‘Worst’ rematch: Robert Irvine returns to ‘Worst Cooks in America’

By Andrew Warren TV Media

Afterseven years, it’s well past time for a rematch. “Worst Cooks in America” is back with a new group of culinary dunces eager to improve their skills, and one of their two mentors is itching for a win.

Chef Robert Irvine returns to boot camp when the latest season premieres Sunday, Aug. 12, on Food Network. He starred as one of the two mentors back in 2011’s season 2, ultimately losing to chef Anne Burrell in the final throwdown between their recruits, but she won’t be any easier to beat this time around. Burrell’s been with the show, and its celebrity spinoff, since the beginning, and she wins far more often than she loses.

In “Worst Cooks in America,” a group of people who are absolute disasters in the kitchen are divided into two teams that are then mentored by the chefs, who try to teach them some basic and advanced cooking skills over the course of several weeks. At the end of every week, each team’s mentor sends the worst-performing recruit home, until only one home cook remains on each team.

It’s a fun-filled, lighthearted sort of competition that leans heavily on the kitsch for laughs, but the re- cruits really do learn a lot from their mentors. Come the finale, when chefs Irvine and Burrell each have just a single home cook left on their respective teams, all those acquired skills are put to the test when the recruits prepare a restaurant-quality meal for a panel of judges, without any help from the chefs.

Whoever cooks the meal the judges like best earns $25,000 — and also bragging rights for his or her mentor, who can rightly take credit for turning a kitchen disaster into a kitchen ... well, maybe not quite a kitchen master, but at least someone who can boil water without burning the place down.

Fourteen of the country’s worst cooks enter the kitchen with dreams of turning their kitchen disasters into culinary successes when “Worst Cooks in America” returns, with Robert Irvine champing at the bit for a rematch against Anne Burrell. Catch the premiere on Sunday, Aug. 12, on Food Network.

Sunday, Aug. 12

10:30 a.m. (8) WDSE Around the Farm Table

1:00 p.m. (9) KAWE Lidia’s Kitchen

TRAV Food Paradise

2:00 p.m. (8) WDSE Martha Stewart’s Cooking School

TRAV Food Paradise

2:30 p.m. (8) WDSE A Chef’s Life

3:00 p.m. (8) WDSE The Great British Baking Show

6:00 p.m. (2) KTCA The Great British Baking Show

Monday, Aug. 13

11:00 a.m. TRAV Food Paradise

Noon TRAV Food Paradise

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show

TRAV Food Paradise

Tuesday, Aug. 14

11:00 a.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

11:30 a.m. (9) KAWE Ellie’s Real Good Food Noon TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show

TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

1:30 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

2:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

2:30 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

3:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

3:30 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

4:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

TRAV Bizarre

TRAV

TRAV Bizarre

Delicious Destinations

10:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

10:30 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations

11:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods

Wednesday, Aug. 15

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show

Thursday, Aug. 16

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show

Friday, Aug. 17

1:00 p.m. (11) KARE The Rachael Ray Show

8:00 p.m. (2) KTCA The Great British Baking Show (N)

9:00 p.m. (8) WDSE The Great British Baking Show (N)

Saturday, Aug. 18 8:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Steven Raichlen’s Project Fire 8:30 a.m. (2) KTCA Moveable Feast With Fine Cooking

9:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Joanne Weir’s Plates and Places

9:30 a.m. (2) KTCA How to Cook Well With Rory O’Connell

10:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way

10:30 a.m. (2) KTCA Lidia’s Kitchen

11:00 a.m. (2) KTCA Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Kitchen

11:30 a.m. (2) KTCA Sara’s Weeknight Meals Noon (2) KTCA Cook’s Country From America’s Test Kitchen

(9) KAWE America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated

12:30 p.m. (2) KTCA America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated

1:00 p.m. (2) KTCA Food Flirts

(8) WDSE WDSE Cooks

1:30 p.m. (2) KTCA New Scandinavian Cooking

2:00 p.m. TRAV Food Paradise

Brainerd Daily Dispatch, MN: Food Aug 12, 2018 to Aug 18, 2018

Freedom

Heartwood its scenic surroundings and extends well beyond your front door. room

• Lounge

• Guest suites and private family dining

• Conference center

• Located on the Medical Campus in Crosby