Why I Love Worst Cooks in America.
There’s a show on the Food Network called Worst Cooks in America that I might be a little addicted to. The participants are either nominated by their family or self-nominated, with a desire to improve from being horrible, horrible cooks. What do they mean by horrible? People who have eaten their food have had to be taken to the hospital with food poisoning. Sometimes, it would happen more than once, to family members forced to eat their cooking simply because they happen to live together.
We are not talking about preparing exotic cuisine, French, Mediterranean, or Thai food. We’re talking about being able to boil an egg. When first introduced into the Worst Cooks in America (WCIA) kitchen, the recruits who have been selected to enter this culinary boot camp usually have the deer caught in the headlights look.
“How do you turn the stove on?” asks one.
“Why doesn’t this knife cut anything?” asks another one.
“Try using the sharp side,” one of the chefs says helpfully.
The recruits are divided into two teams. One team is led by celebrity chef, Anne Burrell, a constant on the show. The other team is led by different Food Network chefs. Sometimes it’s Tyler Florence, other times it’s Robert Irvine, or Rachel Ray, and from time to time they repeat. The recruits are taught everything, from…
