The BEST episodes of Worst Cooks in America

Every episode of Worst Cooks in America ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Worst Cooks in America!

Recruits with poor cooking skills go through an eight-week culinary boot camp to earn a cash prize of $25,000. The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including: baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. The final challenge is to cook a restaurant quality three-course meal for three food critics.

Last Updated: 3/11/2024Network: Food NetworkStatus: Continuing
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This Ain't No Yolk
star
8.71
21 votes

#1 - This Ain't No Yolk

Season 21 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/21/2021

The recruits tackle the most important meal of the day, breakfast! They start by playing a fast-paced game to see how their skills stack up. Then chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall teach their teams how to cook an elaborate breakfast spread. In the main challenge, the recruits hope to earn a spot in the finale as they execute dishes requested by their loved ones and serve them family-style for all the remaining recruits and both chefs to taste.

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Between Two Buns
star
8.59
22 votes

#2 - Between Two Buns

Season 21 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/24/2021

The recruits start the week learning about flavor pairings in a wacky sandwich tasting game. For the skill drill, chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall have their teams put their own spin on fried chicken sandwiches. In the main challenge, the recruits rock and roll while creating unique roulades, but it may be the last week of boot camp for the least successful recruits.

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Fight for Finale
star
8.58
19 votes

#3 - Fight for Finale

Season 21 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/28/2021

To start off the final week in boot camp, the remaining recruits compete in a relay race that tests their speed, knowledge and skill in the kitchen. Then chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall teach their final two recruits how to make a three-course, restaurant-quality meal. For the last challenge, the two finalists put all their newly learned culinary skills to the test in order to impress a panel of culinary experts. Judges Adrienne Cheatham, JJ Johnson and George Mendes sample the recruits' dishes in a blind taste test and choose the winner of the $25,000 prize.

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Redemption
star
8.57
21 votes

#4 - Redemption

Season 22 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/25/2021

Eight recruits return to finally master the kitchen under the mentorship of Anne Burrell and Michael Symon. The chefs challenge the recruits to remake the dish that sent them home the first time. Then former Worst Cooks recruits watch and comment on an episode in which the contestants compete in boardwalk-themed cooking challenges led by Chef Anne and Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

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Viva Boot Camp
star
8.50
20 votes

#5 - Viva Boot Camp

Season 22 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/2/2021

Teams of recruits go head-to-head in a series of casino-themed culinary challenges under the watchful eyes of chefs Anne Burrell and Michael Symon. Then former Worst Cooks recruits watch and comment on a Celebrity Edition finale with Wells Adams and Johnny Bananas.

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Bonkers for Baked Goods
star
8.48
21 votes

#6 - Bonkers for Baked Goods

Season 21 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/14/2021

It's time for the recruits to learn about the wonderful world of desserts. They get a crash course in cake decorating from pastry chef Zac Young, and then their cake decorating skills are put to the test. For the skill drill, chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall teach the recruits how to make anything-but-ordinary cupcakes. Then the recruits return to the savory side when they have to make fresh pasta from scratch. The least successful dishes earn their recruits a trip home.

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Hook, Line and Sink 'Em
star
8.40
25 votes

#7 - Hook, Line and Sink 'Em

Season 21 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/31/2021

Chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall congratulate the recruits for mastering the land, but now it's time to conquer the sea. First, the teams go head-to-head in a seafood identification game with trivia questions and traveling by boat to grab ingredients. The skill drill challenge has them whipping up steaming bowls of mussels, and in the main challenge, the chefs task their recruits with making seafood risotto. The least successful recruits who are still lost at sea are sent home.

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Eat Your Heart Out
star
8.27
22 votes

#8 - Eat Your Heart Out

Season 20 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/26/2020

The final four recruits walk into boot camp to find photos of their past kitchen disasters and play a quick game that takes them on a trip down memory lane. Then, Chef Anne Burrell and Chef Alex Guarnaschelli show the recruits how to make classic comfort food dishes before the recruits cook for their toughest critics and the people who sent them to boot camp -- their loved ones! With hearts and bellies full, only two recruits move on to the finale, while the bottom recruits will be sent home.

