I thought it was an interesting way to teach cooking–no real recipes, just teaching them techniques and how to cook certain things. It seemed to work well though.
I have to say I like Chef Beau much better than Chef Anne. Beau is very competitive (which I enjoy) but also not as harsh as Anne. So at this point, I am rooting for the blue team. I enjoyed this show a lot. If you like Food Network shows, this is a show for you to check out. I am interested to see how each contestant is able to become a good chef.
The ultimate outcome of the show (after the whole boot camp) is that the two contestants left standing will have to cook a three-course, restaurant quality meal for a panel of well respected food critics, but the critics will think that Anne and Beau are cooking for them. In other words, Anne and Beau are putting their reputation at stake for these contestants, so I hope they can teach them well. In addition, the winner gets 25 thousand dollars. The show is very unique. I’m sure there are many of us out there who would like to learn to cook (even if we aren’t the WORST cooks in America), and I found myself learning a few tidbits along the way.
Here’s a look at the contestants:
RED TEAM (Chef Anne Burrell)
- Eddie Chang (Jersey City, NJ): IT Project Manager
- Rachel Coleman (Brooklyn, NY): Marketing Website Editor
- Jennifer Cross (Philadelphia, PA): Waitress
- Hamed Hamad (North Hollywood, CA): Journalist and Fashion Consultant
- Rebecca Hooper (Sandy, UT): Salon Owner
- Kelly LoCascio (Scottsdale, AZ): Corporate Litigation Attorney
BLUE TEAM (Chef Beau MacMillan)
- Sophia Gettys (Aurora, CO): Stay-at-home Mom and Student
- Marque Hernandez (Brea, CA): Director of Clinical Operations
- Wilhelmenia Josephine (Aliso Viejo, CA): Stay-at-home Mom
- Susie Shoman (Georgetown, SC): Grants Administrator and Entrepreneur
- David Summey (Charlotte, NC): Salesman
- Jennifer Vecchio (Cumberland, RI): Dance Studio Owner
Be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 10 pm on the Food Network.
Super Chef Battle: An Iron Chef America Event
Iron Chef America is one of Food Network’s top shows. In a special edition of the show, they are going to have an incredible one-night event that premieres right before Worst Cooks in America. Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse will be at the White House to take part in an amazing culinary competition. The event is called Super Chef Battle, and there will be a special guest appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama. The Chefs will get their challenge from White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comeford. The challenge is to create a meal for America using materials from The White House Kitchen Garden as their secret ingredients. The judges will be made up of chef and best-selling cookbook author Nigella Lawson, Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin, and actress Jane Seymour.
If you like Iron Chef America, you will love this special event. Batali, Flay and Lagasse are some of America’s true top chefs and seeing them battle it out in the White House is great fun. It is also interesting to see the panel of judges, which is quite diverse. I just found myself wishing I could go to the White House garden and eat their food.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 8pm on the Food Network, right before Worst Cooks In America.
The TV Chick 