Worst Cooks In America - General Discussion

[Koalagirl]

I thought Cliff was going to be a humorless stick in the mud but I’m pleasantly surprised. After the first few minutes he looked like he was enjoying himself. What a counterpoint to Alton Brown who acted as if he’d rather be boiled in oil than participate. 

[Catfi9ht]

On 1/10/2022 at 12:01 PM, Koalagirl said:

I thought Cliff was going to be a humorless stick in the mud but I’m pleasantly surprised. After the first few minutes he looked like he was enjoying himself. What a counterpoint to Alton Brown who acted as if he’d rather be boiled in oil than participate. 

I get that vibe from most of the male chefs especially Bobby Flay and Tyler Florence.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Honestly, the only ones I don't like are Alton and Robert Irvine. And Anne, of course. 

[mlp]

Is it my imagination or is this group louder and wackier than the usual cast of misfits?  I'm finding most of them annoying rather than entertaining.  I was actually sorry to see Denise go.  I knew she would never make it to the end but I was amused by her quiet but funny (to me) comments and reactions.  I can't stand the blonde English teacher so I was disappointed she got to stay.

I really like Cliff in his role.  I also enjoy watching him work when the camera focuses on what he's doing.  The way he uses his hands is so smooth and fluid that it's obvious he has years of experience and expertise.

[Catfi9ht]

12 hours ago, mlp said:

I was actually sorry to see Denise go.  I knew she would never make it to the end but I was amused by her quiet but funny (to me) comments and reactions.  I can't stand the blonde English teacher so I was disappointed she got to stay.

Completely agree. Denise was my favorite contestant. The married couple is ridiculously annoying and toxically codependent with the wife being the more obnoxious one.

When she announced she was okay to the entire room when she cried while being judged, I rolled my eyes so hard. I really wished she went home.

The drag queens being over the top is no surprise because that comes with the job, but I find their relationship really sweet which makes them much more tolerable for me.

It's kinda interesting the married couple has an unhealthy relationship while it appears the queens have a healthy one.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Catfi9ht
Fixed wording

[Jaded]

I haven't been able to bring myself to watch this show again after the winner from Season 20 was arrested for child abuse which lead to murder last year. She's still in jail with no bond pending trial. She was really annoying (to say the least) on this show and her stupid stomach related antics which really made me dislike the way they cast people even more. 

A lot of us would rather see toned down people who want to learn how to cook better without all of the overacted theatrics. I don't mind people being kind of quirky here or there having said that too many of the contestants on Worst Cooks since I started watching a few years ago have been to distracting in a bad way to be entertaining.

These two articles are from Nov/Dec of last year following up from when Season 20's winner and her husband were originally arrested at the start of 2021. If reading details about child abuse is a trigger for you don't read either of these.

Simpsonville woman accused of homicide by child abuse has been ordered to submit DNA (Readable if one hasn't hit their limit of free articles)

DNA Requested for ‘Worst Cooks in America’ Winner, Accused of Beating Little Girl to Death Days Before Adoption

[Mr. Sparkle]

I watch this show purely for entertainment purposes. That said, I much prefer the actual cooking and instruction parts to the dumb games and "characters." It feels that many of them are there to get more Instagram followers. 

Regarding that horrific incident, she can stay in prison for the rest of her life as far as I'm concerned. The show did the right thing by removing all mention of her. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Well, Denise was my second-least favorite, so I'm not sad to see her go. Unfortunately, my least favorite remains. Of course it's Kara. Hopefully she and her husband are the next 2 to go. 

Other than that, like I said 41 minutes ago, I hate the dumb obstacle course challenges. I like when they taste a food and try to guess what's in it. I'd like to see more of that. 

If they're only eliminating one WC a week, does that mean we have another 2 months of this?? 

[seacliffsal]

I find these fame seekers contestants to be too "on" and smug for me to find them entertaining.  I am glad Hector went home this episode as I really didn't like him (he was my least favorite followed closely by Kara).  I am glad that the Queens chose to wear outfits that, while stylish, did not look as much like bathing suits as during the previous episode (I don't want to watch anyone cooking while scantily clad).  I do like them though.  I wish they would get rid of the side-show challenges (who can eat the most watermelon?  really?) and focus on the two food based challenges instead.

I still visualize Cliff's assault on Marcel from Top Chef, however, Ilan and the other contestant should have also been eliminated from the show (in my opinion only, a prank does not involve taking clippers to someone's head while they are sleeping in order to shave his head).  I do appreciate Cliff's demeanor on this show but as he has chosen to be a t.v. personality, I can choose to remember his previous actions/antics while on a t.v. show.

[HyeChaps]

The hair!  The hair!  It will either go into the food or catch fire.

