Dinner for two: ‘Love at First Bite’ tosses singles into culinary bootcamp
Premiering with a larger-than-life, 90-minute episode, “Worst Cooks in America: Love at First Bite” chomps down on Food Network, Sunday, Aug. 6.
The eight-episode season brings chefs Anne Burrell (“Beat Bobby Flay”) and Jeff Mauro (“The Kitchen”) to the kitchen, asking them each to lead a team of fun-loving singles – all self-proclaimed “kitchen disasters” – through a relentless and life-changing culinary boot camp. As Burrell and Mauro teach the contestants the skills required to master the kitchen once and for all, they hope to turn them, as Food Network says, from “cooking duds into kitchen studs.”
In its description for the series, Food Network explains: “The recruits not only learn how to make date-friendly dishes like sushi, spicy wontons and classic French pastries, they also go head-to-head in romantic dating-inspired challenges like the Cupid Games, the Bagel-orette and the Inferno Zone. In the end, only the most improved recruit left standing is awarded a $25,000 grand prize, bragging rights for their mentor and the ability to add “great cook” to their dating profile.
The network continued with a deep dive into the season’s first episode, dishing out some juicy details: “Before picking teams, Anne and Jeff kick off the competition by having the recruits make their signature ‘seal the deal’ meal to show off their skills, or lack thereof, in the kitchen. Then in the main dish challenge, the teams learn to make duck paired with a fruit sauce. After assessing everyone’s skills, Anne and Jeff reveal a unique twist when choosing their teams.”
During following episodes, these culinary (and relationship) hopefuls are introduced to some of the classic dishes of Italy, take a lesson on hand-pulling made-from-scratch noodles with chef Victor Huang and compete in a dazzling, Las Vegas-inspired challenge, recreating an overthe-top dish without a recipe.
In the grand finale — a double date of its own, with the two final episodes airing backto-back on Sunday, Sept. 10 — the two “most improved” chefs put their newfangled knowhow to the test as they are asked to serve a three-course, restaurant-quality meal to a panel of expert judges, including chef Hawa Hassan, Christian Petroni (“Food Network Star”) and Chris Scott (“Top Chef”). Whoever can serve the most date-worthy meal will go on to win it all.
With twists, turns and romance in abundance, “Worst Cooks in America: Love at First Bite” premieres Sunday, Aug. 6, on Food Network.