Worst Cooks in America season 26
| Worst Cooks in America | |
|---|---|
| Season 26 | |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 16 |
| Winner | Jessica Singer |
| Runner-up | Samantha "Sami" White |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Food Network |
| Original release | August 6 – September 10, 2023 |
| Season chronology | |
Worst Cooks in America 26, also known as Love at First Bite, is the twenty-sixth season of the American competitive reality television series Worst Cooks in America. It premiered on Food Network on August 6, 2023 and concluded on September 10, 2023. Jessica Singer was the winner of this season, with Samantha "Sami" White 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
Jeff Mauro joins Anne Burrell to host Love at First Bite. The season premiered on August 6, 2023.[4]
Recruits
| Contestant | Hometown | Occupation | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Singer | Los Angeles, California | Comedian/Pet Sitter | Jeff | Winner on September 10, 2023 |
| Samantha "Sami" White[5] | Chicago, Illinois | Drag King | Anne | Runner-up on September 10, 2023 |
| Louisa "Lou" Tocquie | Rochester, New York | Home Health Aide | Anne | Finalist on September 10, 2023 |
| Sterling Quinn | New York City | Fashion Designer/Content Creator | Jeff | |
| Etherio Noon | Chicago, Illinois | Model | Anne | Eliminated on September 10, 2023 |
| Allegra Melton | Jonesboro, Arkansas | Personal Trainer | Jeff | |
| Zach Russell | New York City | Business Development Director | Jeff | Eliminated on September 3, 2023 |
| James Bates | Hammond, Louisiana | Content Creator | Anne | |
| Kermit Moss Jr. | Costa Mesa, California | Music Producer | Jeff | Eliminated on August 27, 2023 |
| Terri Arcelia | Atlanta, Georgia | Bartender | Anne | |
| Toneata Morgan | Los Angeles, California | Actress/Model | Jeff | |
| Charles Osborne | New York City | Actor/Comedian/Writer | Anne | Withdrew on August 27, 2023 |
| Denz Mooney | Long Island, New York | Content Creator | Anne | Eliminated on August 20, 2023 |
| Michael Kazakov | Staten Island, New York | Demolition Man | Jeff | Withdrew on August 20, 2023 |
| Matthew Militello | Los Angeles, California | Makeup Artist | Jeff | Eliminated on August 13, 2023 |
| Amy Solomon | Las Vegas, Nevada | Professional Organizer | Anne |
Couples
This season features a cast of single recruits eager to learn some cooking skills to impress future dates. As a twist, recruits were selected in pairs to join the Red or Blue Team. Pairs will compete together in all Skill Drills and share a work station for all cooks.
| Original Couples[a] | Team |
|---|---|
| Allegra & Michael[b] | Blue |
| Amy & Etherio[c] | Red |
| Jessica & Kermit[d] | Blue |
| Lou & Denz | Red |
| Sami & James | Red |
| Sterling & Matthew[e] | Blue |
| Terri & Charles[f] | Red |
| Toneata & Zach | Blue |
- Notes
- ^ The winner of each team's Skill Drill cook receives the power to "recouple" by staying with their current partner or choosing a different one as his new partner.
- ^ In Episode 2, Michael recoupled with Sterling.
- ^ In Episode 4, Etherio chose to be in the "Singles Zone".
- ^ In Episode 4, Kermit recoupled with Toneata, thus leaving Jessica to pair up with Zach.
- ^ In Episode 3, Sterling was automatically paired with Allegra since Michael withdrew from the competition.
- ^ In Episode 3, Terri recoupled with Etherio, thus leaving Charles in the "Singles Zone".
Elimination Chart
| Rank | Contestant | Episode | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||
| 1 | Jessica | BTM | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | BTM | WINNER | ||||
| 2 | Sami | IN | IN | BTM | WIN | WIN | IN | WIN | RUNNER-UP | ||||
| 3 | Lou | BTM | IN | WIN | IN | IN | WIN | BTM | FINALIST | ||||
| 4 | Sterling | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | BTM | WIN | |||||
| 5 | Etherio | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | BTM | OUT | |||||
| 6 | Allegra | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | OUT | |||||
| 7 | Zach | IN | IN | WIN | IN | BTM | OUT | ||||||
| 8 | James | IN | IN | IN | IN | BTM | OUT | ||||||
| 9 | Kermit | BTM | BTM | IN | BTM | OUT | |||||||
| 10 | Terri | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |||||||
| 11 | Toneata | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||||
| 12 | Charles | IN | WIN | IN | WDR | ||||||||
| 13 | Denz | BTM | BTM | OUT | |||||||||
| 14 | Michael | IN | WIN | WDR | |||||||||
| 15 | Matthew | IN | OUT | ||||||||||
| 16 | Amy | IN | 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 and was considered the winner.
- (BTM) The contestant was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Main Dish challenge but was not eliminated.
- (OUT) The contestant lost that week's Main Dish challenge and was out of the competition.
- (WDR) The contestant withdrew from the competition due to illness.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 191 | 1 | "Love at First Bite: Fiery First Date" | August 6, 2023 |
| 192 | 2 | "Love at First Bite: That's Amore" | August 12, 2023 |
| 193 | 3 | "Love at First Bite: Double Dish of Love" | August 20, 2023 |
| 194 | 4 | "Love at First Bite: Flavor of Love" | August 27, 2023 |
| 195 | 5 | "Love at First Bite: Some Like It Hot" | August 27, 2023 |
| 196 | 6 | "Love at First Bite: If the Choux Fits" | September 3, 2023 |
| 197 | 7 | "Love at First Bite: What Happens in Boot Camp" | September 10, 2023 |
| 198 | 8 | "Love at First Bite: All Is Fair in Love and Cooking" | September 10, 2023 |
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) - ^ "Love at First Bite: Fiery First Date". FoodNetwork.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ "Food Network's 'Worst Cooks in America' to feature Fishers' Sami White". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. July 25, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - worst cooks in america on foodnetwork". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 27, 2025.