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The Day We've Been Waiting For
star
8.24
21 votes

#9 - The Day We've Been Waiting For

Season 15 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/3/2019

The final two recruits begin with one last Skill Drill before Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence give them the opportunity to pick any dish they'd like to learn in a private lesson. The recruits then learn a three-course, restaurant-quality meal before the Main Dish Challenge where all their newly learned culinary skills are put to the test. Judges Debi Mazar, Michael Psilakis and Jessica Tom take the recruits' dishes into a blind taste test to determine who will win the $25,000 grand prize.

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Fight for Food Fame
star
8.22
18 votes

#10 - Fight for Food Fame

Season 20 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/2/2020

In the last skill drill, the final two recruits are challenged by a couple of cooks who aren't kidding around -- Chopped Junior Champions! Then, Chef Anne Burrell and Chef Alex Guarnaschelli teach the recruits their finale menus. For the final main dish challenge, the recruits put their newly learned skills to the test by cooking a three-course restaurant quality meal for a panel of culinary experts. Judges Mary Giuliani, James Tahhan and Julian Rodarte blindly taste each course and determine the winner who will take home $25,000!

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Worst to First
star
8.18
38 votes

#11 - Worst to First

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/20/2011

The final two recruits must prepare a three-course meal in a real restaurant kitchen for a panel of demanding gourmands. Chefs Anne and Robert devise a menu, send the recruits shopping for ingredients and then help their recruit practice the menu for three short hours. The next day, the recruits find themselves at New York’s Tribeca Grill, where they'll cook for culinary experts Marc Murphy, Donatella Arpaia and Drew Nieporent. After much deliberation, the panel reveals its choice for the best-executed meal.

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Boardwalk Bites
star
8.17
24 votes

#12 - Boardwalk Bites

Season 20 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/12/2020

The recruits kick off the day with a doughnut eating game to learn about flavors -- Glaze of Glory! Then, they put their newfound knowledge to the test by making their own uniquely flavored doughnuts for the skill drill. For the main dish challenge, Chef Anne Burrell and Chef Alex Guarnaschelli teach the recruits how to make sausages from scratch, and the recruits must grind, case and flavor their own sausage sandwiches. The two bottom recruits who don't "meat" the chefs' expectations will be sent home.

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Happy Campers
star
8.16
19 votes

#13 - Happy Campers

Season 22 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/9/2021

Chefs Anne Burrell and Michael Symon watch as the recruits cook using only camping equipment and utensils. Then former recruits watch and comment on an episode with international food-inspired challenges and mentor Rachael Ray.

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The Cost of Cooking
star
8.15
20 votes

#14 - The Cost of Cooking

Season 20 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/19/2020

Chef Anne Burell and Chef Alex Guarnaschelli are in full game-show mode as the recruits play a game to see if they can determine a higher quality ingredient from a lower quality ingredient solely by taste. Then, things take a turn in the skill drill challenge when the red team goes head-to-head with the blue team. For the main dish challenge, the recruits tackle breaking down a full fish to make a "sofishticated" dinner. The least successful recruit on each team will be sent home.

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Sauce Boss
star
8.13
23 votes

#15 - Sauce Boss

Season 21 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/17/2021

Boot camp gets a retro, '80s makeover, and the recruits use their palates and culinary senses to learn about different sauces in a zany "Balls to the Wall" game. Then chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall teach their recruits how to make meatballs and sauce from scratch. In the main challenge, the recruits are tasked with making the ultimate saucy dish, enchiladas. Unfortunately, the fiesta is over for the two recruits with the least successful dishes.

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Garden of Eat'n
star
8.13
24 votes

#16 - Garden of Eat'n

Season 21 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/10/2021

Boot Camp challenges help the recruits understand how food gets from the farm to their fork. Chefs Anne Burrell and Carla Hall show them how to make meatless meals, and the recruits are judged on their pairings of seasonal fruit and meat. Former recruits react to a Derby Day-themed episode of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition featuring Chef Anne and Chef Tyler Florence.

