Worst Cooks in America is a long-running show on Food Network, existing for over a decade now and still going strong after 24 seasons. The show features two chefs, Anne Burrell and a guest chef that usually changes each season. They both have a team of contestants with poor cooking skills, and they have to teach them how to cook in hopes of winning the competition against each other. The constants have a chance to win $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set, while their chef mentor merely wins bragging rights.
Any TV show that revolves around the same or a similar competition from episode to episode or season to season will always have good moments and dull moments. Not every competition can be perfect, or even completely entertaining, no matter how the editors end up cutting everything together. Sometimes, though, a season is unforgettable, making it one that every fan still remembers and talks about. Here are some of the best seasons for you to relive your favorite moments or check the show out for the first time yourself.
8 Season 7
Season seven sees Rachel Ray as co-host to this special part of Worst Cooks in America. It is actually the first time the show brought together real celebrities to compete and try to win $50,000 for a charity of their choice. With an unusually small cast compared to normal, only having seven contestants compared to the usual 12-16, the season did run differently, featuring an elimination challenge amongst the entire group instead of removing one contestant from each team every week. It’s fun to see people you can actually recognize in the contestants for the first time, and the audience certainly got a kick out of seeing just how bad some of these celebrities were in the kitchen.
7 Season 1
In most competition shows, you’ll find that the first season almost always makes it onto the best lists. This is partially because of the novelty of a new concept they can watch, but also because if the first season wasn’t something people really enjoyed, the show never would have continued. This is the only season Beau MacMillan co-hosted, putting his technical and teaching skills to the test. It’s fun to see where the show started and how everyone really leaned into these new roles on the TV show. A highlight in this season is watching the contestants try to make their own pasta, something even the average household might not do, let alone those who don’t know how to cook.
6 Season 17
Season seventeen sees Bobby Flay join in, one of the most popular and recurring co-hosts to the show. From some of the worst contestants making even these seasoned chefs worry about the future competition with their cooking, to interesting and sometimes wild challenges, there’s a lot this season holds. Some of these include breaking apart piñatas in the kitchen to get various ingredients needed to make tostadas, or making the contestants shop in a supermarket with a small budget to find everything they need for their dishes. It’s a bonkers but entertaining ride from start to finish.
5 Season 14
Co-hosted by Robert Irvine, season 14 brings an interesting obstacle to the table. Though there were seven episodes as would be expected to be able to eliminate everyone, there were actually four contestants left in the last episode. In the previous episode, there were no winners or losers, meaning the finale was different from any other previous season as four contestants entered the kitchen for the finale, also requiring some interesting competition to help get over this change. The highlight of this season, however, has to be when the chefs left the kitchen, leaving the contestants to their own devices to recreate a dish from taste alone. However, the chefs were secretly watching them through the cameras, providing interesting commentary out of the contestant’s earshot.
4 Season 6
Season six has Tyler Florence as co-host, one of the chefs that appears on the show the most. This season of the cooking show has a lot of ups and downs. From kitchen hijinks that even someone with some kitchen skills might find appalling, to the unfortunate withdrawal of a contestant due to an illness, it seems this season has it all. And yet, there’s still more, including making meals for a guest star, putting the contestants' lack of skills to the test by making them create their own inspired dishes several times, and there was even one round where the contestants' dishes were so good everyone won. It’s a great season all around, and is only boosted by Florence’s wit and experience.
3 Season 4
Another of Bobby Flay’s seasons, there are a lot of moments that make this season unforgettable. From high-stakes head-to-head competitions to lots of mistakes in the kitchen, there are too many good moments to count. Having the contestants cater to a group of bikers is probably up in some top moments though, alongside the thrill of watching the contestants attempt to make their own gelato with very limited success for their skills. There are a lot of special guests on this season too, helping judge the contestants' food in special skilled tests.
2 Season 3
Season three marks the only time Anne Burnell won against Bobby Flay. Maybe she had the advantage because she already had two seasons of experience under her belt, or maybe she just got lucky with her contestants. Either way, the season is full of fun and difficult challenges, including having the contestants make their own pizzas, or trying to recreate the chef’s favorite meals with limited success. They also bring in some of the harshest critics in the world: elementary school kids looking for their lunch. There are certainly a lot of great moments in this season.
1 Season 13
Another celebrity edition, season 13 sees Tyler Florence co-host. As is with any celebrity season, there’s a lot more comedy involved since most of them are trained actors ready to improv quips as the chefs try to keep the audience entertained with jokes. It’s one of the most high-flying celebrity edition seasons so far, bringing with it a lot of fun challenges to watch. One of the highlights is when the contestants have to show what they’ve learned so far and try to teach the mentors how to cook a dish. With wins all across the board, this season is one of the best out there.