Worst Cooks in America Recap for 1/4/2026

 

Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check has a new batch of celebrities learning how to cook, Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry are the judges/hosts.

 

The winner will take home $25,000 for their favorite charity.

 

Everyone has to cook something…..anything…..and most of them can’t even put on an apron.

 

Lisa Barlow has no idea how to use a microwave and wants to know how to finally cook for her family. She is attempting chicken parm, burrata and truffle mac and cheese.

 

Amara La Negra from Love and Hip Hop wants to make her mom proud and learn how to cook since mom was a great cook. She makes jambalaya paella and also wants her mom to reopen her restaurants.

 

Ryan Lochte wants his cooking skills to match his swimming skills. He is making chicken and jasmine rice to make up for burning microwave mac and cheese.

 

Reza is making…..I have no idea, he is just throwing random crap together. He wants to finally cook for his husband.

 

Downtown Julie Brown compares this to therapy. She makes Shepard’s pie….and tells a story of serving food with ants on it.

 

CT is used to ordering food and wants to actually cook.

 

Val Chmerkovskiy had an olive oil boiling disaster, yet thinks he can make borscht.

 

Manila Luzon makes bananas and ketchup….all righty then! She is also making Filipino spaghetti.

 

Lil’ Romeo can’t figure out how to roll dough for pizza. He almost burned down his cousin’s house while making steak and therefore, fired from cooking.

 

Beverley Mitchell makes a ton of veggies with chorizo and says her husband is glad she gave up on cooking.

 

At least everyone seems to be having fun?

 

Val didn’t even realize the food needed to be plated.

 

Lil’ Romeo is confused about making his pizza but offers moral support. He is so cute.

 

Amara focuses on a pretty presentation while CT just snacks on stuff.

 

Everyone tastes each other’s food and Romeo declares Julie his Juliet. It is fun, even if some of the dishes weren’t tasty. At least Val is sweet enough to eat everyone’s food without complaining.

 

Lisa’s food has hair in it.

 

Mark Long leads the cook-off challenge with Jeff and Tiffany. The winner will build their dream team. The challenge is to reinvent Beverley’s dish, which was deemed the worst.

 

It is fun to watch everyone cook and try and come up with their own versions of the dish.

 

Tiffany wins and chooses Reza, Val, Manila, Lil’ Romeo and Amara for her red team.

 

Julie, Lisa, CT, Ryan and Beverley are on the blue team.

 

Each team will have a master class on how to make chicken peri-peri with couscous and Brussel sprouts. They will then have to recreate the dish and have it judged. The worst cook will be eliminated.

 

Each celebrity cooks their dish, hoping that it actually comes out edible.

 

Before long, it is time for the dishes to be judged. Jeff and Tiffany give the pros and cons of each, while Lisa contemplates a salt line.

 

Reza wins for the red team and Beverley wins for the blue team. CT, Julie and Lisa are also safe.

 

Ryan is up for elimination.

 

Val, Amara and Manila are also safe.

 

Lil’ Romeo is also safe for elimination.

 

They will need to cook a chicken skewer dish with a dipping sauce in 15 minutes.

 

Ryan wins, meaning Lil’ Romeo is eliminated, but he gets to donate $2,500 to Our Lives Matter, a charity that helps vets and older people. He will also donate money to JDRF, for juvenile diabetes research.

 

More next week, stay tuned.