Originally posted onDecember 3, 2025 @ 3:13 pm
Worst Cooks in America Announces New Cast
Food Network kicks off the new year with lights, camera, catastrophe in the kitchen in the premiere of Worst Cooks in America:Reality Check on Sunday, January 4th at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network and streaming the next day on HBO Max. This season, Chefs Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry are on a mission to transform an all-star cast from cooking disasters to kitchen masters with an intense culinary boot camp like no other. 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 recruits are: Lisa Barlow(Real Housewives of Salt Lake City), Downtown Julie Brown (MTV VJ), Val Chmerkovskiy (Dancing with the Stars), Reza Farahan (Shahs of Sunset), Amara La Negra(Love & Hip Hop: Miami), Ryan Lochte(Olympic swimmer), Manila Luzon (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Romeo Miller (rapper/actor), Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven) and CT Tamburello (The Challenge).
“The kitchen is not where this season’s celebrity recruits shine – but Jeff and Tiffany are determined to change that,” said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. “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.”
In the supersized season premiere, the celebrity recruits are trading scripts for spatulas as they enter culinary boot camp. Chefs Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry are ready to mold these stars into kitchen MVPs – but first, they need to see what they are working with. In the baseline challenge, the celebs whip up red carpet-worthy dishes to show off, or expose, their culinary chops. Then in the main dish challenge, the chefs teach their teams how to make a bold and spicy Piri Piri chicken. Some recruits rise to the occasion, while others fizzle out. The least successful celebs must face off in a blind elimination cook-off and only one will survive to cook another day. 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. 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.
Fans can visit FoodNetwork.com to get to know the mentors, celebrity recruits and keep up with every disastrous moment. On social, use #WorstCooks to follow along with the competition and learn the basics of cooking with extended boot camp demos from Tiffany and Jeff.
Worst Cooks in America is produced by Objective Media Group America, an All3 Media America company.
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