Arizonans are competing on ‘Worst Cooks in America’
There are people who don’t know their way around a kitchen, and then there are “kitchen disasters” Shannon Akins, 25, and Ryan Grovey, 30.
When he was a kid, Grovey started a fire while attempting to boil eggs. Akins experienced culinary failure recently when she fried a fish in coconut oil. “That was awful, so bad,” she said.
Now these Arizonans are competing for the title of most improved cook — and a grand prize of $25,000 — on “Worst Cooks in America.”
Season 18 premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5, on the Food Network. Sixteen terrible cooks will train with chef Anne Burrell and food expert and TV personality Alton Brown to make a chicken soup and sandwich meal and a Chinese New Year-inspired meal.
Here’s what Akins and Grovey had to say about the experience during a recent conference call.
‘I didn’t know what
I was getting myself into’
Akins, a California native who has lived in Tempe for several years, applied to be on the show at her mom’s suggestion. Her mom, who is a fan of the show, had initially been interested in competing. But after Akins found the application online, her mom decided, “You should go ahead and apply for that.”
Akins, a hairstylist, found that her skills came in handy for cooking.
“You have to pay lots of attention to details when you’re cooking and you’re cutting up things, so I found myself doing the same motions that I’ll be doing with hair,” she said. “I have a little bit of dexterity.”
Grovey, a dance instructor in Scottsdale, was scouted on Instagram, he said. The casting department was looking for people with interesting jobs, and Grovey fit the bill as both a personal trainer and one-time funeral home director in Seattle who couldn’t cook more than scrambled eggs and oatmeal.
“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” he said of agreeing to interview for the show.
Though they couldn’t reveal which teams they were on in the show, they did agree both Brown and Burrell were “tough nuts to crack,” Akins said.
“They’re both intense in their own type of way,” she said. “Chef Anne is very spicy, and Alton is really sarcastic.”
‘I’m definitely going to embarrass myself’
Without revealing any spoilers about which of the 16 contestants won the Season 18 grand prize, Akins and Grovey said being on the show helped them develop new culinary skills. Akins can now prepare “a simple meal,” she said.
“Your skills are a little more up to par than mine,” Grovey told Akins.
“I’m getting in the kitchen, cutting my chicken and not burning anything. I’m actually now, finally, in the kitchen. Now, I don’t do much, but I definitely learned some skills from the show,” Grovey said.
The two have developed a friendship. Their families will come together to celebrate their first TV appearances with a premiere party.
“I think I’m definitely going to embarrass myself. It’s gonna be some funny stuff,” Grovey said.
Akins agreed: “It’ll be a really good laugh.”
On TV
Season 18 of “Worst Cooks in America” premieres at 9 p.m. tonight on the Food Network