[Violet Penner]

I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth about Cliff ever since his assault of Marcel, but admit I am warming to him a bit. At a minimum, as a contestant I would much prefer to be on his team since he has a bit more of a low key vibe. Anne just yells. So. Much. Makes people who are already stressed out even more stressed. 

The drag queens are a lot, but I also love them—esp Peachez. 

I do wish the show was 1h instead of 1h30

[Rahul]

On 1/13/2022 at 12:22 AM, mlp said:

Is it my imagination or is this group louder and wackier than the usual cast of misfits?  I'm finding most of them annoying rather than entertaining.  I was actually sorry to see Denise go.  I knew she would never make it to the end but I was amused by her quiet but funny (to me) comments and reactions.  I can't stand the blonde English teacher so I was disappointed she got to stay.

I'm actually finding this batch of contestants more demure than the wacky personas we usually get, which is making this season very watchable for me. I usually detest drag queens (they scare me a bit and are usually very mean and judgmental), so I'm surprised to be enjoying the pair of Marti and Peachez. The editing has also been vastly toned down, which leads me to believe they have hired new people behind the scenes in the past few seasons.

I also think Cliff is a calming presence and didn't make the Top Chef connection until it was pointed out here.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Well! I am actually surprised for maybe the second or third time since I've been watching this show. 

[Maverick]

 Dear Cliff, Mornay is not a mother sauce.  Béchamel is mother sauce and by adding cheese you get the child sauce Mornay.

[Westiepeach]

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

Well! I am actually surprised for maybe the second or third time since I've been watching this show. 

I did NOT see that coming...

[SilverLake0315]

4 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

I did NOT see that coming...

And it felt genuine. Everyone seemed shocked.

[Maverick]

 Yes, it truly seemed to come out of nowhere and took everyone off guard.  Was she just tired of the show?   Did something happen.  I'm a bit cynical and while I can believe she truly liked the other woman and wanted to help her, I feel like there had to be something else motivating her to leave.  She didn't seem to care at all that she was giving up her chance.   

[Westiepeach]

5 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 Yes, it truly seemed to come out of nowhere and took everyone off guard.  Was she just tired of the show?   Did something happen.  I'm a bit cynical and while I can believe she truly liked the other woman and wanted to help her, I feel like there had to be something else motivating her to leave.  She didn't seem to care at all that she was giving up her chance.   

Maybe because her friend was the first one eliminated and it wasn’t fun for her anymore?

[Maverick]

 Possibly.  I haven't been paying close attention to this season and didn't realize her partner had been voted off.   I wouldn't be surprised if they want the final two to be partners and maybe she realized that and her chances of winning were zero.   

[Mr. Sparkle]

I think Melody and Al were the ones who didn't come with anyone. It was Hilda (who could be cast as Melody's mother) who was partnered with Deneise, the first person to go. 

That said, I agree Melody seemed more than willing to leave. 

I thought Peachez was going to go, and that would've sucked. 

[Westiepeach]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I think Melody and Al were the ones who didn't come with anyone. It was Hilda (who could be cast as Melody's mother) who was partnered with Deneise, the first person to go. 

Whoops, you are correct. I had the wrong people paired up! 

[mlp]

I think Cliff and Anne must have known that was going to happen.  Why else would the two of them just stand there and let a contestant overrule a mentor's decision like they had no say in the matter?  

[seacliffsal]

I bet Cliff is not happy with the switch-out as the contestant who left was consistently better than Cheyenne.  Send them both home in the situation-and she could have said something before he eliminated Cheyenne.  I think she was just over the stupid games, etc.

[El maestro]

This show has become more and more unwatchable as the years go by. I just like Cliff the new chef, but I can’t stand Anne and most of the contestants, specially the screaming drag queens and the couples.

[SilverLake0315]

Can we keep Cliff and rotate Anne out?

[Cozytea]

8 hours ago, SilverLake0315 said:

Can we keep Cliff and rotate Anne out?

My favorite was Michael Symon  but I really like Cliff. I think Anne has been doing the show too long, a break might be needed.

[mlp]

Cliff has redeemed himself from his long ago disgrace on Top Chef when he was much younger.  I really like him.  I especially like to listen to him talk.  He sounds like he could be a university professor but his bio on Wikipedia says he started cooking as a teenager and he never went to college apparently.  I hope he does another season.

Al was my favorite recruit and I was sorry to see him leave.  My guess is that they are going to gradually eliminate everyone except the two highly annoying and loud drag queens and they'll end up facing off in the finale.

There was a time when Anne would have put the kibosh on people wearing high heels in the kitchen not to mention long dangling hair, flammable wigs and sleeves large enough to be a fire hazard.  I wish she'd go back to that.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, mlp said:

Cliff has redeemed himself from his long ago disgrace on Top Chef when he was much younger.  I really like him.  I especially like to listen to him talk.  He sounds like he could be a university professor but his bio on Wikipedia says he started cooking as a teenager and he never went to college apparently.  I hope he does another season.

