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Food Network Has The “Worst Cooks In America”
Published on: November 11, 2009 – 10:41 am by Jillian Madison 
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[Ed. note: I've been waiting for a legitimate, purely journalistic reason to write that article title for years. Thanks, Food Network!]
Worst Cooks In America, Food Network’s newest reality show, is set to premiere on January 3, 2010. In the 5 part series, people with zero cooking skills will complete a culinary boot camp led by Beau MacMillan (who?) and Anne Burrell. The cooks will then test their skills by competing in weekly elimination challenges, and the last person standing will win… $25,000.
(crickets)
$25,000? THAT’S IT? What is this, 1982? Way to be cheap, Food Network. But I digress.
“Watching the Worst Cooks in America struggle to become great cooks, makes a show that is very funny, dramatic and moving,” said Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President of Programming, Production, and Greed at the Food Network. “Ultimately, it offers hope for even the most kitchen-challenged of our viewers.”
No word yet on exactly who the Worst Cooks In America will be, but here’s to hoping Aaron McCargo and Sandra Lee are amongst them.
Other posts on Food Network Humor:
---Worst Cooks In America: The Video Game---Worst Cooks In America: Episode 1
---First Look: Worst Cooks In America Promo Video
---The Worst Of Food Network Magazine (June 2010 Edition)
---Beau MacMillan Worst Traffic Violator in America
THIS WEEK: Ina Garten's "beginner" recipes, new Food Network shows starting in September, thumbing through an issue of Semi-Homemade magazine, Rachael Ray's daytime talk show, Aarti's "accountability group", Claire Robinson on Big Daddy's House, another sensual reading of Alex Guarnaschelli's tweets, sink or swim voicemail, and much more.
Ha! Hardly a new concept–TFN already has this show in production:::It’s called THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR.
Meh. Seriously?
Can’t wait for that one! I think you mean 2010 though.
Thanks for catching that error. Fixed!
Bob Tuschman needs a head examination. $25,000? Indeed a paltry sum by today’s standards. I think this is a smart show idea. I’ll never give them actual credit for it though, because I think they’re all idiots. Picking terrible cooks should be easy. They would know better than anyone. Look at their line-up.
I see a common bond between so many of the newest shows on the FN: They all jumped the shark.
What an utter waste of one’s time.
I wonder what the criteria will be for choosing contestants? I’d like to submit a few people I know. My thoughts are they should take submissions by friends and family members of cooks who think they’re good, but in reality, everyone fears the crud they serve up. Then, a la Throwdown, they’re invited to show off their “skills”, but get hit upside the head that they are the “WORST COOK”.
$25,000 is not that much when you think what the show may make. Has anyone watched Family Feud lately? I think they still give the same money they did in the 70s.
I wonder where Doucheman keeps that barrel? You know, the one where he bends over the rim at the waist and reaches waaayyy down to the bottom to scrape out somemore detritus for his next great show idea…
So that I have a complete grasp of the show, who wins the $25 grand? The worst or best of the worst? And who is responsible for choosing the winner/looser? Do the judges get anything for eating what basically is shit food? Where does the money come from to pay for the psychiatric treatment costs?
And how many more concepts can Doucheman come up with by scraping the bottom of said barrel?
ugh.
Doesn’t Challenge only award $10,000?
yeah it only pays 10,000 dollars but that is a lot to me
i just puked a little
“Doesn’t Challenge only award $10,000?”
As does Chopped.
Challenge and Chopped are cheap then too. But those are frequent shows that air all the time. This is a one time 5 episode contest. $25k is paltry.
This sounds a lot like the biggest loser. People split into teams, mentored by 2 people and competing against each other. Hmmmmm
And the theme music-
Britney Spears “CIRCUS”
Got to admit, when I saw the headline for this entry, I thought perhaps some survey or study was done which determined that the Food Network as a whole had the worst cooks in America.
I saw the title, and was like YES!
Then I read the second paragraph, and was like DAMMIT!
Way to get my hopes up there, Jillian. :P
jk
I wouldn’t say no to $25,000.
I thought this would be a list of FN worst cooks as well.
Could we not just please have a cooking show that isn’t a contrived competition? No “elimination challenges,” just cooking. Is that too much to ask?
What a concept – the worst of the worst. And, actually, you don’t even have to BE an awful cook – you just have to act stupid/spastic for the camera and make FN/the viewers BELIEVE that you are – for the paycheck. I mean, why not – unless you intend on having a career as professional cook ?
And you get your few minutes of fame.
Send in the clowns !
