Worst Cooks in America season 29
| Worst Cooks in America | |
|---|---|
| Season 29 | |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 16 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Food Network |
| Original release | July 28 – August 25, 2025 |
| Season chronology | |
Worst Cooks in America 29, also known as Talented & Terrible, is the twenty-ninth season of the American competitive reality television series Worst Cooks in America. It premiered on Food Network on July 28, 2025 and will conclude on August 25, 2025.
Format
[edit]Worst Cooks in America is an American reality television series in which contestants (referred to as "recruits") with poor cooking skills undergo a culinary boot camp for the chance to win $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set.[1][2] The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. Each episode features two core challenges: the Skills Drill, which tests their grasp of basic techniques demonstrated by the chef mentors, and the Main Dish Challenge, where they must apply those skills to recreate or invent a more complex dish under specific guidelines. The weakest performer is eliminated at the end of each episode. The final two contestants prepare a restaurant-quality, three-course meal for a panel of food critics, who evaluate the dishes based on taste, presentation, and overall improvement.[3]
Judges
[edit]Gabriele Bertaccini joins Anne Burrell to host Talented & Terrible. The season was the final season to feature Burrell after her death in June of 2025.[4]
Recruits
[edit]| Contestant | Hometown | Occupation | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Anchel | New York, NY | Opera singer | Anne | |
| Lee Colee | Dancer, singer, & performer | Anne | ||
| Ricky Downes | Comedian, voice actor, & puppeteer | Gabe | ||
| GloZell Green | Performer & pianist | Anne | ||
| Preshous Jordan | Professional roller skater | Gabe | ||
| Portia Lange | Belly dancer | Anne | ||
| Rebekah "Bean" Ripley | Gymnast | Gabe | ||
| Chris Tanner | Visual artist | Gabe | ||
| Nick Thomas | Sterling Heights, MI | Juggler | Anne | |
| Kyle Torrence | Brooklyn, NY | Musical theatre performer | Gabe | |
| Julia Watkins | Violinist | Gabe | ||
| Cari Westerman | Boston, MA | Rapper | Anne | |
| Mikki Yamashiro | Professional wrestler | Anne | ||
| Todd Zimmerman | Orlando, FL | Circus clown | Gabe | |
| Shinobi Poli | Tampa, FL | Parkour instructor | - | Eliminated on July 28, 2025 |
| Olive Hui | Performance artist | - |
Elimination Chart
[edit]| Rank | Contestant | Episode | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Bean | BTM | ||||||||
| Cari | IN | ||||||||
| Chris | IN | ||||||||
| GloZell | IN | ||||||||
| Julia | IN | ||||||||
| Kyle | IN | ||||||||
| Lee | IN | ||||||||
| Matthew | IN | ||||||||
| Mikki | IN | ||||||||
| Nick | BTM | ||||||||
| Portia | IN | ||||||||
| Preshous | IN | ||||||||
| Ricky | IN | ||||||||
| Todd | IN | ||||||||
| 15 | Shinobi | OUT | |||||||
| 16 | Olive | OUT | |||||||
- Key
- (WINNER) This contestant won the competition and was crowned "Best of the Worst".
- (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up in the finals of the competition.
- (WIN) The contestant did the best on their team in the week's Main Dish challenge and was considered the winner.
- (BTM) The contestant was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Main Dish challenge, but was not eliminated.
- (SWAP) The contestant get switched by a mentor to the other team
- (OUT) The contestant lost that week's Main Dish challenge and was out of the competition.
Episodes
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 213 | 1 | "Talented & Terrible: Boot Camp's Got Talent" | July 28, 2025 |
| 214 | 2 | "Talented & Terrible: Culinary Pageant" | August 4, 2025 |
| 215 | 3 | "Talented & Terrible: The Da Vinci Cook" | August 11, 2025 |
| 216 | 4 | "Talented & Terrible: Flavor Freestyle" | August 18, 2025 |
| 217 | 5 | "Talented & Terrible: Big Top Boot Camp" | August 18, 2025 |
| 218 | 6 | "Talented & Terrible: Encores and Entrees" | August 25, 2025 |
References
[edit]- ^ Lynch, Rene (January 2, 2010). "'Worst Cooks in America' isn't just a title: They're horrible". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (January 4, 2010). "'Worst Cooks in America': Worst thing I watched most of last night". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ Worst Cooks in America (Comedy, Game-Show, Reality-TV), Anne Burrell, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Optomen Productions, January 3, 2010, retrieved July 24, 2025
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Rella, Emily (July 29, 2025). "Food Network Pays Tribute to Anne Burrell During the Premiere of Her Last Season of Worst Cooks in America". People. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - worst cooks in america on foodnetwork". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 27, 2025.