Al was my favorite recruit and I was sorry to see him leave.  My guess is that they are going to gradually eliminate everyone except the two highly annoying and loud drag queens and they'll end up facing off in the finale.

There was a time when Anne would have put the kibosh on people wearing high heels in the kitchen not to mention long dangling hair, flammable wigs and sleeves large enough to be a fire hazard.  I wish she'd go back to that.

Yeah, Al was my favorite too.  I agree that it looks like the goal is for the two attention hog drag queens to be the finalists.  I was OK with them in the beginning but now they are just way over the top annoying and they can leave my screen any time now.  I've realized that if it wasn't for the two of them I'd be enjoying this season more.

Cliff is enjoyable.  He's the first guest host not to look like he's being held there against his will.  Who'd a'thunk that a guy so even tempered and rational could go there with the quirky stuff and even put on costumes?  He manages to retain his straight-man demeanor even while involved in the most ridiculous situations.  I love it.  He's one of the only reasons I'm still watching.

[Ms Lark]

The drag queens may be annoying, but I'd rather watch them than some of the previous seasons' wack jobs (and one murderer)!

Kudos to all of them. Chiles Rellenos (just cheese, nothing fancy) were one of my favorite dishes growing up in the Southwest. I learned to make most Tex-Mex dishes, but could not (and still haven't) mastered them. So 👍.

 

[Cozytea]

1 hour ago, Ms Lark said:

The drag queens may be annoying, but I'd rather watch them than some of the previous seasons' wack jobs (and one murderer)!

Kudos to all of them. Chiles Rellenos (just cheese, nothing fancy) were one of my favorite dishes growing up in the Southwest. I learned to make most Tex-Mex dishes, but could not (and still haven't) mastered them. So 👍.

 

I love the Drag Queens. You're absolutely right,  compared to the past wackos, they actually make me laugh. They also seem to want to learn how to cook.

(Off to Google worst cook murderer. )

* omg why did I Google that? So horribly sad.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Cozytea

[HyeChaps]

I do not like the husband and wife.  If Al can't be the winner,  I root for the Queens.

 

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I like the drag queens, and I like Cliff. For whatever reason, I am not into this season. It may be that it's on Wednesday instead of Sunday. Most likely, it's that it's just more of the same. I'm glad the most recent episodes have been only an hour, and I'm glad there's only 2 episodes left. I might sit the next one out. 

[Koalagirl]

The contestants seem to have calmed down a bit as it’s nearing the end. They asked some very good questions during the cooking demonstration and seem to be taking the competition seriously now. 

[SilverLake0315]

Anne bugs me more often than not, but “You’re gonna see him at home…” made me laugh. 

Also, I unapologetically love Peachez and Marti. I hope they’re the final two!

[mlp]

I had TV problems and wasn't able to watch this episode.  Who was sent home?

[SilverLake0315]

13 minutes ago, mlp said:

I had TV problems and wasn't able to watch this episode.  Who was sent home?

Eddie and Hilda

[Catfi9ht]

I didn't like the way Cliff talked to his team during remote control chef. He was rude and dismissive. Sure, they can't cook, but it's because they haven't been given the tools, not because they're idiots. On the other hand, Anne is so practiced at it she makes it look easy.

I've really been digging Peachez's food combinations. The gorgonzola in the relleno was really creative. Marti clearly knows what "good food" pairs well together but seems less practiced at kitchen skills than Peachez.

I hope it's the Queens in the finale, but the way Anne and the editing has been pushing Kara makes me nervous.

[Ms Lark]

Well, that ended well! I didn't care which one won since I like them both. Probably one of the better finales, if not the best. I was so glad Ann didn't pick blondie to represent her.

[eelpout]

On 2/11/2022 at 11:43 AM, mlp said:

gradually eliminate everyone except the two highly annoying and loud drag queens and they'll end up facing off in the finale.

not surprised at the final two.

did anyone else observe their knife skills over the season in the occasional edit? (aside from what I believe was staged Peachez problems in the finale). they weren't new to this.

I have the feeling these two are line cooks somewhere and this entire season was planned.

[mlp]

I was pretty sure the drag queens would end up opposing each other in the finale when they put them on different teams at the beginning.  So much of this show is phony that the only thing that surprised me was that Peaches won.  I was expecting the older one to and thought her meal looked better.  I am glad that Cliff won though.

When Anne's cook (forgot her name already) pulled her cheesecakes out of the oven with just moments left, she took the metal rings off them with her bare hands.  No way that happened like that.  Also, one of them made a drink which seemed to be the consistency of yogurt with lumps in it when we saw it being plopped into cups.  It wasn't even thin enough to pour.  There's no way the judges sipped that stuff through their little straws.