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Celebrity: There's No "We" in Food
star
8.12
26 votes

#17 - Celebrity: There's No "We" in Food

Season 16 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/26/2019

The celebrity recruits are left to run free in boot camp, working in teams to recreate a dish from taste alone. Unbeknownst to them, though, chefs Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence are secretly watching their every move. Then the celebs battle it out in their toughest competition yet, a Chopped-style showdown to determine which two will make it to the finale.

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Spoiled Rotten: Culinary Cadets
star
8.10
10 votes

#18 - Spoiled Rotten: Culinary Cadets

Season 27 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/14/2024

Chefs Anne Burrell and Tiffany Derry have their mission: culinary basic training! Their pampered recruits have ignored the kitchen for far too long, and it's time to learn the basics. Teams face off to collect the most medals in culinary and physical tasks, and the winning team gets an advantage for the next challenge. In the skill drill, Anne and Tiffany task their teams with replicating chicken paillard with salad, and things get spicy when the chefs teach their teams how to make lamb curry. Some recruits can handle the heat, but those who can't must exit the boot camp kitchen.

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Celebrity: That's a Wrap
star
8.10
21 votes

#19 - Celebrity: That's a Wrap

Season 16 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/2/2019

In the final week of boot camp, mentors Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence want to remind their celebrity recruits just how far they've come. After watching a highlight reel of their not-so-finest moments, the final two celebrities are asked to recreate their baseline dishes using all the techniques they've learned over the past six weeks. For the final challenge, the two finalists must create a three-course meal for culinary experts Leah Cohen, Zac Posen and Melba Wilson, who decide which celebrity takes home $25,000 for the charity of their choice.

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Worst to First: The Final Battle
star
8.09
23 votes

#20 - Worst to First: The Final Battle

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/1/2012

In the final battle, the two remaining recruits must execute their own three-course menu for a panel of culinary titans at David Burke Kitchen, a restaurant in New York City. Bobby and Anne work with their respective recruits to design the menus, taking into account their personal culinary journeys. The contestants learn new techniques, shop for groceries, practice their menus and execute all three courses in a dramatic end to an exhausting competition. Finally, the panel of culinary experts — including David Burke, Marcus Samuelsson and Susan Feniger — determine which chef has moved from worst to first and will walk away with the $25,000 grand prize.

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Let's Make a Meal!
star
8.06
16 votes

#21 - Let's Make a Meal!

Season 23 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/23/2022

For the final week in boot camp, the remaining recruits must put their newfound knowledge to use in the real world by foraging for produce at a rooftop farm. Then they have to create unique dishes with a curated box of farm-fresh ingredients. Chefs Anne Burrell and Cliff Crooks teach their final two recruits how to make a three-course, restaurant-quality meal, and the finalists must draw on all of their new culinary skills to impress a panel of culinary experts. Judges Matt Abdoo, Kwame Onwuachi and Millie Peartree sample the recruits' dishes in a blind taste test and determine the winner of the $25,000 prize.

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Surprise!
star
8.06
33 votes

#22 - Surprise!

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/10/2014

The recruits may have mastered putting out one plate of food but they are still a far cry from being able to cook for their families. This week's challenges teach them how to cook quantity — first rolling sushi for a hungry lunch rush via conveyor belt and then catering a huge party for surprise guest Betsey Johnson.

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Facing Food Fears
star
8.05
37 votes

#23 - Facing Food Fears

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/6/2011

The six remaining recruits make sausage from scratch during a trip to a butcher shop. Then, they face their seafood fears when tasked with cleaning and prepping whole fish and squid.

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Timer's Up
star
8.05
22 votes

#24 - Timer's Up

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/31/2014

It's Chef Bobby's last recruit versus Chef Anne's last recruit to determine the ultimate winner of Worst Cooks in America. In one last face-off, finalists will cook a refined three-course meal in a professional restaurant kitchen for a panel of culinary experts who will decide which chef-mentor is the better teacher by leading his or her recruit to a $25,000 victory.

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Worst Food Forward
star
8.04
52 votes

#25 - Worst Food Forward

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/2/2011

Sixteen unskilled home cooks arrive in New York City to begin a culinary boot camp in the Season 2 opener. Hosts Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine divide the recruits into two teams and challenge them to butcher a whole chicken and replicate the entrées they've been taught.

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