@Di: Ah, you hit the nail on the head so very precisely. :)
oh joy, another food game show. I’m looking forward to a culinary “Let Make a Deal” or a Wheel of Fortune. And a whopping $25K to humiliate yourself on TV!
More retarded programming for retarded viewers.
Tuschman pilfered the concept from Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food. Why not brand him VP of Plagiarism in addition to VP Greed ?
@Alex: “Picking terrible cooks should be easy. They would know better than anyone. Look at their line-up.”
So true Alex! Right now Melissa D’Bacon’s signing up all her ding dong friends, the ones who raved about what a creative culinary genious she was.
Another reason not to watch Food TV. As several of you have said , I am sick of these competition shows, they bite! Hey Bob!, I got a few show ideas for you!
How about “Blind Grilling With A Next Network Star Loser”
Pair up a blind homeless person with someone who is Koren.
Or
“Food Network Stars and their favorite Roadkill Recipes”
TFN didn’t need a show about it, everyone already knew they have the worst cooks in America. Snorfle.
And the Chopped Champion/FN Challenge winner only gets ten grand. Seriously.
Speaking of competitions does anyone have as much of burning hate for Keegan whatever the hell is last name is from food network challenge?
I take it Shamdra Lee will emcee this competition seeing as she IS the worst cook in America??
What amazes me is that we all, very vocally, tell FN that the competition shows suck. What do they do? ADD more stupid competition shows. And not just a new one, but a new one with a whopping $25k prize, almost guaranteed to give us more McCargos and D’Arabians.
Are the execs at FN sick in the head?
Just you wait. Once they’re done picking the best of the worst, they’ll probably give them their own show.
Meghan
wrote this comment on:
November 11th, 2009
Speaking of competitions does anyone have as much of burning hate for Keegan whatever the hell is last name is from food network challenge?
Yup but that uptight bitch Kerry is the ultimate worst (in terms of cakes, Sandra Lee is the ultimate worst worst).
Sandra Lee should win. Also, I am pretty disgusted with her “kiddie coctails” it is putting the kids in training to be future alcoholics. They see their kiddie coctails, and aunt Sandy with the real thing every single time they are with her! come one…alcoholics in the making.
If you have children and they watch her you should have worse fears then the possibilty of future alcoholism…please some of my fondest memories are drinking shirley temples with my grandmother at the club…now I must go and tap a new box of wine…:)
People love competition shows! I am a sucker for them, hower 25K is nothing especially for weeks of those people going through all the crap they put them through. After taxes, there is really nothing left!
Great, more pablum programming. I anticipate FN to move more in this direction. Scrapps Networks is making their move to turn Fine Living Network into the Cooking Channel which will leave more room for crap on FN.
How about bringing back Sissy Biggers for Ready Set Cook.
Beau MacMillan is/was? a chef from Phoenix. He beat Booby Flay on Iron Chef.
Have you all seen the teaser for this? It could be funny?? Hahaha… well maybe. Jury is still out…
http://www.foodnetwork.com/worst-cooks-in-america/index.html
I haven’t decided yet if it is smart to post here and introduce myself yet… but I’m one of the WORST COOKS (Sophia)on the show, and I want to just say, it’s changed my life… it might or might not be funny or dramatic, but for me it was awesome! I have become inspired! And see food in a totally different way! I’ve lost 30 lbs with a change of diet and exercise! The diet change is cooking healthy meals at home! It was intense and there were funny moments… I can tell you that:)
Check it out. You might just like it!
How can this possibly be the Worst Cook In America? My sister is still here in San Antonio. She once made bacon gravy using powdered sugar instead of flour. Once she figured out why the gravy wasn’t getting thick, she still ate the mess.
Gay, lets see more Ramsey not this junk!
i think this is the most rediculius show that has been put on tv. anyone can stand and burn what they are cooking,no matter what age,those people that have been put in charge of doing that show really got took for idiots.its to late now tv itself is getting to bad to watch so i guess one more dumb show is gonna hurt any huh? its no wonder our children is not getting a good education,people are spending time and money on dumb shows like this for people to watch…..
This show is actually funny and also teaches. I am a worse cook than all of them and have actually learned a couple of things. Other than getting viewers and making money like all shows, there is a point. It wants to make us try to improve ourselves. I was actually inspired to read and follow a recipe this week. Reviews were bad but I will try again.
I would like to comment on the results of this competition.
I felt that, if in fact, they could not really cook the chefs were very sarcastic with them if they really were going to teach them. The final episode did not show respect to the degree of difficulty that Chef Beau’s student had to recreate. Chef Anne’s student’s dessert could not even be eaten by judges. I would not watch this program again.