'Worst Cooks in America' Season 21: Release date, plot, mentors, contestants and all you need to know about the show

The biggest news from Season 21 is that Chef Alex Guarnaschelli won't be returning after making an outstanding debut as a mentor on the show last season
Carla Hall and Anne Burrell (Food Network)
Carla Hall and Anne Burrell (Food Network)

A brand new season of 'Worst Cooks in America' is ready to premiere in the new year. This outrageously funny cooking television show started in 2010 and since then has served major entertainment and stirred up massive laughter fits among audiences. Here's all you need to know about Season 21. 

Release date

'Worst Cooks in America' Season 21 will premiere on January 3, 2021. A new episode clocking 90 minutes will air every Sunday night at 9 pm ET only on Food Network. 

Plot

Following the format of the show, the two celebrity chefs will be seen picking up contestants to add to their respective teams. Even though all of these cooks are disastrous, the mentors look out for other skills within these contestants, as well as their power to grasp and follow instructions, etc. on the basis of which they select the cooks they think they can work with during the competition. All this to help the contestants turn from kitchen disasters to culinary masters.  

From a farm-themed showdown to a "Meal or No Meal" game show and lumberjack pancake stack race, the challenges are tougher and more outrageous than ever on Season 21. In the end, only the recruit who makes the most impressive culinary transformation wins the $25,000 grand prize and bragging rights for their team mentor. 

"In the premiere episode, Anne and Carla welcome fourteen horrible cooks to boot camp and for the first challenge, they have the recruits make their favorite horrendously homemade dishes to show off their cooking chops or lack thereof. Anne and Carla then pick teams and for the main challenge, the recruits are tasked with replicating Asian takeout dishes. The recruits on each team with the worst dishes are sent home and the rest move on to cook another day. Upcoming episodes include a farm-to-table challenge, all-seafood skill drill and a fast-paced game all about breakfast" according to a Food Network press release. 

The finale of 'Worst Cooks in America' will air on February 28 at 9 pm. The two most improved recruits put all their newly learned culinary skills to the test to impress a panel of food experts. Ultimately judges Adrienne Cheatham, JJ Johnson and George Mendes taste the dishes in a blind taste test and determine the winner of the $25,000 grand prize.

Contestants 

This season's recruits are:

Watik Aleem from Aurora, Colorada

Cameron Bartlett from Norma, Oklahoma

Tiffany Billingsly from Greenwood, Idaho

Joy Blessing from Jacksonville, Florida

McKayla Carter from Blackshear, Georgia

Ayesha Dwyer from Wadsworth, Illinois

Chandali Gullick from Wichita, Kansas

Jonathan Hanna from New York

JJ Hurt from Atlanta, Georgia

Stephanie James from Chicago, Illinois

Joey Kinsley from Rocky River, Ohio

Amber Leverette from Banner Elk, North Carolina

Laura Moore from Los Angeles, California

Mo Nooreldin from Kirkland, Washington

Mentors 

Anne Burrell and Carla Hall (Getty Images)

The biggest news from Season 21 is that Chef Alex Guarnaschelli won't be returning after making an outstanding debut as a mentor on the show last season. Instead, celebrity chef Carla Hall will be joining long-standing mentor, chef Anne Burrell on the show.  Carla Hall is already a famous television personality and former model. She appeared in the fifth and eighth seasons of Top Chef, Bravo's cooking competition show. She was a co-host on 'The Chew', a one-hour talk show centered on food from all angles, which premiered on ABC in September 2011. Hall has written the cookbook 'Cooking with Love: Comfort Food that Hugs You'.

Trailer

There is no trailer yet for the upcoming season. Check this space for more information closer to the release date. 

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