The best part of this season for me was listening to Cliff talk and watching him work.  I hope he got some hazardous duty pay for having to hug Peaches at the end with his face buried in her revolting wig.

[seacliffsal]

Hats off to whomever accurately predicted that the two drag queens would be in the finale.  I liked them, but had to turn the volume waaaaay down in order to watch this.  Now, this is petty, but I don't ever remember a finale in which they allowed the final two to completely change into different outfits (wigs, nails, etc.) before hearing who won the challenge.  Wonder how long those judges had to wait around before announcing the victor.

I know they like over the top contestants, but I think it would be entertaining without all of the "zaniness." 

[RealityCheck]

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: CELEBRITY EDITION That's So 90s begins airing Sunday April 24 at 9PM with mentors Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro.

Quote

The recruits are:

• Lori Beth Denberg (All That)
• Elisa Donovan (Clueless)
• Tracey Gold (Growing Pains)
• Jennie Kwan (California Dreams)
• Matthew Lawrence (Boy Meets World)
• Mark Long (Road Rules)
• Jodie Sweetin (Full House)
• Nicholle Tom (The Nanny)
• Curtis Williams (The Parent ‘Hood)

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by RealityCheck

[Mr. Sparkle]

I've actually heard of 3 of those. 

[Yeah No]

I lived through the 90s and I don't know of any of them even though I know most of the shows.  I'll watch the first episode but if it is anything like last season, I'm out.  And I normally love drag queens so it's not about that, plus I've watched both versions of this show since season 1 and I've never felt like this until now.  I just think it was very obvious that they were going to make to the end and I didn't like it that they were so loud and obnoxious that they took over the entire show and everyone else was like a mute shadow flashing by the screen.  No thanks.

[Lamb18]

3 hours ago, RealityCheck said:

WORST COOKS IN AMERICA: CELEBRITY EDITION That's So 90s begins airing Sunday April 24 at 9PM with mentors Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro.

 

Jodi Sweetin is currently on Beyond the Edge. I guess she recovered enough from that to do Worst Cooks.

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I lived through the 90s and I don't know of any of them even though I know most of the shows.  I'll watch the first episode but if it is anything like last season, I'm out.  And I normally love drag queens so it's not about that, plus I've watched both versions of this show since season 1 and I've never felt like this until now.  I just think it was very obvious that they were going to make to the end and I didn't like it that they were so loud and obnoxious that they took over the entire show and everyone else was like a mute shadow flashing by the screen.  No thanks.

It was just a snooze-fest for me. I'm glad it's going back to Sunday. That just makes more sense to me, for reasons I can't even fathom. 

[mlp]

I've never heard of a single one of those "celebrities" and I've never watched any of those shows so this season will be pretty much like a regular season of nobodies for me.  

[Koalagirl]

Drag Queen Marty and another drag queen were bartenders on Watch What Happens Live and were dressed up as Meredith Marks and !isa Barlow from RHOSLC. Marty did a great Lisa Barlow.

As far as the upcoming season, Nicholle Tom portrayed the oldest daughter on The Nanny for those of you who watched the series. 

[Maverick]

10 hours ago, Superclam said:

I've actually heard of 3 of those. 

 I've heard of 4, which surprises me.

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I lived through the 90s and I don't know of any of them even though I know most of the shows.  I'll watch the first episode but if it is anything like last season, I'm out.  And I normally love drag queens so it's not about that, plus I've watched both versions of this show since season 1 and I've never felt like this until now.  I just think it was very obvious that they were going to make to the end and I didn't like it that they were so loud and obnoxious that they took over the entire show and everyone else was like a mute shadow flashing by the screen.  No thanks.

 Mark Long was on the very first MTV Road Rules.  

 As for last season, I don't care for contestants who are loud and wacky all the time.  Plus, while this show has obviously been scripted for years--if not since the beginning--it was blatantly obvious that a pair was going to end up un the finals, with odds being it would be the drag queens.

10 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Jodi Sweetin is currently on Beyond the Edge. I guess she recovered enough from that to do Worst Cooks.

 This may have been filmed before that.   Food Network tends to film way in advance and let things sit on the shelf for a while.

8 hours ago, Superclam said:

It was just a snooze-fest for me. I'm glad it's going back to Sunday. That just makes more sense to me, for reasons I can't even fathom. 

it was definitely weird being on Wednesday, since that's GGG night.  

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 hours ago, Maverick said:

 Mark Long was on the very first MTV Road Rules.  

I swear when I first saw his name I thought it was the dude from Double Dare. I do remember Mark Long from Road Rules, so I'm up to 4! I had no idea he did anything past Road Rules.