Worst Cooks in America season 21
| Worst Cooks in America | |
|---|---|
| Season 21 | |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 14 |
| Winner | Amber Leverette |
| Runner-up | Cameron Bartlett |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Food Network |
| Original release | January 3 – February 28, 2021 |
| Season chronology | |
Worst Cooks in America 21, is the twenty-first season of the American competitive reality television series Worst Cooks in America. It premiered on Food Network on January 3, 2021 and concluded on February 28, 2021. Amber Leverette was the winner of this season, with Cameron Bartlett as the runner-up.
Format
Worst Cooks in America is an American reality television series in which contestants (referred to as "recruits") with poor cooking skills undergo a culinary boot camp for the chance to win $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set.[1][2] The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. Each episode features two core challenges: the Skills Drill, which tests their grasp of basic techniques demonstrated by the chef mentors, and the Main Dish Challenge, where they must apply those skills to recreate or invent a more complex dish under specific guidelines. The weakest performer is eliminated at the end of each episode. The final two contestants prepare a restaurant-quality, three-course meal for a panel of food critics, who evaluate the dishes based on taste, presentation, and overall improvement.[3]
Judges
Carla Hall joins Anne Burrell to host season 21. The season debut on January 3, 2021, with a 90-minute premiere. Immediately following, spin-off companion series Worst Cooks in America: Dirty Dishes begins its first-ever run.[4] The show sees former boot camp contestants and comedians commenting on past episodes.[5]
An additional twist added this season is the "Danger Zone," in which the worst recruit on each team in the Skill Drill must cook their Main Dish at the stations used by Burrell and Hall in demonstrating the recipe, giving the mentors the ability to keep a close eye on them as they cook.
Recruits
| Contestant[6] | Age | Hometown | Occupation | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amber Leverette | 37 | Banner Elk, North Carolina | Bartender | Carla | Winner on February 28, 2021 |
| Cameron Bartlett | 20 | Norman, Oklahoma | Student | Anne | Runner-up on February 28, 2021 |
| Jonathan "JJ" Hurt[7] | 35 | Atlanta, Georgia | Tech Support Supervisor | Anne | Finalist on February 28, 2021 |
| Chandali Gullick | 29 | Wichita, Kansas | Customer Service | Carla | |
| McKayla Carter | 21 | Blackshear, Georgia | Model | Anne | Eliminated on February 14, 2021 |
| Tiffany Billingsly | 35 | Greenwood, Indiana | Music Teacher | Carla | |
| Ayesha Dwyer | 43 | Wadsworth, Illinois | Children's Book Author | Carla | Eliminated on January 31 |
| Laura Marie Moore | 23 | Los Angeles, California | NHL Cheerleader | Anne | |
| Joey Kinsley | 26 | Rocky River, Ohio | Digital Marketing Specialist | Carla | Eliminated on January 17, 2021 |
| Mo Nooreldin | Kirkland, Washington | Dental Assistant | Anne | ||
| Stephanie James | 40 | Chicago, Illinois | Postal Clerk | Anne | Eliminated on January 10, 2021 |
| Watik Aleem | Aurora, Colorado | Army Veteran | Carla | ||
| Jonathan Hanna | New York, New York | Hand Model | Carla | Eliminated on January 3, 2021 | |
| Joy Blessing | 65 | Jacksonville, Florida | Wedding Officiant | Anne |
Elimination Chart
- * Initially a member of the other team
| Rank | Contestant | Episode | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||
| 1 | Amber | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | BTM | IMM | IN | WINNER | ||||||
| 2 | Cameron | BTM | BTM | IN | BTM | WIN | WIN | IN | RUNNER-UP | ||||||
| 3 | JJ | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | BTM | BTM | IN | FINALIST | ||||||
| 4 | Chandali* | IN | IN | BTM | SWAP | IN | WIN | IN | |||||||
| 5 | McKayla* | BTM | WIN | BTM | SWAP | IN | OUT | ||||||||
| 6 | Tiffany | IN | BTM | IN | BTM | WIN | OUT | ||||||||
| 7 | Ayesha | IN | IN | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||
| 8 | Laura | IN | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | |||||||||
| 9 | Joey | IN | IN | OUT | |||||||||||
| 10 | Mo | IN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||
| 11 | Stephanie | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Watik | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Jonathan | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 14 | Joy | OUT | |||||||||||||
- Key
- (WINNER) This contestant won the competition and was crowned "Best of the Worst".
- (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up in the finals of the competition.
- (FINALIST) The contestant was a finalist in the finals of the competition.
- (WIN) The contestant did the best on their team in the week's Main Dish challenge or Skill Drill and was considered the winner.
- (IMM) The contestant won immunity and was safe from elimination in the week's Main Dish Challenge.
- (BTM) The contestant was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Main Dish challenge, but was not eliminated.
- (SWAP) The contestant get switched by a mentor to the other team.
- (OUT) The contestant lost that week's Main Dish challenge and was out of the competition.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 153 | 1 | "Home Cooking and Date Night" | January 3, 2021 |
| 154 | 2 | "Farm-to-Table" | January 10, 2021 |
| 155 | 3 | "Sauce Boss" | January 17, 2021 |
| 156 | 4 | "Between Two Buns" | January 24, 2021 |
| 157 | 5 | "Hook, Line and Sink 'Em" | January 31, 2021 |
| 158 | 6 | "Bonkers for Baked Goods" | February 14, 2021 |
| 159 | 7 | "This Ain't No Yolk" | February 21, 2021 |
| 160 | 8 | "Fight for Finale" | February 28, 2021 |
References
- ^ Lynch, Rene (January 2, 2010). "'Worst Cooks in America' isn't just a title: They're horrible". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (January 4, 2010). "'Worst Cooks in America': Worst thing I watched most of last night". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ Worst Cooks in America (Comedy, Game-Show, Reality-TV), Anne Burrell, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Optomen Productions, January 3, 2010, retrieved July 24, 2025
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Worst Cooks in America" – via www.foodnetwork.com.
- ^ "Worst Cooks in America, Dirty Dishes: Food Network Reveals Premiere Dates". canceled + renewed my TV shows - TV Series Finale. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
- ^ "Worst Cooks in America, Season 16: Meet the Celebrity Recruits". Food Network. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
- ^ "Instagram". Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - worst cooks in america on foodnetwork". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 27, 2025.