Chefs Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro Mentor Singles Seeking Love and Cooking Skills in “Worst Cooks in America: Love at First Bite”

The cooking-challenged competitors are single and ready to mingle in Worst Cooks in America: Love at First Bite, premiering with a supersized 90-minute episode on Sunday, August 6th @ 8PM ET/PT on Food Network. In the eight-episode season, food superstars Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro each lead a team of fun and flirty kitchen disasters through a life-changing culinary bootcamp to transform them from cooking duds into kitchen studs. 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.

“These singles are desperate to learn to cook and they have come to the right place,” said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. “This season, Anne and Jeff have their hands full with these disastrous love-obsessed cooks. They are the perfect duo to help lead the hilarious and inspiring culinary transformations.”

The competitors are: Terri Arcelia (Atlanta, Georgia); James Bates (Hammond, Louisiana); Michael Kazakov (Staten Island, New York); Allegra Melton (Jonesboro, Arkansas); Matthew Militello (Los Angeles, California); Denz Mooney (Long Island, New York); Toneata Morgan (Los Angeles, California); Kermit Moss Jr. (Fullerton, California); Etherio Noon (Chicago, Illinois); Charles Osbourne (New York, New York); Sterling Quinn (New York, is New York); Zach Russell (New York, New York); Jessica Singer (Los Angeles, California); Amy Solomon (Las Vegas, Nevada); Lou Tocquie (Rochester, New York) and Sami White (Chicago, Illinois).

In the supersized premiere, Anne and Jeff welcome sixteen fun-loving singles to culinary boot camp – these competitors know they are kitchen disasters and arrive determined to improve their cooking skills to impress their future dates. 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. In upcoming episodes, the recruits are introduced to the classic flavors and dishes of Italy, get a lesson from Chef Victor Huang on how to hand-pull noodles from scratch, and compete in a wild Las Vegas-inspired challenge to recreate a dish without a recipe. In the double-episode finale on Sunday, September 10th @ 8PM ET/PT, the two most improved recruits put their culinary skills to the test and serve a three-course restaurant quality meal to a panel of food experts for blind taste testing. After guest Randy Fenoli delivers an unexpected wrinkle in the competition, judges Hawa Hassan, Christian Petroni, and Chris Scott decide who wins $25,000 and bragging rights for their team leader.

Fans can get to know the recruits, get an extended look at Anne and Jeff’s boot camp demos and get exclusive cooking tips from Jeff Mauro at FoodNetwork.com/WorstCooks. Follow along with the competition on social media and find out what Anne & Jeff really thought of the recruits using #WorstCooks.

Worst Cooks in America is produced by Objective Media Group America, an All3 Media America company.